I Am Legend

Everything in this film with Will Smith is great and I can't think of any other actor who could have carried this movie the way he does. I loved all his scenes alone (or with his dog) in his home or the city with him just going about his daily activities. There were moments where I was thinking this was the best movie of the year, but it only added up to individual scenes that are some of the best. It's when other characters show up that the problems begin (excluding the flashbacks which are handled well and not overdone). The basic struggle for survival is what interested me and not the action scenes.

The cgi for the abandoned Manhattan is great but the rest of the graphics are pretty sub par. The "Darkseekers" didn't bother me as much as I thought they would because honestly, they aren't in the movie a whole lot. When they are on screen they aren't convincing and actually become a little distracting. There are other little cgi flashes (animals and such) that are also handled badly and it takes you out of how realistic the surrounding area is.

I will give this movie credit for somewhat keeping the original tone of the books ending. It is unfair to sit here and compare and contrast the two but I was surprised that they went the direction they did, it was only what happened after this that doesn't really work. The conclusion is way too abrupt and is logically sort of impossible. They tried to keep the wow moment from the books finale but fell short.

I did really love one scene towards the end. Not to give anything away but it features Will Smith watching Shrek and is played perfectly.

NOTE: I saw this at the Hulen Movie Tavern, using my free ticket from the whole American Gangster fiasco. I knew there was something that I liked about the theater but I couldn't put my finger on, it just seemed that things moved more briskly. I finally figured it out last night, no commercials before the movies, they go from a dark screen directly into the previews. It put me home a full 20 minutes earlier than I expected You weren't completely exhausted by advertisements by the time the movie started.