I Am Legend: The Last Man Standing

Written by Corinna Choh

It would be reasonable to presuppose that one is tipping precariously at the precipice of the demise of zombie flicks, after an overextended run of movies from the genre, ranging from the 1978 Dawn of the Dead to more recent remakes, such as Night of the Living Dead. Of course, one did not count on Will Smith to come along with his new zombie flick I Am Legend, helmed by Francis Lawrence, to falsify the presupposition.         Based on a novel by Richard Matherson, the fascination with being the last man on earth, as the protagonist Robert Neville famously claims, is nothing new.         Neville is the sole survivor in the aftermath of a deadly bacterial outbreak that ironically, was purported to be the cure of another fatal disease. Neville thus becomes the sole living occupant in an eerily quiet and melancholic New York City, devoid of its characteristic hustle and bustle.         Lawrence's landscaped shots of New York would have been picturesque and more impactful, if not for the overgrown weeds, haphazardly abandoned vehicles and darkened windows of buildings. Familiar monuments and streets of New York City seem familiar, but altogether strange as well, thanks to Lawrence and his excellent team of digital-effects artists.           So what does Neville do when quiet becomes the new loud?         He plays golf atop the wing of an abandoned military aircraft, goes grocery shopping, rents DVDs and actually pays for them. Oh, and he's adept at conversation too, despite being the only man in town.         His sole companions comprise a wonderfully expressive German Shepherd with her head tilts and wriggly ears, as well as his mannequins, complete with names and history.         Lawrence manages to convince the viewer that Neville has got it ‘made,' not so much in the sense that he has arrived, but that he is a survivor in every sense of the word.         He goes deer hunting amidst the streets of NYC, and plucks corn from Central Park. He has enough ammunition to have a hearty bonfire, a well-stocked larder, a house complete with proper running water, gas supplies (you would assume that in the post-apocalyptic world, these would have been cut off) and incredulously, a fully-equipped underground science laboratory.           The movie gathers good momentum, especially in portraying his daily habits that distinguishes and defines him from The Other, in this instance, the zombies.         However, this momentum breaks when his zombies do not transform from the regular types that we are familiar with - cannibalistic, animalistic and pack behavior, even if they do spring a surprise of having a concept on setting and planning elementary traps.         It tries to bring something new into this genre with ponder-worthy dialogue about evolution, Man playing God and the risk of taking risks. We are given some vague ideas about the collapse and fragility of the human condition, but if not for a stellar actor of Smith's caliber, with his convincing portrayal and personification of tenacity, as well as a convincing display of true grit to anchor it, this movie would have sunk faster and deeper than the Titanic.         Smith's effortless emersion as Neville convinces the viewer that there are some very real questions that we need to ask ourselves, living in a new age of science, technology, time, results and risks. Perhaps in the spirit of its Christmas release, maybe even the question of faith. HOOKED hooked's rating: 3.5/5 Images courtesy of: http://www.collider.com/ http://www.firstshowing.net/img/iamlegend-poster.jpg Comments Write Comment Name: Guest Title: Comment:

 

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