Review: I Am Legend
With his super star power, Will Smith is able to break a December box office record (one even might say singlehandedly), opening at $77.2 million. It’s no surprise though, next to the fact it’s the only high-budgeted tentpole this month.
And the budget is partially worth it. It paves the way for majestically shot sequences in an abandoned Manhattan. Francis Lawrence’s abundance of ultra-wide shots are aaw- and wow-inducing, contrasting nicely to dramatic ultra-tight shots. There’s certainly an atmosphere not easily recreated without the budget.
On the downside though, there’s a long list of slightly less appealing factors. First the creatures are too obviously full-CGI, both movement and coloring/texture are dead give-aways. Then there’s the story, which provided nothing new at all. One might even say the low budgetted 28 Days Later provides the same or higher amount of pleasure (though the movie picks a few cliches from other movies too). Tied to the simple story is the character’s depth of Will Smith’s character. As good as an actor he is, he pulls off a nice one man show, but with this story, the experience isn’t long-lasting (I’ll leave the believabiltiy of the triple Nobel prize worthy scientist/extremely buffed up lieutenant-colonel combo in the middle).
All in all, a good suspensefull flick, but just misses that extra to be the really really must-see movie you’d expect from Will Smith.7½.