DVD Review (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition) by Jeff Anglea
Posted: May 2008

Critic Score: B

The last man on earth is not alone

"I Am Legend is well-constructed to involve us with Dr. Neville and his campaign to survive." - Roger Ebert

"The end result is an eerie, creepy, doomsday-laden film with plenty of thrills - and for anyone so inclined, a smattering of metaphors that pass comment on the human condition." - Andrew L. Urban

Well, I missed the chance to see this film on the big screen so once it came out on DVD I purchased a copy straight away. I've seen the previous 2 film adaptations of Richard Matheson's 1954 sci-fi novel "I Am Legend." Well, 1 ½ really…

The first film is "The Last Man on Earth" (1964) starring Vincent Price, which to this day I still haven't finished. I first caught it on TV late one night as a child but the reception cut out and I wasn't able to finish it. I caught it again on cable back in the mid 80's so I taped it and went to bed. The next day I played the tape and sat down to watch it with a nice big bowl of Apple Jacks (ah, the good old days). Half way into it the tape stopped. I hadn't realized that I didn't rewind the tape so I couldn't finish the movie and video shops at the time didn't have it to buy or rent. I was screwed. I got as far as Dr Morgan (rather than Neville) finding another survivor in a field, by a cemetery I think, during the day. Based on what I saw I absolutely loved it.

The second adaptation is called "The Omega Man" (1971), starring Charlton Heston. I saw bits and pieces of this movie growing up. It wasn't until last year that I actually sat down to watch the movie from beginning to end. News of a 3rd adaptation prompted me to watch it at the time. The movie was okay. It had its moments but overall I wasn't crazy about it. It passed the time and was mildly entertaining.

Finally the third adaptation, "I Am Legend" (2007) starring Will Smith. I honestly like this movie. Will Smith was brilliant! I was very impressed with his portrayal of a committed doctor working hard to find a cure, a survivor and a man full of sorrow from the hardships he endured over the years.

The special effects used for the opening scene was amazing! We see Manhattan three years after the viral outbreak. The streets are filled with abandoned vehicles, entire buildings are covered in titanic sheets of plastic with Biohazard signs, weeds and plants cover the streets and landscape, and later we see more magnificent shots of the city and the destruction of the The Brooklyn Bridge.

As for the story, I was hoping to see some of the things that made the first film so memorable for me like Robert Neville's daily hunt to impale the night creatures with stakes who were hiding during the day, throwing the bodies into a giant pit and burning them, the cloves of garlic hanging around the doors and windows (weak spots) to keep the creatures from getting into his house, the creatures banging on the walls and moaning, tormenting Neville every night and trying to get in like the zombies in George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) and the fact that the night creatures could verbally communicate and maintain order within their social society. However, the newest version does include Neville's dog, Sam. An aspect of the novel that was not present in the first 2 film adaptations. Some things were slightly altered for the new film but overall I think the changes were acceptable.

Contrary to what some viewers have said, the creatures in the film, referred to as "nightstalkers," are NOT zombies. They're sensitive to sunlight and can be killed if exposed to it for a long period of time, which would imply that they are vampires. Zombies roam freely during the day and night so that reference is inaccurate. Also, it was made evident that they communicated with one another. This implies a level of intelligence so yeah, definitely not zombies.

The Nightstalkers were digitally created and unfortunately they were not done as well as the city shots or even some of the animals. However, this flaw didn't prevent me from enjoying the film. At first I was unsure as to why the decision was made to do so but after seeing the film I understand why. A more violent and unnatural characteristic in the infected people was required, more so than what was delivered in "Dawn of the Dead" (2004), "28 Days Later" and "28 Weeks Later." Something I'm sure would have been very difficult had they used real people. Its one thing to have actors made up like scary creatures, run and act madly insane but when you need creatures to spider climb walls with an "I'M GONNA EAT YOU!" look, throw themselves at solid objects kamikaze style and move with beast-like qualities it makes sense to go with CGI. Had they switched back and forth from CGI to real people I don't think the nightstalkers would have been believable.

I sat down and watched the movie a second time with a good friend, The X-Man, who recently read the novel and apparently all three films have elements of the original source but none of them are completely faithful to Matheson's work. The changes in the new version could be considered welcoming but to purists the film proves to be a real disappointment.

The Widescreen Single-Disc Edition doesn't have much it the special features department. Only a few trailers and 4 short story prequels from the comic "I Am Legend: Awakening" by Vertigo - "Death as a Gift," "Isolation," "Sacrificing the Few for the Many," and "Shelter." They're a bit eerie but worth checking out if you like that creepy feeling.

Overall, "I Am Legend" is a good film. If anyone says it's crap they're insensitive muppets that need to be God Smacked outta their negative ways! Or better yet send 'em out into the cornfields to wonder aimlessly, forever. This is the story about the last man on earth! It's obviously not a movie for meat heads lookin' for retarded Rambo action. I personally like the movie. In fact, I'm looking forward to the Two-Disc Special Edition which has 2 alternate endings :)

Oh, Warner Bros. plugged in a lil somthin at the beginning of the film for all you DC Comic fans out there. Should be good!

Cheers