Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82 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

Not bad at all
An interesting idea, quite well handled. Like other reviewers, I thought the first half was better than the second. There were a few inconsistencies in the plot, and some bits were a little silly, but overall it was both entertaining and enjoyable.

Truly Legend
Coming at this deceptively moving film expecting the usual cheeky charm and snappy one-liners from a Will Smith character, I will be apologising for ever more for anticipating anything less than the depth, humanity and underplayed grief that make his portrayal of Robert Neville, the last man in New York, if not the entire world, a real eye opener.

The look of the film is amazing, from the crumbling, grass lined streets of Manhattan, complete with abandoned jets that never made it past the moment of disaster (hinted at but never overblown in flashback), the script is tight and never over-sentimental and the suspense is an absolute killer...if you're not on the edge of your seat watching Neville chase his pet dog into a dark, abandoned warehouse that you just know is going to be crawling with evil, then you may have to question whether you are entirely human yourself!

Okay, so it's not without its flaws. The zombie/vampire/villains are the usual fast moving, blood lusting, head shaking, roaring CGI blobs with generic zombie/vampire/villain features (I couldn't help wondering, as I so often do in these situations, whether a few real humans with some ghoulish makeup may have been eerier) and after quite an intense build up I can see why some audiences might feel cheated by the unapologetically swift and convenient conclusion. Nevertheless, when the film ended I felt desolate: moved, astonished but desolate at the vision and image I was left with, and for a CGI monster movie to have that effect on a cynic like me is nothing short of amazing.

Sadly Disappointing
Perhaps it's unfair for me to review this - I have read the original book, and have always rated the 1971 version, "The Omega Man", one of the best films of its day. When I heard the story was getting another cinema outing, this time with the budget of a blockbuster, I was very excited.

I was dreadfully diappointed with the result. I always felt that "The Omega Man" was left a poorer film for having been cut in order to make it short enough to play as part of a "double feature" as was popular at the time. The footage was lost, so there's no chance of a restoration, and the story is doomed to remain a little disjointed with some key plot points never explained.

Imagine my surprise to find the same mistakes repeated with "I Am Legend". Once again the movie seems to have been cut to length at the expense of the story. A friend - who described it as "one of the worst movies I have ever seen" - said that she thought the film ended just as it got started, and I know exactly what she means.

Perhaps there will be a "director's cut" DVD to put things right. I hope so. In the meantime my advice is to buy "The Omega Man" instead.