I Am Legend (2007) Review

I was surprised my mom actually wanted to see I Am Legend since the previews made it look a little scary to me.  In the end, we all enjoyed the film and overall I can't give it less than 5 stars.  I almost gave it 4 stars because it did scare me a little, but then realized it was meant to be a horror and meant to scare!

Minimal Plot Details
The movie starts showing a clip of a news show where a woman reveals they have discovered the cure for cancer.  Basically they've taken a virus and reverse engineered it so that it would actually work for good instead of evil.  She seems very pleased that all 10,000 of her subjects were completely cured of cancer.

Then we skip to three years later and see a man, Robert, traveling with his dog in the completely empty and destroyed streets of New York.  There is life in these streets, but it's not what you would typically see in the city.  Instead you see deer running wild, lions looking for a meal, flocks of birds right in the middle of the street, and grass growing as tall as a person!  New York has turned into a jungle.  Where has everyone gone?  And why does Robert make sure to board up his entire house before sunset?  You'll have to watch and see!  Here's a hint that you may have already figured out... He's not scared of the wild animals, there's something else out there lurking in New York City.

The Star
Will Smith is on the screen in pretty much every scene.  He's an excellent actor that really knows how to connect with the audience.  Will is one of my favorites and this movie shows why.  He is able to mix drama, sadness, happiness, and humor throughout the movie.  They show some flashbacks of his life leading up to this point, but overall he is the only face you will really see in the movie.  So you must like him if you plan to see this.

Why I liked it
The movie started differently than expected.  I had thought it would start with the "before" and slowly get down to Will Smith being alone.  However the movie starts right off with Will all alone and leaves you wondering what happened.  Slowly more is explained to you, only when you need to know.  This added suspense and drama around every turn.

Speaking of around every turn, I had to close my eyes at some parts because I couldn't handle the anticipation... what the heck was around that corner!  When I finally saw what it was, I didn't want to see it again.  The movie moves pretty slowly making it so you jump out of your seat when things finally happen.  These scenes may scare little kids, so stick to bringing teens and up.

I don't think I've ever seen a Will Smith movie that had bad influences in it, and after this one I can still say that.  You don't have to worry about your teens learning bad things from him.  In fact, they can learn how to be a hero because that is what he is trying to be.  He is determined to fix what has gone wrong no matter what it takes or what it means for his life.

The setting was wonderfully done.  It really looked as if New York was completely destroyed, and just a big mess.  Anyone who has been there will recognize the streets and buildings.  I was told they did close some streets in New York to film this and you can tell they put a lot of time and effort into it.

Overall I thought the movie was interesting.  Since the plot was based on "a cure for cancer", it helped bring some realism to the film for me.  There are not fancy weapons and sci-fi tools used in this movie.  Everything used is all scientific and "real" making it even more scary to think about. I've heard some people saying "how did he get gas" or "how did he still have food" but this was done realistically as well.  He got the gas from all the gas stations that were still around!  And food from stores and houses.  I mean, if you are the only person around, that gas and food will last a long time.  Keep an open mind people.  They did a pretty good job of making it seem possible that he would survive.

I recommend this movie to fans of Will, fans of drama/horror, and fans of suspense.  Enjoy!!