I Am Legend...Hear Me Roar

So I am taking another break from my Recap of 2007...mainly because I am up to the Best of 2007 - Movies and I am holding out for a movie that I really hope makes the list. I am going to see it in a few hours so we shall see. Let's move on...

That's right...I am admitting that I stand corrected about something. That something is I Am Legend.

Just in case it is unclear to anyone...I did not want to see this movie. I read the book and didn't care for it and therefore figured that the movie would be a waste of money. (Much like every single movie mentioned in my last post.) The fact that I am vampire snob kind played into my choice because I have high standards when it comes to the blood-sucking fiends and the book did not do them justice....so how could the movie? Yet last night in a desperate attempt to get away from my own thoughts for awhile I decided to chance it. I'm glad I did.

(SPOILER ALERT)

Let's get the bad stuff out the way first so we can spend some time on what made the movie decent.

- The Vampires sucked...and not literally. Again...I am vampire snob...having grown up loving the Vampire Chronicles....so the creatures in this movie were very disappointing. I mean, they were more like zombies than vampires. I have nothing against zombies...but one cannot be the other. The lure of a vampire is the intimacy that occurs as they "suck your blood" and there was no intimacy with these creatures. Vampires are supposed have a hint of romance to them...not be super human degenerates as they were in this movie. They were too much like the zombies in 28 Days/Months Later. Which brings me too...

- The plot and scenery were a little 28 Days/Months Later for my liking. I mean the whole emptiness of a major city, the fact that government was blamed for quarantining the city, etc.

That's it. That's all of negative stuff I've got. So let's move on to what worked for this film.

- Will Smith. Need I say more? Well yes actually since that it would be shitty of me to leave at that. Seriously...how many other actors can carry a movie almost entirely by oneself? (Other than fellow legend Tom Hanks of course.) He completely owned the scene where he sees Fred the mannequin standing on the bridge. I had brief case of the chills. I have always liked Will as an actor (except for Wild Wild West) but I think that this movie proves that he is at the top of the game. I never thought of him as the Fresh Prince once throughout the entire movie.

- Sam the Dog. What an awesome dog! I wish I had a dog like Sam as she was fiercely loyal and smart. No wonder she served as a such a good companion for Neville. I teared up a little bit during the scene when Neville is cuddling Sam the puppy as his family takes off in the Coast Guard Helo, and she licks away his tears. There was no doubt in mind that the point would come in the movie where we would have to say goodbye to Sam because she either died or was converted trying to protect Neville.

And the best part of the movie...

- The Friendship between Neville and Sam. So it would have been easy to fall into a bummed out state of mind while watching this movie. Think about it...almost everyone in the world is either dead or evil and the only human voice Neville hears is from DVDs. Yet Sam and Neville have somewhat normal moments that made this viewer smile...such as Neville telling Sam to eat her vegetables, just like a father would tell his daughter to do at dinner. Then there was the scene after they had left the video store where the two are "talking" about Neville saying hello to the pretty lady. (Never mind that the pretty lady is another mannequin.) It is touching. I couldn't believe how worried I was while watching the scene where Sam ran into the dark warehouse and Neville was desperately trying to find her. I pretty much forgot that she was a dog. In my mind it was a friend risking everything to find his best friend. I cried real tears when Neville had to put Sam down. I cried even more when Neville went back to the video store and talked to the "pretty lady" because he promised his friend that he would. It was endearing. Their friendship is the main reason that the movie worked for me.

(All this being said...it is pretty weird that the best part of a vampire movie was a man and his dog...not the vampires.)

I Am Legend was a pretty decent movie. Not one of the best of year...but better than expected therefore worthy of its own entry. The ending was just alright...which is a hell of a lot better the ending of the book. This is the first time that I can say that a movie was better than a book, of course that is not saying much.