Soy leyenda

In 2o12, New York post-holocaust caused by a virus, Robert Neville (Will Smith) is only survivor along with his dog . He's accompanied by wife's (Sally Richardson) records and his son, developing by means of various flashbacks. Neville is immune to the effects of a biologically engineered plague and while fighting an army of blood-suckers bent on destroying what's left of the world and constantly harassing him . The pale-skinned mutants are led by a sneering and creepy leader , they want to eradicate what is left of mankind , but they feel Men are responsible for the disaster and this , of course , includes Neville. But Neville isn't only survivor , there early appear a few survivors, a woman (Alice Braga) and his son. The last man on earth is not alone. Welcome to earth. Population 1. Before Logan... There was... I Am Legend.

Strong intrigue and suspense with considerable violence based on novel by Richard Matheson , which is also the basis for the film ¨The last Man on Earth¨ directed by Sidney Salkow and starred by Vincent Price . Furthermore, the classic version(1971) with Charlton Heston and directed by Boris Sagal .

This is a blockbuster production manages to convey an eerie atmosphere to dismay . The film packs chills , noisy action , tension , thrills , terror and results to be quite entertaining . Exceptional performance by Will Smith , usual player of spectacular Sci-fi movies (Men in black , Independence day , I robot). Here appears uncredited in special cameo as a Doctor , Emma Thomson . Interesting screenplay by Akiva Goldsman based on script written for ¨Omega man¨. Atmospheric , adequate musical score fitting to action and suspense by James Newton Howard . The motion picture was professionally directed by Francis Lawrence in his second film , as he's usually video-clips director (for Britney Spears , Jennifer Lopez , among others) and occasionally filmmaker (Constantine) . Rating : Above average and well worth watching.

If I could sum this movie up in one sentence, it would be this: Go Will. Will Smith is the driving force of I Am Legend. His performance as Dr. Robert Neville is impeccable. Living in a deserted NY city, his acting is reminiscent of Tom Hanks in Cast Away, but instead of a volleyball, he has mannequins and a faithful German Shepard named Sam. His basement, a retro-fitted, high-tech lab to find a cure for the disease that has turned the population of the entire planet into mutant, zombie-like, hive mind, blood-thirsty monsters, and, for some reason, Robert is immune. His days, spent hunting. His nights, sleeping with a high-powered rifle and hoping that the mutants don't find him. Keeping the movie flowing are well placed flashbacks that show what happened to Robert's family and why he is there. The movie falters a bit at the end, maybe at the last 5 minutes, but it doesn't ruin the plot or acting put forth. Containing wonderful cinematography and CG, I Am Legend is a spectacular film that I will be seeing again! PS - Shout out to my NY National Guardsmen in this film! Great job!

The 1954 sci-fi/vampire novel "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson has now been filmed three times: as "The Last Man On Earth" in 1964 originally scripted by Matheson himself (which I have never seen), as "The Omega Man" in 1971 without the vampire elements (which I have viewed three times), and now with the original title and expensive sets and special effects. This time the seemingly sole survivor of the worldwide pandemic Robert Neville is played by Will Smith who is an actor with real charisma and charm and considerable box office appeal who has beefed himself up for the role.

The main strength of this version is the location shots in a deserted New York City (a move from the Los Angeles of the book and earlier films) and, although the filming of these scenes apparently caused traffic chaos and much anger for local residents, they chillingly set the tone for this dystopian thriller. To see the silent streets around Times Square or South Street Seaport or the lone scientist fishing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art or playing golf on the "USS Intrepid" is to view this heaving metropolis as we have never experienced it before. The German shepherd dog who is Neville's sole companion deserves an honourable mention for showing greater thespian skills than most of the extras and stunt men.

The principal weakness of the movie, however, is the realisation of the surviving victims of the virus. The CGI characters are almost as silly as they are scary but, above all, they are presented as more animalistic than human. "The Omega Man" handled these characters much better presenting them as sad as well as scary. The other serious fault is the lack of clarity in the narrative - at times, it is simply unclear what is happening and why and a longer director's cut would be welcome. Finally the references to Ground Zero and God may play well with American audiences but will not be so resonant to audiences elsewhere in the world.

The way that they created the look of Manhattan in this movie was just wonderful and Will Smith pulls off one of his best acting turns as Robert Neville. The way he has his days planned out and still attempting the research to find a cure for the virus is a key part to the development of both character and plot.

Samantha (Sam) plays a strong part in the movie and is a great companion, friend and protector figure for Smith. The way he holds conversations with Sam is very touching indeed and makes you really feel that Sam is integral part of his survival and sanity.

Just a great movie, and I will not offer any of the things that will give the ending away. I can watch this movie many more times as it is that interesting and each time, it seems to reveal something that I missed in the original viewing.

Two thirds of this film is wonderful entertainment, both in scope and story telling, and in Will Smith we have a cracking central performance that carries the film with consummate ease, sadly the final third undoes all the great promise and tension building that had gone before it.

After a genetic engineered cancer curing virus wipes out practically all of mankind, Robert Neville {Will Smith} appears to be the sole surviving human on earth, the only company he has is the family dog and an army of virus infected mutants that can only come out in the dark. That Neville is a former scientist who is immune to the deadly strain is a bonus as it means he can work on a potential cure.

Yes it's daft, and yes it's contrived, but there sure is a lot of good stuff to enjoy before the films major failing surfaces. Firstly is Will Smith's performance, there is no doubting he is a major star these days, but here he also cements his standing as a bona fide A lister of note. He layers the performance so well, his character not only has to deal with the heavy threat of being killed by the mutants at night, he also has to fight his own isolation, mans inherent need for companionship is a tortured thing when you appear to be the sole beneficiary of gods green earth.

Secondly the setting of a barren desolate New York is eerily staggering, overgrown with foliage and stalked by lions searching for food, it really is a big screen must to embrace the scope of it. Thirdly the mutants themselves are scary enough, but they honestly would have been better served being played by human actors rather than the CGI used that brings very mixed results, and fourthly the tension building is pitch perfect, the makers manage to have you on the edge of your seat gasping for a solution to this cracking story unfolding, but then...

They throw it all away by a rushed ending that had me positively seething, a quick turn of events should be a prelude to a fully fleshed out finale but instead we get a quick wham bam, oh The End. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth on leaving the cinema and frankly the audience deserves better, and in fact so does Will Smith, did they run out of money? Well that I don't know, but what I do know is that we so nearly had a genre classic to look fondly on for years to come, shame that. 6.5/10

Footnote: Having just watched the alternate version that is readily available on disc formats, I have to say that as weak and as frustrating as the theatrical ending is, the alternate ending is far worse, trite and totally misplaced, they chose the better ending of the two for sure.