Sunday, January 6, 2008

I am legend


I am legend, an adaptation of a 1954 science fiction novel, is one helluva movie. It is based in New york city in the year 2012. A genetically altered virus called 'KV' has spread across the globe, annihilating most of the world population and reducing the rest to cannibalistic zombies. Virologist and US soldier Robert Neville(Will Smith) believes himself to be the only survivor. He lives at the site where the infection hit and fights to discover a cure.

We watch Neville go through his daily routine, with only his dog and mannequins for company... and our hearts go out to him. Will Smith proves himself yet again with an extremely endearing performance. He is the only human actor on screen for the majority of the movie. Despite this isolation and lack of costars, Smith's screen presence is enough to hold the audiences' interest. In fact ,the introduction of two fellow survivors in the form of a Brazilian woman and a little boy actually dampens the intensity of the movie. Smith fares better when he is on his own.

Though the movie has all the makings of a typical horror flick- marauding zombies, rabid dogs, guns and explosions, it goes much beyond that because it is TRULY scary. A mutated virus causing a deadly epidemic, billions of people killed, quarantines and evacuations- such a situation is scary because it could actually happen. In the age of SARS and bird flu, this seems eerily real. Above all, the notion of being all alone, of being the last man on earth, is terribly frightening.

The movie's dramatic end evokes mixed feelings. But the ending can be overlooked because the movie delivers what it promises- 1 and a half hours during which the we become one with Neville- feeling his loneliness, his angst when darkness begins to fall, his frustration when his experiments fail and his sorrow when he loses his family. With all its larger than life sets, neat special effects and hair-raising scenes, it is the human touch of 'I am legend' that makes an impression in the end.

15 comments:

Filarial said...

the ending was changed for the movie.. the ending of the book provoked more thoughts for me..-heres how that went- robert nevelle becomes legend in the eyes of the new species created due to the virus because he is is the one outsider that they cannot understand who hunts and kills their kin and his origins and way of life is unknown and mystical...

Dhivya said...

@filarial
Really?? That seems even more bizarre, but def less abrupt than the movie's ending!

Macadamia The Nut said...

You're the first one to say that the movie was good. Going by your previous blogs you don't sound crazy :D so i'm going to go watch the movie for you ;)

Dhivya said...

@macadamia
hehe glad u think that I'm not crazy... I'm not so sure myself! :D But yeah several of my friends dint like it either, but I think its def worth watching. Tell me what u think.

Anu said...

hey i have watched the movie and loved it too...

its the concept and the narration that so totally inspired me. and as u said the "Human-touch" makes it worth watching...

aditya said...

Unfortunately, I have not read the book. I just have the movie to go by. I thought that the scene in which Neville gets pissed as he was saving the bacon for later personifies how deeply rooted he is in his loneliness.
I thought that the final 10 minutes of the movie did not need the move into ecclesiastical discussion. I am not able to understand the reason why people have to bring god into everything. Things are confusing as it is. :)

Dhivya said...

@anu
good to know that someone else loved it besides me! :)

@aditya
I agree with you- they didnt need to bring god into the movie at all- expecially with it being based on a science fiction book and with Neville being a scientist. But the butterfly that shows up on the glass was kinda cool though.

passion@itsbEsT said...

i havent read the book - but i liked the movie - it had me glued. i wuld have liked it better if they had left God/religion out of it..

im just wondering - are there any indian movies adapted directly from books? i wonder why it isn't done so often as in hollywood..

Dhivya said...

@g
I'm not sure... I think we might not be familiar enuf with Indian literature to even recognize if a movie is based on a book. There are of course classics like Devdas which have been made into movies.

Compassion Unlimitted said...

Paathuduvom..
இனிய பொங்கல் வாழ்த்துக்கள்
TC
CU

Anonymous said...

It was well taken and will smith was good .
But I agree that the introduction of the other characters did not add any value to the movie.And they fumbled in the last half hour.
I would say it was ok! Not great!

Sowmya said...

You spelled legend wrong in the end.And that's all I have to say about that.

Dhivya said...

@compassion
Happy pongal to you too.

@Nivi
Yeah the last half hour could have been better.

@sowmi
Geez sowmi- the word nitpick comes to mind! :P

Macadamia The Nut said...

Exactly! I loved the movie. And I agree with you on the ending. It was a dangler :((. Hey watch Cloverfield if you get a chance. Its awesome!

Dhivya said...

@macademia
I'm glad u liked it... I guess that proves that I''m not crazy. And I heard about cloverfield- I read that the shaky camera effect is making audience physically sick! All the more reason to go see it! :D