Customer Reviews
Why can't movie makers provide movies in Blue-ray that are FULL SCREEN. I will not buy any movies that are not FULL SCREEN. 
2008-10-07
Blue Ray is not Blue Ray without the movie filling the whole screen just like if I were at the movie theatre.
Sooner or later...they will find you 
2008-09-29
At first I had next to no interest to go see I AM LEGEND when I first heard of it's release and it's promotional advertising. It seemed like another film following in on the success of such films as 2004's Dawn of the Dead or even 28 Days Later. I soon found many people I knew raving about it just because it was an intelligent film. No one seemed to compare it to any other film. I couldn't help but have my curiosity piqued and I had never really seen anything with Will Smith as the lead star so I figured there wasn't any problem in seeing such a large-scale film upon the big screen.
Robert Neville (Will Smith) is in the middle of apocalypse... surrounded by nobody. After a devastating epidemic caused by an experiment that was supposed to cure cancer sweeps through the world, Robert finds himself victim to his own genes as simply one among the small percentage of population who would've been immune to the virus. Aided by his faithful dog Sam, he copes with his days by remembering the last moments he spent with his wife Zoe and daughter Marley, while also struggling with new challenges such as grabbing the attention of two survivors: Anna, a kind but brave woman, and Ethan, a little boy who refuses to say a word. However, two survivors aren't the only things he's grabbed the attention of...
My favorite thing about the whole story are the six main characters. Lead gracefully and thoughtfully by Will Smith who could've easily ruined his career had he not carried the entire film on his shoulders for an hour on his own. The slew of emotions that runs through his face between the present time and flashbacks are a constant reminder of Robert's world was and what it has become and the difference between them.
The other five characters are also a rarity on their own: two women, two children, and his dog. The fact that the Robert's character never speaks to any other men never crosses your mind until well after the film is over. When it comes down to it, his own dog ends up being female. The only other male character, Ethan, never says a word because of the devastating things each of them have experienced. Anna (played beautifully by Alice Braga) only becomes a reminder to Robert of his wife who only shares a bit eight minutes with his daughter (played greatly by Smith's own daughter, Willow Smith) in flashback sequences.
Too many people seem to overlook the fact that the story is centered around Robert at his psychological height. They seem more intent to point all the mistakes and plot holes. Personally, I'm usually the one to do so but I was so entertained by the movie as a whole that I didn't even bother. It was really more of an intelligent bit of filmmaking and writing to take the more humanitarian look to the film instead of looking on the hollywood side of it. I could've easily said that the $150,000,000 was wasted on a big-budget blockbuster. I Am Legend becomes more than that after it lingers on your mind well after you've seen it. I think this film will serve as more of what audiences looking for... to be tested and be given creativity at the same time.
Inconsistent, with Gaping Plot Holes 
2008-09-27
This story had so many horrible plot holes that by the end I was glad it was over. Will Smith doesn't sacrifice himself to save the world; he just wants out of the lousy story he's become a part of.
The opening scene is a ridiculous, pathetic masturbatory commercial for the Ford Mustang GT500. I mean, really, who would hunt deer from a speeding sports car, even if you actually could? This opening had me shaking my head in disappointment, and the rest of the movie didn't take that feeling away.
The CGI was lame, shallow and low-budge throughout. Almost all of the viral-zombies (VZs) were CGI, and were not convincing.
All the VZs did was run really fast, climb like vampire-monkeys, and of course open their mouths really wide and roar a lot. Man, we've seen this dumbass mouthy-roaring gimmick a million times since it became the de rigueur monster stunt in the first Mummy movie. Now it's just trite and predictable, and no longer effective.
So, Will Smith is an Army LTC doctor, with a massive townhouse right on Washington Square in the heart of Manhattan, with a completely outfitted viral research suite in the basement? And he has all of the trappings of the pre-Armageddon life because he's resourceful n' stuff n' all? Yeah, puh-leeze.
And he powers all this stuff in his house and the lab with three or four Honda--nice product placement!--generators, which we see running happily . . . in the flipping pantry! Hollywood, there is this odorless, colorless gas, called carbon monoxide, which is emitted in the process of combustion, which . . . aw, the hell with it.
