[Review] I Am Legend

It is the Year 2012 and New York is deserted. Cars abandoned and the streets are overrun by weed and plants. Buildings are empty and run down. A man and his dog are the only living creatures that we can see. Then we see a pack? herd? of deer suddenly appearing on screen. The hunt is on. Man and dog chase after the deer (perhaps for food?) but were beaten to it by lions (btw, the lioness does the hunting while the lion stands by and watch – pemalas!).

I am Legend actually a title of a 1954 sci-fi novel by Richard Matheson about the last man alive on the planet Earth. The novel tells the story of the monotony and horror of the daily life of the protagonist, Robert Neville. Neville is apparently the only survivor of an apocalypse caused by a pandemic of bacteria, the symptoms of which are very similar to vampirism. [Wiki] The 2007 movie I am Legend is a film adaptation of the book. Not a 100% book-turned-movie but with a different ending.

I found this movie to be really interesting. It focused on how Neville learned to survive by himself in a deserted world and especially how he had to cope with his loneliness. In a series of flashbacks, we piece together the puzzle of his past – how the virus started, what was his role in it and what happened to his family. With only his dog as company, he has to adapt to being one person against the world.

Quite surprisingly, the combination of total silence in some parts of the movie and music in others (this is my multimedia student side talking) enhanced the scenes by forcing us to focus on the complexity of the situation. The effects of a deserted NYC was really fantastic and realistic.

If you’re looking for a movie that is Resident Evil-ish with blood, gore, shooting and slicing, you might be disappointed. There are numerous action scenes but this movie really focuses on the storyline. All in all, I think that it was a really good film adaptation of the book.

Rating : (*)(*)(*)(*) 4.5 stars