I AM LEGEND is a movie I have long time anticipated on this site, mainly because I just love the concept of the last man on Earth and the fact that Richard Matheson's original novel is so deep with themes and ideas that we haven't seen fully explored despite two previous adaptations of the tale already in the can.
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I wasn't all that keen on Francis Lawrence getting the gig to direct this classic story after failing to deliver a good HELLBLAZER movie (CONSTANTINE, for those non comic book geeks) but the addition of Will Smith gave me hope for another good sci-fi yarn in the tone of the fun I, ROBOT and INDEPENDENCE DAY. Smith isn't exactly the flawed and emotionally drained scientist Robert Neville who I read in the book but he's a terrific actor and if they are deciding on going down the blockbuster route then they couldn't have picked anyone better. The movie opens next week, in the midst of discussions about changed endings and behind-the-scenes trouble with the CGI. Well, the film is now 100% locked, and here are some of the early critics reviews... "Smith, sporting a newly buffed physique, delivers an extraordinary performance as a man slowly coming unglued under the strain of no human contact and a constantly alternating role of hunter and prey. The action and suspense do quicken the pulse under the assured direction of Francis Lawrence." - Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter"Remarkably eerie yet annoyingly larded with cheap horror-film shock effects, I Am Legend stands as an effective but also irksome adaptation of Richard Mathesons classic 1954 sci-fi novel. In what is to a considerable extent a solo turn as the last healthy human on a post-plague planet Earth, Will Smith strongly holds the screen in a one-man Alamo besieged by marauding cannibals." - Todd McCarthy, Variety"While one can see the reasoning behind this adaptation (and I use that term loosely) existing, coming after much-better variations on the premise like "Children of Men" and "28 Days Later," this seems like little more than retread. Combining the poor choice of Will Smith in the lead role with some of the worst CG work since "Van Helsing" and this dog makes the recent "The Invasion" come across like a masterpiece." - Edward Douglas, Coming Soon Those are three of the best reviews on the web for the film so far. Most of the others continue to praise Will Smith's performance but are frustrated by the lack of pacing, the CGI and the terrible ending. Nearly each review gives mention to the film's final act being as much of a let down as it was in 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. The movie opens this week in the U.S. but we have to wait an extra week here in the U.K.