In an abandoned city, the first electrical short or lightning strike will start a fire, which with everyone including the fire department dead, will burn out of control. If there was such a struggle at the end of humanity, wouldn't there be a battle or two, maybe a little fire here and there? In a city as dense as NYC, all of Manhattan would burn for weeks. Nope, none of that, no evidence of it. Just rusty cars and some grass in the cracks of the pavement.
In a tense scene early on, we see the VZs for the first time in a very dark room strewn with bundles of money, a bank vault--on a second floor. I mean, seriously, who puts a massive bank vault on the second floor? Who reviews these settings and agrees to shoot them?
If the VZs come out at night and are so flipping voracious, why are there so many deer running all over the island? If animals can be infected, too, why are there so many deer running all over the island?
If the VZs are so screamingly (literally) violent, why haven't they all killed and eaten each other yet?
Our hero, the brilliant doctor, makes the crucial observation of the VZs that they have lost all semblance of human behavior, yet the VZ "leader" steals a mannequin from one of the hero's haunts, moves it to a crucial location, and sets a clever trap, clearly learned from watching the hero do the same thing earlier. And then the VZ leader-guy sics three apparently trained--these are supposed to be completely unhinged, ultra-violent critters, right?--viral-zombie dogs on our hero. I mean, if the VZs were this smart, why aren't they driving cars and carrying weapons themselves?
Our hero has weapons stashed everywhere, and knows how to put them into action, too. Until, that is, when it's time for things to go south and the finale to come. Then he just can't hit a thing, even on full auto. Junk.
At the end, the VZ leader-guy breaks his way slowly through the unbreakable lab glass by smashing his head and body into it repeatedly, with no signs whatsoever of any kind of physical trauma. But, uh, we've seen throughout the movie that although highly infected, and completely psycho, these VZ guys after all are physical beings which are more or less human in frame, strength and stamina, injured and killed with violence which would do the same to a human, even brought down by one or more shots from a firearm. But when the Big Dramatic Finish comes, it's time for the VZ bad-guy leader to suddenly become so much more, an über-zombie, if you will. Barf.
Manhattan is an island, right? How did the heroine-lady get onto it with her son? And how did she get off?
I will say this: Will Smith does do some pretty heavy acting in a couple of scenes, especially early on. I'll give the man that much, with no reservations. His environments may be CGI, but his acting is real, solid and powerful. That German Shepherd was doing some pretty heavy "acting," too--that was one really well-trained canine.
Bottom line: I'm amazed this didn't get to DVD faster, given the shockingly inept story. But the story Will Smith is working with is junk. Don't pay to rent this. Wait for it on video, or see it on a buddy's dime; then it will be worth your time.
Not what I was expecting 2008-09-26
Will Smith's character thinks he's the last man in NYC after a devastating virus is unleashed. His will and determination to exterminate the virus, while saving the people powers the film, even when he is the lone actor in the scenes. It was interesting to see him handle so much time by himself. I had been warned against this movie, but I'm glad I didn't listen because it was a pretty good movie.
There were ultimately some scenes that I could have lived without, some scenes that made me cry, and some scenes that I thought were very cute. It was interesting how a movie could combine so many different genres into one, and still maintain a simple plot line.
I don't think it is an absolute must-see movie, but it is a movie that you should try to see if you get the opportunity. You don't have to be a big sci-fi fan to get into it. You just need to keep somewhat of an open-mind.
Hard movie to get through 2008-09-22
The special effects in this movie is top notch. The acting is pretty good as well and the story telling is pretty darn good as well. Why didn't I like this movie then? It just wasn't very fun. There wasn't a lot of human interaction.... it was basically a Will Smith monologue and while he did a good job listening to Will Smith talk to himself for over an hour gets old real quick. The zoombies or living dead special effects wise were top knotch but they were a little creapy (which is probably what they were going for).
Strangly enough everything in this movie was done well except the fun factor. This is kind of a depressing movie and nothing really good happens until the end (kind of like Will Smith's the Pursuit of Happiness) and by the time that happens it just isn't enough.
