5punk

Just returned from watching I Am Legend, and it's left me with pretty mixed feelings.

It's a post-apocalyptic type of film, featuring Will Smith as the last guy left alive after a plague has killed most of humanity, and left most of the survivors as zombies. That's right, it's a zombie film. Not entirely sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what I saw. Difficult to explain properly without spoylars, so into spoylar-ville I go...

To continue the review, I wrote:It basically starts off as Big Will and his dog, roaming the streets to survive, but going back to his house to wait out the evenings, because the zombies are harmed by sunlight. You find out that he is immune to the virus, both airbourne and contact, and dogs to only the airbourne. Therefore, you know the dog will snuff it. Once she does, I was hoping for the film to turn into a biut more of an action-movie, but it doesn't. Will goes a little mad, but is then rescued by a woman, and the film pretty quickly wraps itself up from there. Will is trying to find a cure for the virus, and does so right at the end, but it's a total anti-climax. In fact...

I can probably come out of that now. The film builds up nicely for the first 90 minutes or so, with zombies coming and going, and feels like it's building up towards a big ending. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite arrive. To me, the film just kind of wrapped itself up quickly, but in a manner that was somewhat unsatisfactory. Some of the scenes earlier on were great, and the tension and emotion was done really well, but it deserved a better ending.

Overall, I'd say it's maybe worth sweeping, but I'll not see it again at the cinema, and am very unlikely to bother with the DVD either. Have an arbitrary 6.5/10:


As an aside, when going to the cinema I strongly dislike product adverts, especially the ones that are already thrust upon me on the TV too. However, I do like seeing trailers for upcoming releases, and the trailer for Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street confirmed my hopes that this film looks awesome.

However, Charlie Wilson's War looks rubbish. It appears to be a bit of a comedy about the CIA funding "rebels" in Afghanistan to fight against those nasty ruskies towards the end of the Cold War. I know it's a dark comedy really, and based on a true story, but by all accounts it somehow skates over the fact that the fucking rebels are the Taliban, and that the whole situation with the Taliban now was only made possible by the CIA's support in the first place. Sometimes I really like the way 'Merkin films address certain situations, and sometimes I really really fucking hate it too.

I made my feelings clear for this film on the disco a few days ago when there was a furry of peeps watching it on that site MrGreen posted. But just for opinions sake, I'll re-iterate it here.

In regard to the book, it is plot lite, but what's new.

All by itself and unrelated to the book, the film blew it's tension load too early. But - I thought it was a well made, well directed and well acted affair, given that we have man and dog for a lot of the film, it is never slow and tedious for me.

It ends up beat, but that's to be expected, it glosses over what happened to the creator of the virus, we never see the very early stages of devolution (which would have been nice) and it's skimmed all filler, linking and plot meandering, personally, I feel a little too far, it feels chopped at, but a good editor may well cut it further, but keeps the flm flowing better, hard to say.

In the end, after watching the film, I thought 'hmm, that was pretty good' and only started to pick it apart later when I compared it to the book.

Like Lat said, sweep it, enjoy it, forget it.

6/10







Also, buy book, enjoy moar.

HereComesPete wrote: sweep it, enjoy it, forget it.

6/10

I've had a familiar feeling about I Am Legend the more I hear about it, and I worked out why while I was at home (and Pete stole my thunder a little); it's based on a 1954 novel by Richard Matheson, of the same name. There was also a film released of it in 1964 called <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0058700/" target="_blank">The Last Man On Earth</a>, starring Vincent Price, which is apparently very influential on the zombie genre. I've read about it but never seen it, but it sounds like it has a sound plot with a very nice twist at the end. I'm getting the feeling that I Am Legend misses this.

EDIT: Odd, the Last Man On Earth link seems to eat all my processor power. Also, two other films have been released with this theme; <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0067525/" target="_blank">The Omega Man</a>(1971) with Charlton Heston, and <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt1075746/" target="_blank">I Am Omega</a> (2007), which appears to be a straight-to-video book adaptation to ride on the back of the big-budget Will Smith version.

I thought it involved much poorness! Just a badly built film reallly. Jumpy bit, think abouty bit, jumpy bit, think abouty bit... end!

sorry for the in depth review but i really did feel i wasted every penny i paid to see it.

Personally i give it 4/10 and theres a good version on the net so i would personally go for that!

I 'd this.

Just watched it.

My opinion is: meh.

I don't want my 1h40 back, but I wouldn't watch it again.

Not worth a visit to the cinema - but perhaps worth watching if you find it on your floor.

Fear wrote:I 'd this.

Just watched it.

My opinion is: meh.

I don't want my 1h40 back, but I wouldn't watch it again.

Not worth a visit to the cinema - but perhaps worth watching if you find it on your floor.

To paraphrase a character from Scrubs: I didnt love it, I didnt hate it. I nothinged it.

Joose wrote:


To paraphrase a character from Scrubs: I didnt love it, I didnt hate it. I nothinged it.

The most scathing criticism a creative person can recieve.

't was okay... ish
what bothered me the most was the shit CGI mutants. seeing as they're basically bald, sick-looking humans, they could have easily used actors for them. Furthermore it reminds me a bit of a big budget 28 days later, but as expected they fucked it up. Ironically the dvd also had two endings, not unlike 28 days later. wich ending did the cinema version have?

EDIT: i forgot to add another thing that i found a bit strange. How in the hell did he still get power? the entire country is nigh wiped out and he's happily watching Shrek on his lcd tv.

They panned across a room with loads of gennies in. No doubt he's running special I don't make fumes versions.

HereComesPete wrote:They panned across a room with loads of gennies in. No doubt he's running special I don't make fumes versions.

must've missed that bit.

More like I AM LEGERND LOL!!!1

<img src="http://neilbeynon.files.wordpress.com/2 ... oris05.jpg">

CBA to fix text.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitteny_berk/2494395815/" title="legernd by Kitteny Berk, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/249 ... be8d_o.jpg" width="500" height="740" alt="legernd"></a>

if Boris Johnson is the last man on earth the human race is truly, truly fucked.

Erm, if he's the last man on earth the fuckings a distant thing. At that point we're already through the awkward hugging bit, the wiping your cock on the duvet, the quick tab and currently at the sneaky dash out the toilet window holding your clothes and looking for a cab.