Loosely based on the 1954 Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend, the science fiction horror movie I Am Legend (2007) as directed by Francis Lawrence captures our look today. Writing credits for the 2007 movie rest with Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman. The movie, set in New York City, New York, sees a measles-based virus built to cure cancer go post-apocalyptically wrong. A single man finds himself isolated in Manhattan to develop a cure while fighting virus-infected mutants bent on infecting anyone still healthy.
Set in 2012, three-years after an intended cancer cure has turned lethal, Will Smith portrayed United States Army virologist Robert Neville in I Am Legend. Neville follows a daily routine of seeking food and supplies, experimenting on rats to counteract the lethal disease, and waiting for infected survivors at the South Street Seaport, where a recurring recorded message directs people. We learn of a sad backstory for Neville’s wife and daughter, Zoe and Marley as portrayed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Willow Smith, through flashbacks of the evacuation of Manhattan before the current day of the film. That backstory adds depth to Neville’s attempts in the current day, along with his dog Samantha (Sam) as portrayed by Abbey and Kona, to cope with loneliness.
The substance of the action for the movie begins when Robert and Sam pursue a deer into a darkened building, encountering infected people harmed by daylight called Darkseekers. Using a snare trap, Neville captures an infected female bonded to an infected male to take to Neville’s Washington Square Park home for experimentation, seemingly without success.
The next day, Robert is snared outside Grand Central Station and, waking near sunset to have an excruciating turn occur when he and Sam defend themselves against a pack of dogs. Neville acts out in grief, with Anna and a young boy named Ethan from Maryland, having come to South Street Seaport owing to Robert’s broadcast. The veracity of Anna and Ethan’s stories of travel through Maryland, Bethel, Vermont, and São Paulo, Brazil worries Robert Neville. At least two separate movie endings exist, with the alternate ending rather than the ending shown in movie theatres reportedly considered canonical for the sake of a movie slated to serve as a sequel to I Am Legend reportedly in production. Alice Braga and Charlie Tahan portrayed Anna and Ethan, respectively.
Other movies made based on the 1954 book I Am Legend have included The Last Man on Earth (1964) and The Omega Man (1971). I grant I Am Legend as directed by Francis Lawrence 3.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Saturday, May 11, 2024
Matt Lynn Digital 