Since being published in 1954, Richard Matheson's classic horror novel, I Am Legend, has appeared on the movie screens as both The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston and The Last Man On Earth with Vincent Price. Now, his apocalyptic tale of one man surrounded by intelligent, vampiric beings has been remade again this time with Will Smith in the lead and not retaining a whole heck of a lot of the elements that makes Matheson's work truly stand-out as one of the forerunners of the genre (it is said to have influenced George A. Romero's Night Of The Living Dead even).

It's three years after a genetic cure for cancer has gone wrong and New York City is a wasteland of abandoned cars, empty businesses, and zero population. That's not exactly true though as Robert Neville (Will Smith) wanders this once bustling Metropolitan with his only companions a German Sheppard dog and the mannequins he's placed around town to give certain areas, like the nearby video store, some form of "humanity".

He's unsure if there are other survivors but he's well aware that the city is teeming with infected, zombie-like creatures that were once human but have fallen victim to the virus. A virus he's still trying to find a cure for since he just so happens to be a scientist and it gives him something to focus on.

For the first half of the movie it was "so far, so good" as director Francis Lawrence establishes the mood decently, opting to a slower build-up than expected to expose us to Smith's characters loneliness. And while I do appreciate the effort, I still felt like I wanted more from Smith as our protagonist and the script, by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman, just never felt to me to do enough with the premise of the book or even do enough with the creatures. If you're going to make a movie about one man fighting intelligent, mutated creatures, you'd better damn well deliver on that promise instead of a few moderately enjoyable set pieces (such as when Smith finds himself in a dark warehouse with them). And when you do eventually trot out the attack scenes they better sport decent effects not the weak CGI on display here.

I'm not even going to peg the blame for I Am Legend's under whelming performance on Lawrence (though he did helm the mediocre, effects-filled Constantine) or Smith in the lead role. Smith is actually fine considering he's usually the only person on screen and has to carry most of the film. Sure, he might not be of the calibre of Price or Heston, but he does okay. If I was to blame anyone, I blame the scriptwriters. They've taken all the desperation and claustrophobia from Matheson's work and shat on it. To add insult to injury they even go and throw out a twist in the last third involving a fellow survivor and they tie things up too quickly with the bad Terminator 2 inspired narrated final moments. Hell, they can't even carry over any of the personality Matheson gave his creatures, as they feel like dumb, animalistic beings that don't pose as much a threat as they should.

The biggest crime I Am Legend commits, however, is just not being human enough. It has to say something that the first hour, where it's just Smith and his canine friend, has more life than when they introduce the vapid secondary characters to try and give the entire thing some form of a "hopeful" ending. If the movie would've stuck with the bleak feeling it establishes early on and built it from there, instead of obviously pandering to a Hollywood audience by loading in effects sequences, this could have been the best adaptation of Matheson's novel yet. As is, it's a misfire that squanders most of its potential. (Chris Hartley, 5/6/08)

Directed By: Francis Lawrence.
Written By: Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman.

Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok, Charlie Tahan.

Picture Ratio: 2.40:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: As a recent box office hit, I Am Legend looks perfectly fine on DVD. I didn't notice any grain, colour bleed, or other flaws. Everything looked the way it should and looked good doing it.

Extras: The single-disc version I viewed only contained four animated comics. There is also a 2-disc edition available which contains the theatrical cut and a alternate cut which runs four minutes longer and includes a different ending. It also has the aformentioned comics, 21 brief featurettes, and a documentary about real-life viruses. So, suffice it to say, if you're wondering which version to buy, get the 2 disc.