Maybe it was because I am a big fan of Will Smith action movies. Maybe it was because I waited to see this movie after it came out on video, ultimately giving away it's secrets long before I actually watched it. Maybe it was because I could feel a migraine coming on. Regardless of the maybe, I was deeply disappointed by I Am Legend.

Because I am so bummed and also because I am sure all the rest of y'all saw it in the theater with the rest of the world, I am going to discuss why this movie was a let down, which of course, requires giving away details to the plot and the ending. So... there's your warning. If you still want to be surprised, stop reading.

The Movie

I Am Legend starts out much like other Will Smith movies in this genre. Lots of muscle and testosterone with Will as a dominant male figure. We quickly learn that what was thought to be a cure for cancer has become a virus that spread so quickly it killed much of the Earth's population. Of those who survived, two groups formed. Those who were immune to the virus and those who mutated into zombie-like creatures with an aversion to UV rays - hence, they only come out at night and live in dark places.

Robert Neville (Will Smith), a scientist has stayed behind because he is immune to the virus and he believes he can find a cure. He appears to be that last man living in New York City with his German Shepherd, Sam, and spends much of his days looking for food, rummaging and entertaining himself by creating a civilization of mannequins around his city, golfing and renting videos. He also broadcasts who he is and where he will be to any other possible survivors and then spends each midday waiting to see if his message was heard. And each night he locks his home down with barricaded windows and doors and hopes that the zombies don't realize where he is.

Robert also devotes time to finding a cure for the virus and the zombie state. Because he needs zombies to test his trials on, this means he has run-ins with them regularly. After a particularly suspenseful encounter, Robert's dog Sam is bitten and as he's changing to the zombie state, Robert is forced to kill him. In his anguish and probably not being willing to face total isolation, he decides to basically commit suicide with the goal of killing as many zombies as he can on the way out. However, during his mission he is rescued by other people who have survived the virus.

Whether he believes he is hallucinating, has lost his connection to humanity or simply has lost the will to live, Robert never really attaches to the survivors who save him. Anna (Alice Braga) and Ethan (Charlie Tahan) try to convince Robert to leave the city and come with them to find other survivors. But he can't and in the final scenes where the zombies attack his house, he the two away in a safe (along with a vial of blood from a zombie he believes he's cured) and sacrifices himself by way of grenade. The two then bringing the blood and the legend of Robert Neville to a compound of survivors in Vermont.

The Alternate Ending

First and foremost, this movie really didn't shadow the ending of the book by the same title by author Richard Matheson. Not that I expect movies to do that all the time anyway, but I was disappointed and I haven't even read the whole book - I just know enough to care. That aside, I was even further disappointed by the abrupt ending. Again, maybe I'm used to Will Smith movies where the action never stops and action scenes, more precisely are long, drawn out and complete. I felt that the last grenade scene didn't accomplish any of that. It left me feeling like he had really accomplished little. The blood may or may not have really been a cure, the zombies are even angrier because he killed the leader with the grenade and the two races are still completely separated. There is no real answer and obscurity at the end of movies is not my favorite.

I was extremely happy to see that there was an alternate ending on the DVD. In this ending, Robert realizes that the zombies are angry because in his attempt to find a cure, he's killing them off and they realize it. His most current subject, we learn, is the female companion to the male leader. Robert realizes and returns her and while there is still a sense that the zombies might come back and kill them another time, for the moment there is an understanding, if not a sort of mutual appreciation and the zombies leave. Robert, Anna and Ethan then leave the city to find other survivors.

In this ending, not only does Robert realize that the zombies are not completely regressed from their human state, but he also develops a sort of connection to them. Will it lead to the zombies being cured? I'm not sure they want to be, but that detail seems unimportant as there will sure be a resolution one way or another.

The Cast

Will Smith as Robert Neville - Independence Day, I-Robot
Alice Braga as Anna - Journey to the End of Night, The Milky Way
Charlie Tahan as Ethan - Once Upon a Film, High Falls
Salli Richardson as Zoe Neville - Antwone Fisher, Eureka
Willow Smith as Marley Neville - Her first move with dad
Sam was played by two dogs - Abbey and Kona

Francis Lawrence, the Director, directed Constantine but is better known for directing music videos and collections.

My Other Thoughts

This movie is meant to be scary much in the way that I-Robot was. A creepiness factor coupled with isolation and slight gore. The zombies really weren't that creepy to me. I found them kind of comical in the fact that they seemed much more evolved than Robert gave them credit for, and in the end (of the alternate ending) we learn that that is exactly the problem. He's treating them like animals and they really aren't completely non-human.

What was much more creepy to me was the isolation. The feeling of being the last person on Earth, or heck for that matter, even the last person in New York City... that's creepy. I think we all fear aloneness, so complete aloneness is unfathomable and extremely scary. Will does a tremendous job of portraying just how alone he feels during the day and how afraid he is at night.

I love the fact that Will Smith includes his kids in his movies. What better way to make sure that your kids are learning the right way (from a great teacher) and I'm sure it helps keep the family together in today's Hollywood full of crazy, out of control youth.

Overall and with the ending shown, I have to give this movie three stars, because the ending really fails to wrap the movie up in anyway which left me stumped and disappointed. But had the movie been shown including the alternate ending, my initial opinion would have surely been to rate I Am Legend 5 stars. How can 5 minutes change 2 stars? Endings are just that important to me. I'm certainly not telling you to avoid seeing the movie. I think you'll enjoy it. Just make sure to watch the alternate ending.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older