Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A mainstream Hollywood actor who seems committed to igniting science fiction features, Will Smith chalked up another sizeable hit in the shape of I Am Legend, the latest cinematic adaptation of Richard Matheson's book of the same name.

This time, Smith plays Robert Neville, the last man on an Earth emptied by a deadly virus that he continues to try and find a working vaccine for. With just his dog for company, and the fear of the vampires that haunt the night never far away, I Am Legend quickly establishes itself as a taut, highly watchable blockbuster, with plenty of reasons to gnaw at your nail.

Where I Am Legend really scores is in the excellent first half. The scenes of a deserted New York are quite staggering, and it's also to Smith's immense credit that he holds the attention even though for the most part he's the only person on the screen. It's a quite wonderful opening hour that the film enjoys, and one that easily stands repeat viewings alone.

The back half of I Am Legend is, almost inevitably, not quite the match of what's gone before, as the threats of the night don't, when you finally see them, live up to expectations. Nonetheless, for Smith's performance, and the sheer quality of the build up, I Am Legend can stand side-by-side with the last take on the story, the Charlton Heston-starrer The Last Man On Earth. Take either home, and you're in for a rollicking good night in front of the telly. --Jon Foster

DVD Description
Robert Neville (Will Smith, Men in Black) is a brilliant scientist. But when a man-made virus can't be contained, Neville finds himself the last human survivor in New York City and potentially the world. For three years he faithfully sends out daily radio messages, desperate to find other survivors. But he is not alone... Mutant victims of the plague (The Infected) lurk in the shadows, waiting to catch Neville out. As perhaps Earth's last hope for mankind, Neville is driven only by the desire to somehow reverse the effects of the virus before it's too late...

Stills from I Am Legend

Synopsis
Richard Matheson's classic chiller gets its third adaptation (after THE OMEGA MAN and THE LAST MAN ON EARTH) with this film from director Francis Lawrence (CONSTANTINE). Will Smith plays Robert Neville, the last survivor in a post-apocalyptic New York, but there's still danger left on the city streets.

Customer Reviews

Another potentially fantastic film ruined with poor CGI
This film starts off great with LOTS of suspense and tension and a great performance by Will Smith - you really feel like this movie is going to be a classic and are totally absorbed into it.

Then about a third of the way through everything goes wrong - the CGI "monsters" or "infected humans" are so obviously not real I was reminded of the "Who framed Roger Rabbit" film with Bob Hoskins - this unreality about it completely throws you out of the movie - all the earlier work of building up suspense and tension is ruined.

Compared to how terrifying the "infected humans" in 28 Days Later are it is simply an unforgivable joke and any director or executive producer with any integrity would have fired the CGI people and brought in some real professionals.

On top of this the plot becomes silly and I couldn't take it seriously anymore. A real shame, this could have been a classic.

Starts well then is bitten by a vampire dog...
The first part of the film is well done. The lonely existence of being possibly the last person on Earth is genuinely well done. Will Smith does this well and the hunting episodes in NYC reinforce the fact that nobody else is there. The flashbacks work well to explain why and how we are where we are, and I was enjoying the film.

Like most films with a degree of horror the scariest and unsettling bits are the unseen or nearly unseen. Sadly the makers of this movie chose to give us a full (rather bad CGI) view of what is meant to scare us.

I read the book some time ago and rather enjoyed the bleak but well explained ending - sadly the script chose to ignore this, and go for patriotic religious stuff instead.

Sadly to me I think this was an opportunity missed. Perhaps when the film gets remade again in 2038 we can expect something a bit better and thoughtful. Sadly I for one won't be about to watch it though....

A watchable film
I enjoyed watching this film until they spoilt it by bringing god into it and going religious. It is an OK film probably could have been longer.