Not much happens 2008-09-18
Will Smith stars in the third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic science-fiction novel about a lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires. This new version somewhat alters Matheson’s central hook, i.e., the startling idea that an ordinary man, Robert Neville, spends his days roaming a desolated city and his nights in a house sealed off from longtime neighbors who have become bloodsucking fiends. In the new film, Smith’s Neville is a military scientist charged with finding a cure for a virus that turns people into crazed, hairless, flesh-eating zombies. Failing to complete his work in time--and after enduring a personal tragedy--Neville finds himself alone in Manhattan, his natural immunity to the virus keeping him alive. With an expressive German shepherd his only companion, Neville is a hunter-gatherer in sunlight, hiding from the mutants at night in his Washington Square town house and methodically conducting experiments in his ceaseless quest to conquer the disease.
The film’s first half almost suggests that I Am Legend could be one of the finest movies of 2007. Director Francis Lawrence’s extraordinary, computer-generated images of a decaying New York City reveal weeds growing through the cracks of familiar streets that are also overrun by deer and prowled by lions. It’s impossible not to be fascinated by such a realistically altered cityscape, reverting to a natural environment, through which Smith moves with a weirdly enviable freedom, offset by his wariness over whatever is lurking in the dark of bank vaults and parking garages. Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman wisely build suspense by withholding images of the monsters until a peak scene of horror well into the story. It must be said, however, that the computer-enhanced creatures don’t look half as interesting as they might have had the filmmakers adhered more to Matheson’s vampire-nightmare vision. I Am Legend is ultimately noteworthy for Smith’s remarkable performance as a man so lonely he talks to mannequins in the shops he frequents. The film’s latter half goes too far in portraying Smith’s Neville as a pitiable man with a messianic mission, but this lapse into bathos does nothing to take away from the visual and dramatic accomplishments of its first hour. --Tom Keogh
I Am Legend 2008-09-17
I Am Legend: I was expecting alot more it was not really exciting. It needed more new stuff and some really neat original ideas to keep my interest.
Satisfying film 2008-09-14
I enjoyed the film when I first saw it on screen because I like the genre and I am impressed by Will Smith's growth as an actor. I even accepted the dystopian ending and the escape of the woman and child while Neville blew himself and the creatures up at the end. Today I saw the alternate ending which is suppposed to be the original ending where there is a reconciliation (the woman with the butterfly tattoo is the male vampire's companion) as she regains humanity as a result of Neville's work.
This is a happy ending that reminds me of Blade Runner's original ending where Deckard and the perfect replicant, Rachel, escape.(Did I dream that part?) Did anybody notice the peace crane left by Gaff? Not everything has to end on a final note of death.
In "The Twelve Monkeys" and "28 Days Later" we also have the unleashing of a deadly virus caused by medical science. As in the 1950's with our fears of atomic bombs being unleashed everywhere and altering genetic structure, "Them" with James Arness, and "Godzilla," we seem to have become enamoured (if that word can be used) by our fascination with vampires and biological warfare doing us in. But nothing scares me as much as Vincent Price in "The Last Man on Earth" did. Now I would like to see a film version of "Earth Abides."
Very Good Entertainment and Good Deal 
2008-09-11
Will Smith shines as he always does. His range of abilities in his various films, from those like this to "Pursuit of Happyness" is wonderful. Once again he is engaging in this movie.
Though there are a couple of scenes (the "Shrek" scene") which may have gone on too long and some other quibbles (Yes the movie started out very strong, the first moment with the television interview grabs you) it did tail off somewhat by the second half. And while some of the CG was brilliant, some was weak. But the scenes of Manhattan alone makes the other CGs a bit more forgivable (though it does beg the question why couldn't they step the other parts up a bit?)
There were also a couple of points that were just a little stretch/gaps in the plot. Without being a spolier here, and just in general - all the bridges and other ways in and out of Manhattan were destroyed and exactly how good is the zombies sense of tracking and how easily can they be thrown off? If you watch the movie you may see these points.
But by the same token if you are willing to accept the general premise, the little points should not take away from the movie overall.
I am Legend 2008-09-10
It's a great movie by Will Smith. It's kinda acting test for Will, though the ending is not too great.
