I am Legend
Richard Matheson’s seminal science fiction horror novel I am Legend has previously been filmed twice, most notably with Charlton Heston in 1971’s The Omega Man. It isn’t the most obviously commercial source material, and yet this latest incarnation has been a surprise smash hit on both sides of the pond. There are three main reasons for this; superb marketing, Will Smith, and a third reason I will go into later in this review.
Smith plays scientist Robert Neville, apparently the only survivor of a lethal, man-made virus originally designed to cure cancer that killed most people and turned the survivors into vampire/zombie creatures. He has immunity to the virus, but spends his time in a deserted, overgrown New York City desperately trying to find a cure that will return the vampire/zombie creatures to their original human form, because he believes he is the last man on Earth. It is immediately apparent that Neville is starting to lose his mind when he tries to feed his dog vegetables as well as meat, talks to mannequins he has placed at key points around the city and watches television news and weather from years previously.
Will Smith does very well with a kind of performance that is not easy to pull off – better, I would argue, than Tom Hanks who tried to a similar trick in Castaway. Director Francis Lawrence helms with a modicum of style, and the screenplay maintains audience interest for the most part.
Where the film comes apart somewhat is in the sequences involving the vampire/zombies. Anyone who has seen 28 Days Later (or indeed any of the George A Romero zombie movies) knows people in make-up is the best way to go when creating such creatures. However, the filmmakers inexplicably decided to go for all CGI, and frankly the resultant monsters are completely unconvincing. This very poor artistic decision greatly hurts the film, especially as Francis Lawrence is otherwise adept and building shocks and suspense. In stark contrast to this, the best special effects are the ones the audience doesn’t notice, particularly the superb deserted overgrown New York cityscapes.
The third reason for I am Legend’s success is that from a Christian perspective, it is spiritually significant parable, possibly even a prophetic allegory. A global, book of Revelations type plague is not entirely outside the realms of possibility (many experts still believe a bird flu pandemic is an inevitability). Viewers are perhaps more inclined to suspend disbelief than they would have been thirty years ago, even though it is still obviously a Hollywood production.
SPOILER WARNING AHEAD: In spite of bleak subject matter, this film is ultimately optimistic about both the existence of God and his ability to ensure mankind is not destroyed. Effectively used flashbacks to the panic as the virus took hold show how Neville was once a man of Christian faith. But his faith was destroyed after the disaster. In the course of the film, he finds his views on the non-existence of God challenged, and his character has a similar arc to that of Mel Gibson’s former priest in Signs, with a similarly enigmatic twist that hints at a divine plan amid the despair. Furthermore, Neville’s ultimate sacrifice has Christ-like overtones.
As such, I am Legend, for all its flaws, is a cut-above average sci-fi flick with very positive, redemptive themes, although it will probably prove scary to those not accustomed to horror movies.
Simon Dillon, January 2008.
