by The Film Blogger

Created on: September 07, 2009   Last Updated: September 08, 2009

Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend is the latest adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel (which has already been put onto film twice), starring Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville, who may well be the last man on Earth. Neville is charged with reversing the effects of a botched cancer cure that killed 90% of the world's population, leaving 1% immune, and turning the other 9% into dark seekers mutated beasts that wish to feed on any living humans they can find.

Following a welcome cameo from the wonderful Emma Thompson (as the doctor who started the whole mess), we press on to three years later, where the entire world is seemingly desolate, ravaged by the effects of the Krippin virus. Is such a post-apocalyptic setting conventional, with its overturned cars, and its litter-filled streets? Absolutely, but the buck stops there, as the film's introduction is anything but rudimentary I Am Legend is not a film filled with dialogue, and the opening fifteen minutes is curiously, adventurously devoid of speech almost entirely. Given how Smith's character is alone in New York City, with nothing but his dog for company, it is commendable that screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman chose not to have Smith regurgitate an inner monologue, which would only serve to insult seasoned cinemagoers. Instead, Neville simply has occasional, ever-believable banter with his dog, which serves not to progress the plot, but to telegraph Neville as the sympathetic character that he is.

The seeming emptiness of the opening scenes reflects the drudgery and loneliness of Neville's own existence each night he is forced to lock himself away in his home, sleeping in the bathtub with his rifle at his side. All Neville has left is his dog, and at one point early on, he enters into a dark, potentially dangerous building in order to search for her after she runs away. In similar fare (such as Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake), risking one's life to such lengths to rescue a pet seems ridiculous and non-sensical, yet in this paradigm, whereby Neville's mental state cannot be ascertained, and he has no other living contacts, diving into the abyss for a hound doesn't seem so insane.

In a brief series of flashbacks, we learn of Neville's loneliness and personal torture to an even greater extent. Neville has endured unspeakable family atrocities, and such interludes aid in envisioning him as a truly, uncomprisingly sympathetic character. Neville is a tortured soul of the greatest variety, and

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