I Am Legend Review

 

 

In the age of a pandemic changing the world as we know it, the film I Am Legend (2007), starring Will Smith, seems more relevant than ever. Upon my recent first-time viewing of this motion picture, I was intrigued to see how many parallels there were between the events that unfolded in the story and real-life events over the course of the last year. Based on the 1954 novel of the same name, I Am Legend starts in an alternate timeline where a doctor announces to the world that she has in fact cured cancer. This revelation comes with a startling chill though as the introductory scene is followed by a 3-year time jump in which we find the island of Manhattan to be a wasteland, an all but abandoned time capsule as if the world had just suddenly been shut down abruptly. This opening image is very reminiscent of the events in 2020 when following the start of COVID quarantine measures were put in place which literally emptied the streets, including the streets of Manhattan. However, there is still one soul that inhabits the scene, Dr. Robert Neville portrayed by Will Smith. Smith’s character Neville, zooms through the streets of Manhattan in his ride, with his only companion, his German Shepard Sam, as they hunt down exotic animals that populate the streets. He gets pulled away from the intense action though as the sunsets calling attention to the danger presented to him in his present world.

 

 

We follow Neville through his daily routine as he sets about collecting and storing food and supplies, and testing rats in an attempt to find a cure for the virus that all but wiped out mankind. Faced with failure he continues in his routine as he barricades himself in his home at night when the dangers of the reality of the virus become manifest. If you go into this movie without any prior knowledge then you will learn that the conflict and premise of the story are introduced gradually and steadily as the storyline progresses. I think this adds an intriguing world-building element to the plot that makes for fascinating and engaging viewing especially since it really does feel like every scene counts and matters and tells or rather shows us something new about this story world and the character of Neville. Will Smith is as charismatic as ever in this picture as he inhabits the character of Neville with such convincing effect that you really sympathize with his character. Seemingly being the only man alive on the planet Neville is faced with harsh loneliness and copes by the companionship of his German Shepard Sam, his best friend in the world. The relationship between Neville and Sam is not unlike that between Tom Hanks and his volleyball “Wilson” in Cast Away and both situations are given thought-provoking and emotionally charged structures to them that pay off in the end. In the progression of his routine Neville makes a regular habit of sending out a distress call letting anybody who might be alive outside Manhattan know that he is alive and has food and supplies and can provide shelter, and to let anyone know who might be alive, “you are not alone.”

 

 

Flashbacks are utilized which reveal the backstory behind Neville’s present circumstances as we learn he was a doctor in the army and had a wife and daughter. A chaotic quarantine of Manhattan was in full effect at that point with the cure for cancer creating a virus that mutated humans into zombies or monsters with an aversion to sunlight. His family tragically died in a helicopter crash on their way to safety from the horrors of the island which is an event that weighs heavily on him in the present as he sets out to stop the virus. We learn Neville somehow is immune to the virus but his survival chances are threatened greatly when one of his regular routine hunts goes awry taking him into monster territory. Facing a deadly encounter with the monsters that climaxes in the creatures exposing themself to sunlight suddenly things start happening that don’t add up and Neville’s worldview will be forced to change.

 

 

 Suspense and mystery builds as Neville must uncover the truth behind what is going on and fight to survive and along the way test his resolve and character with his preconceptions about what has become of his “world” now brought into a new light. This character is one that is deeply wounded by his experiences and Will Smith excellently carries the weight of a man who could easily be on the verge of a breakdown if it wasn’t for his singular purpose and mission in finding survivors and saving what is left of the human race. The ending of the film is the ultimate payoff of all the conflict steadily teased and built-up throughout the film which results in an intense showdown for Neville, one that is the ultimate test for him physically on the action-spectacle level and one that is the ultimate test of his growth as a character through his character arc. The conclusion to the film is famous for its controversial ending with the theatrical release holding a completely different ending than its alternate cut. On my recent first-time viewing of this classic Will Smith film I saw the alternate cut and upon comparing it to the theatrical release I read about online I have to say that the theatrical ending seems to be more indicative of a clean-cut Hollywood ending with the alternate cut adding in a little more substance and giving you something to think about at the end which makes the end feel like it comes full circle to the beginning, with the beginning of a new journey.

 

 

In conclusion, I Am Legend is a fantastic film that delivers on spectacle and mystery but more importantly on character and the theme of hope. The pandemic presented in this story is certainly more fantastical and earth-shattering than the COVID pandemic but it is interesting to note that similarities between the fictional alternate timeline in I Am Legend and the real-world pandemic recently unleashed upon the world. Hope for the future is the theme of this picture, and with the parallels between this fictional pandemic which sees the inclusion of genuinely scary and suspenseful confrontations with humans mutated into monsters with an incredibly high stakes plot, and the real-world shocking events of the last year, brings the realization that hope is certainly destined for the future, as well as faith in God which was also a thematic cornerstone in, I Am Legend through the lens of Will Smith’s character coming to the realization he truly isn’t alone and through faith in God there is hope for the future.