"I AM LEGEND"
Starring Will Smith
Released: Dec. 14, 2007

WATCH THE TRAILER

THE STORY OF the last man alive is not easy to fathom, since it's difficult to imagine what living in complete isolation is really like, but this version will toy with your emotions in ways you would never consider.

"I Am Legend" is no typical vampire movie. Do not disregard it simply because of the mention of vampires. That is not the main focus of the film at all, nor is it the focus of the 1954 novel on which the film is based, "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson.

Robert Neville (Will Smith) was unfortunate, ironically, to be immune to an infection that killed the human population, and left the few who did not die as vicious mutants. The infection was originally a mutation of the measles, which was created to be a successful cure for cancer.

This new discovery obviously went horribly wrong.

The film begins three years after the epidemic took its toll. The immune survivor, Robert, lives in New York with his daughter's dog, Sam. Robert had lost his wife and daughter not to the infection, but to the chaos moments before the Brooklyn Bridge was destroyed as an attempt to contain the now airborne infection.

Robert has developed a tough survival instinct. He has routines, multiple precautions, and he is always aware. As the beginning of the story unfolds, flashbacks are used to show how things were before the apocalypse. These seem necessary, but they are annoyingly placed and interrupt the flow of the movie.

Besides that, every other aspect of the film is close to perfect.

Robert's absolute goal is to reverse the effects of the infection by using his own immune blood. He tests on small animals at first, and moves on to the mutants for human specimens. This involves capturing them — alive. In this process he strongly offends the Alpha Male (Dash Mihok) of the mutants. This rivalry continues throughout the story.

Robert's mental state clearly has deteriorated. Mannequins he positions at his favorite movie rental store are the closest he comes to human contact. He has brief conversations with them, and he is attached.

This becomes his weakness. The Alpha Male observes his attachment to one particular mannequin, and moves it far away from its original position. The fact that the Alpha Male retains enough human intelligence to do this is scary. The mutants are supposed to be more like animals, acting totally by instinct. An enemy becomes twice as dangerous when you have to compete with it not only physically but mentally.

When Robert discovers the mannequin, he is immediately angered and emotionally confused. After he shoots at the mannequin in his rage, he wanders too close and falls into a trap that Alpha Male rigged and loses consciousness.

Time is a crucial element for Robert, because when night consumes the city, the mutants come out. It is just before dusk when Robert awakes. His vehicle is about 100 meters away, in the end too far for him to escape Alpha Male's mutant canines. His companion Sam ends up severely wounded and has contracted the disease.

The scene that follows is the most emotional part of the film, and also the turning point for Robert. At this point, I admit I was nearly sobbing.

After this climactic scene, Robert loses his sanity.

The next day when he visits his movie rental store, he tries to say hello to an attractive mannequin. He promised his friend the other mannequin — the one he shot at — that he would say hello to this mannequin one day. So he does, receiving no response.

"I promised a friend that I'd say hello to you. So, hello."

Still no response.

"Hello. Why won't you say hello to me?"

Robert is crying as he says this. And so was I. Will Smith portrays Robert's extreme deprivation of interaction absolutely beautifully here. I had never considered Smith as such a dramatic actor — he really is a talented man.

Since Robert now has literally nothing to live for, he goes on a killing rampage in the middle of the night, using his SUV to run over as many mutants as he can before they overcome him. This was not the end of Robert, though. There's a flash of light, and before Robert knows it he's in his house with none other than two immune humans — a young woman and a boy.

The woman, Anna (Alice Braga), is on her way to what she believes is a safe zone for uninfected survivors. This tears apart everything Robert has ever believed and worked for. I was also certain that Anna was following a false hope.

But as the Alpha Male's mutants locate Robert's house and have nearly seized the helpless trio, Robert realizes he'll have to take dramatic measures.

I won't reveal what happens next, but I had to sit in my seat for a few minutes before I got up. Was this the ending I wanted? No, not really. This was what made the movie so powerful. I'm not a die-hard movie reviewer and don't know exactly what to look for that makes a movie good. But, representing the common audience, I think this movie was really good.

The most important part of the film was definitely the character connections. Robert and Sam were inseparable companions, the kind that if they strayed even a few feet from one another, you'd get worried.

See this movie. Don't expect to what out of the theater in an excited or happy mood, though.

"I Am Legend" is currently playing at the Goodrich Savoy 16 Theatres, 232 W. Burwash, Savoy, and the GKC Beverly 18, 910 Meijers Drive, Champaign.

"I Am Legend" AT A GLANCE

• Starring: Will Smith, Dash Mihok, Alice Braga
• Directed by: Francis Lawrence
• Written by: Richard Matheson (novel) and Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman (screenplay)
• Genre: Action/Drama/Fantasy/Horror/Science Fiction/Thriller
• Rated: PG-13
• Runtime: 114 min
• Release date: Dec. 14, 2007
• Summary: Scientist Robert Neville struggles to reverse a virus that has left him as the last man on earth.
• Now showing: GKC Beverly 18, Goodrich Savoy 16
• Showtimes: Click here
• External sites: IMDb entry, official site
• Gargoyle A&E Hitlist: Click here