Publications
Partners
What it's about:
Somehow immune to a terrible virus, Robert Neville (Will Smith) is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague – The Infected – lurk in the shadows, watching Neville's every move, waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood.
What the critics say:
"Smith nails the portrayal. It's not the kind of work that will earn him an Oscar nomination, but audiences usually don't see better than this in genre films."
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
"I Am Legend is a wasted opportunity - a rickety, weather-beaten framework around an otherwise strong central performance from Smith."
Eric Alt, Premiere Magazine
"It doesn't serve I Am Legend to give you too much time to think. Better when it's galloping forward at top speed, dodging caribou and translucent zombies and putting the dog in peril."
Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
"It's in the last half-hour that I Am Legend imports new elements that both propel the story to its explosive climax and just aren't as compelling as the day-in-the-life story that preceded it."
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
"...The film is well-done, a case of suspenseful competence trumping questionable relevance."
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"The film can never quite decide whether it's speculative fiction or a B-movie horror show. It's not a fatal flaw, though."
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
"Maybe not the most uplifting choice for a holiday flick, but Smith's riveting performance and tight action scenes make this a smart, gripping view of the end of the world."
Chris Farnsworth, E! Online
"The herky-jerky script, by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman, favours vignettes and set pieces over dramatic development, and those damned zombies are everywhere, overwhelming the proceedings with their slobbering and howling."
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"Big Willie has no problem holding the screen. In fact, trouble enters only when the script overcomplicates things in the end. Until then, especially in a growling dogfight, director Francis Lawrence keeps you squirming."
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Somehow immune to a terrible virus, Robert Neville (Will Smith) is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague – The Infected – lurk in the shadows, watching Neville's every move, waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood.
What the critics say:
"Smith nails the portrayal. It's not the kind of work that will earn him an Oscar nomination, but audiences usually don't see better than this in genre films."
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
"I Am Legend is a wasted opportunity - a rickety, weather-beaten framework around an otherwise strong central performance from Smith."
Eric Alt, Premiere Magazine
"It doesn't serve I Am Legend to give you too much time to think. Better when it's galloping forward at top speed, dodging caribou and translucent zombies and putting the dog in peril."
Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
"It's in the last half-hour that I Am Legend imports new elements that both propel the story to its explosive climax and just aren't as compelling as the day-in-the-life story that preceded it."
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
"...The film is well-done, a case of suspenseful competence trumping questionable relevance."
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"The film can never quite decide whether it's speculative fiction or a B-movie horror show. It's not a fatal flaw, though."
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
"Maybe not the most uplifting choice for a holiday flick, but Smith's riveting performance and tight action scenes make this a smart, gripping view of the end of the world."
Chris Farnsworth, E! Online
"The herky-jerky script, by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman, favours vignettes and set pieces over dramatic development, and those damned zombies are everywhere, overwhelming the proceedings with their slobbering and howling."
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"Big Willie has no problem holding the screen. In fact, trouble enters only when the script overcomplicates things in the end. Until then, especially in a growling dogfight, director Francis Lawrence keeps you squirming."
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
