In the audience's first sweep through I Am Legend's deserted, overgrown and devastated New York City, Robert Neville (Will Smith) drives past a truck with the same poster plastered over it several times. It reads, "God still loves us."

At first, it seems this may be an ironic jab. After all, this is a dark, apocalyptic film about one man left to rot in a seemingly Godless world. But by the end, that poster seems to be a subtle thesis statement.

This is the third major film incarnation of the 1954 horror novella I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (writer of The Twilight Zone: The Movie and several sci-fi/horror stories). Considered a horror classic, it has influenced writers including Stephen King and films such as Night of the Living Dead, but its track record on film isn't as impressive.

Will Smith as Robert Neville, with his dog Sam

Will Smith as Robert Neville, with his dog Sam

The most well known version is the dated and goofy The Omega Man (1971) with Charlton Heston. Like that film, I Am Legend is more "inspired" by the book than a cinematic re-telling. The filmmakers weave their own story and themes (including all of the spiritual content) out of the book's basic premise that a virus has decimated the Earth. And only one man seems to have survived its effects.

The film begins with the TV news. A doctor (an uncredited Emma Thompson) explains how her team was able to mutate the measles virus. She tells the news anchor that measles is like "a fast car with a madman at the wheel" but her team believed it could be used for good if "a cop were driving it instead." And so, they mutated the virus and turned it into a successful cure for cancer. Flash forward three years: that mutated virus has killed 90 percent of the population and turned most survivors into Darkseekers—pale, hairless, zombie-like predators who feast on blood.

A military scientist, Neville seeks a cure for the virus

A military scientist, Neville seeks a cure for the virus

Neville, a military scientist who tried to stop the virus, is apparently the only unaffected human left. With his dog, Sam—many animals were unaffected by the virus—Neville lives in a well-protected New York townhouse stocked with generators and canned food. By night, he hides from the shrieks of the Darkseekers with Sam as his only comfort. By day, he hunts deer in Times Square, talks to mannequin "neighbors" he has posed in the video store, and works tirelessly to find a cure for the Darkseekers. Neville is consumed by guilt that he couldn't stop the disease's warpath. After all, TIME called him humanity's savior. But he failed. Test after test, Neville insists that he "can still fix this." But can he?

With this promising premise, a dynamic and captivating performance by Smith, and a tensely eerie atmosphere, I Am Legend gets a strong start. The cinematography of the barren and overgrown New York City streets is breathtaking, and Smith is evocative and emotional. In fact, the movie's tension and fright are almost completely thanks to the way he display very genuine terror, sadness, and childlike-dread.

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The movie seems headed to be a provocative apocalyptic epic and stirring character study thanks to its dark futuristic prognosis (a la Children of Men, 28 Days Later or 12 Monkeys), gripping glimpses of the paranoia, fear and madness of loneliness (a la Castaway). Unfortunately, it can't maintain the level of these better films. In fact, director Francis Lawrence seems to want to have two types of films at once: this type of contemplative horror saga and a pulpy, crowd-pleasing popcorn flick. It's like the artsy Children of Men with Resident Evil breaking out at the end. I Am Legend aspires to greater peaks, but unravels in B-movie silliness very similar to the director's only other film, Constantine, where Keanu Reeves used a cross-shaped gun to kill demons.

Neville and Sam hide out from the Darkseekers

Neville and Sam hide out from the Darkseekers

The movie is decent for what it is, but fans of the book and those expecting more from the grandiose and epic-looking trailers may be disappointed. The problem isn't really that the second half of the movie switches from atmospheric to action focused. Instead, the plot becomes action-based instead of the action being plot-based. Smith brings such heart to the movie, but the second half of his fight against the Darkseekers is just impersonal and, well, fake.

I Am Legend is one of my favorite books. One of the things that draws me to it is that the vampires out in the night aren't just random creatures looking for something to eat. They are Neville's old neighbors and friends. "Come on out, Neville," they taunt. They know him. They're people like him—but just twisted. That's terrifying. But the film's Darkseekers are impersonal threats. And maybe most detrimental to the movie, they don't feel like real people—because they're not. They are badly computer-generated creatures, like the monsters in Van Helsing or The Mummy. They're menacing or believable in only a handful of scenes. After all, some characters in Beowulf feel more lifelike. For a movie relying on human emotions for its effect, it loses its humanity.

In the film's final moments, I Am Legend evokes yet another film: M. Night Shyamalan's Signs. For Christians, it gets very interesting. With only glimpses of faith previously (a family prayer in times of trouble, a cross on a rear-view mirror), God suddenly and jarringly comes to the forefront.

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The bloodthirsty Darkseekers are on the prowl

The bloodthirsty Darkseekers are on the prowl

For three years, Neville has put the fate of mankind on his own back. But then, a mysterious woman appears who says the real hope is in God. "He has a plan," Anna says. "He sent me here for a reason." In the final 10 minutes, the movie takes on the themes of God's providence and the need to listen for his voice. Anna says, "The world is quieter now. It's easier to hear God."

It's an interesting direction for a movie about the impact of scientific advancement. So what is it saying about science and God? That scientific advances foolishly allow man to play God? Or that science is comparable to that fast car capable of good or evil, depending on the driver?

Had I Am Legend kept its personal, human and contemplative atmosphere over the loud, crowd-pleasing whiz-bang action, these messages of faith may have carried more weight and heart. As it is, they blend in with the noise—no matter how quiet Robert Neville's New York is.

Talk About It

Discussion starters
  1. In one of the final scenes, Neville shouts, "You are sick and I can save you! Let me save you!" What comparisons do you see in this scene—and the whole movie—between Neville and Christ? Do you think it is intentional? Why or why not?
  2. Think about the scientist's analogy of the measles virus to a fast car whose destruction or value depends on who is driving. What does that mean to you? What other things are that way?
  3. What do you think the movie is saying about the debate between science and faith?

The Family Corner

For parents to consider

I Am Legend is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence. Take the 13-year-old age limit seriously. There is little language and no sexuality, but the film is very tense, frightening and, at times, bloody. There are many scares and horror movie moments. There are scenes with dogs that will disturb young pet lovers.

What other Christian critics are saying:

I Am Legend
Our Rating
2½ Stars - Fair
Average Rating
 
(12 user ratings)ADD YOURSHelp
Mpaa Rating
PG-13 (for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence)
Directed By
Francis Lawrence
Run Time
1 hour 41 minutes
Cast
Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan
Theatre Release
December 14, 2007 by Warner Bros. Pictures
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