I Am Legend

PASSING THOUGHTS
‘Sméagol on speed.’

From the first moment I saw the Dark Seekers of “I am Legend”, that thought kept echoing through my mind. Sure Sméagol/Gollum (“Lord of the Rings”) was shorter and had the capacity for speech, but that’s about as far as the differences went. My attention to this parallel was easily diverted, however, by some great visuals and an intense performance by Will Smith. I’m not sure what the theatrical experience was like, but watching this movie alone in my room created an artificial intimacy with Robert and Sam that helped draw me into the story.

Unfortunately, while the filmmaking produced great suspense and solid action, it didn’t lend itself very well to the telling of that story. I kept getting the feeling that there was more to it than what was being shown to me, and after hearing what the folks involved had to say about it, I am convinced that the movie missed out on a deeper angle.

As a film based on a novel, the filmmakers had two decisions to make. The first decision was whether it would hold true to the book or merely use the literature as a foundation. The second choice was whether it would be a plot-driven movie accented by action, or an action movie supported by a plot. In both cases the latter option was chosen, the result of which was a film of “Mind-Blowing Excitement” (Pete Hammond, MAXIM) that blasted it’s way through subtler moments and themes. There is only one minor twist in the otherwise straight-forward plot, and that twist occurs with the moment of inevitability.

During the course of a movie, there are many directions the story can go. The audience might have a notion of what the outcome will be, but it doesn’t know exactly how that outcome will be reached or what casualties might be involved. Ideally a film will keep that mystery alive right until the moment of resolution, but sometimes a revelation is made earlier on that induces the tension of a climax before the climax actually arrives. In that revelation, the audience realizes that there can only be one of two outcomes: intervention or destruction. This is called the moment of inevitability.

For “I Am Legend”, the initial moment of inevitability comes when Robert’s house is besieged by Dark Seekers. After the defenses fail, it becomes obvious that either Robert will die, or something must intervene on his behalf. Since Robert is not the last man alive, the theme of the movie isn’t supposed to be a grim twilight-zone tale of what it would be like to witness the extinction of humanity as we know it; Robert’s survival is key. But with his back literally against the wall, survival doesn’t seem possible. At the same time, there have been no allusions made to an inherent weakness in the enemy, an alternate way of escape, or the existence of any sort of cavalry that could intervene and save the day. The only unknown factor is the recurring imagery of a butterfly, but that seems irrelevant given the circumstances. There simply is no satisfactory resolution to the situation.

That is unless there’s an abrupt shift in the plot that creates another moment of inevitability.

Such a shift occurs when Robert realizes that he has found a cure. In that instant, he becomes irrelevant; his survival is no longer the pivotal factor. The mantle of hero is passed from a man to a vial of blood, and this alteration allows the man himself to provide the intervention. It’s a last-minute twist that creates the opportunity for both sacrifice and escape, but the result is an ending that is more forced than satisfying.

While “I Am Legend” is unique in many ways, it is still ultimately about humanity’s struggle for survival. Will Smith has now prevailed against robots, aliens and plagues—all of which threatened to bring the human race to extinction. This film was a great romp that had high production value, but with a plot that offered no new perspectives, it could just as easily have been called, “I Am Redundant”.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you enjoy the typical action-thriller flick, albeit with some lulls. If you like Will Smith’s work in general, this is definitely one of his better performances. Guns, explosion, high-octane bad guys and some great imagery.

Steer Clear:
If you want villains who have dialogue and a clear purpose.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
Enemies and general premise bear similarities to “28 Days Later” with a touch of “Resident Evil”, exploration of solitude reminiscent of “Castaway”, and just a brief moment of “Old Yeller”.

Buy or Rent:
RENT. It’s worth picking up just for the depiction of a deserted Manhattan and the suspenseful moments of solitude, but the content is a little heavy for repeated viewing.

FEATURES

-Scene Selection

-Subtitles/Spoken Languages

-Animated Comics:
4 total. These are short, quasi-animated stories that explore various tragedies brought on by the virus. The first one focuses on a girl in Hong Kong, the second on a convict in Colorado, the third on a compound in Central America, and the last one on a family in New Delhi. Though there is little animation involved, these stories are far more graphic than the movie. Seems somewhat along the lines of what “Animatrix” did with “The Matrix”, only on a smaller scale.

That’s it for the features you can actually watch on your TV. To watch the next two features you have to use your DVD ROM drive and internet access—the video requires buffering and streams live, so you may experience some technical difficulties.

-Cautionary Tale: The Science of “I Am Legend”:
Approx 20 minutes. This is an examination of the nature and history of viruses. It does not discuss viruses in relation to the film, but rather as real-life threats that exist now. It’s very much akin to something you’d see on the Discovery Channel; insightful and disturbing.
DUH! FACTOR: 1 out of 10

-Making of “I Am Legend”:
Approx 52 minutes. This section is broken down into over twenty sub-sections averaging about 2.5 minutes each. There is no option to watch them all together, so you’ll have to click on each topic one at a time. The subjects are everything from closing down 5th Avenue in New York City, to the training of the dogs playing Sam, to how Will got buff for his role. Some sections are more interesting than others, but there is definitely something for everyone.
DUH! FACTOR: 3 out of 10

Woulda Been Nice: To have the extra features on the DVD. Frankly it was a pain in the butt to go on-line, update media player, update protection software, and then have to go section by section through the extras, all the while being completely at the mercy of my internet connection. They could have easily put everything (including the alternate ending you can only get by buying the two-disc set) on one DVD and made the whole thing a lot more worthwhile.