MitP
12-24-2007, 03:31 PM
This is a hypothetical review for a hypothetical movie that doesn't exist. And please, no cracks about how I have too much time on my hands.This was written purely for the sake of speculation - and fun.
I AM LEGEND
Director: Michael Bay
Writer: Mark Protosevich (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/writer/protosevichmark/),
Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
Stars: Will Smith (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/star/smithwill/), Alice Braga (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/star/bragaalice/), Hugo Weaving
Genre: Horror (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/genre/horror/), Science Fiction (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/genre/sciencefiction/), Action (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/genre/action/)
Length: 151 minutes
Cinema: 26 December 2007
Country: USA
I AM LEGEND was one of those "greatest films never made" you heard from time-to-time. Richard Matheson's original novella about the last survivor of a vampiric plague has inspired two previous incarnations: The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price, and The Omega Man with Chuck Heston. Way back in the '90's, Ridley Scott tried to mount another version with the Great Oak himself Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role.
And now we have Will Smith, courtesy of Michael Bay.
For a while, it seemed as if Bay was the worst possible candidate for the material. His modus operandi mainly consists of giant fireballs and orange-tinted photography. One of the most bombastic directors in Hollywood adapting one of the gloomiest sci-fi tales ever written? It looked like a case of a round peg being slammed into a square hole. The outcome didn't look good.
Call Michael Bay what you will, the man is definitely full of surprises. In an ironic twist that's bound to put all the naysayers out of their misery, Michael's style serves him better here than any of his previous films. You've never seen the apocalypse look so beautiful.
In 2012, an overzealous scientist's attempt to cure all forms of cancer goes hideously wrong, resulting in a contagion that mutates 99.9% of the world's population into cannibalistic sub-humans. Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the only immune human, a former army officer who now patrols the desolate streets of Los Angeles with his canine companion searching for any uninfected stragglers. But the poor guy's grasping at straws, and his mind is already starting to crack under the pressure.
The set-up is simple enough: During the daytime, the light-sensitive mutants seek protection in buildings and sewers, where Neville destroys them. But when nightfall arrives, the hunter becomes the hunted, and Neville barricades himself deep within his five-star condo (allegedly designed after Michael Bay's own house).
The source of Neville's immunity lies in a weaker viral strain he was exposed to while stationed in Iraq. As far as he knows, he's the only "normal" human left, and he tries to combat his boredom (and impending insanity) through any means: television, books, even an X-Box. But the monsters outside are slowly being marshalled together by a more-intelligent-than-usual mutant (Hugo Weaving), and it's only a matter of time before Neville's days are numbered.
The creatures themselves don't show up until the 40-minute mark, but they leave one hell of an impression. Bay was initially planning to go down the CGI route with the diseased beasts, but he was dissuaded by makeup artist Rob Bottin. Thank heaven somebody listened to him. Bay's feral cannibals are the stuff of nightmares, and make the gibbering zombies from 28 DAYS LATER look like reserved butlers. Although Neville is immune to infection, he isn't immune from being ripped to bloody shreds.
To be sure, Bay can't resist allowing his lead the occasional wisecrack or "Smithism", and some of the sequences set at night should be much darker than they appear onscreen. Michael Bay does his best to keep his patrotic gusto under wraps for the first two acts (after all, there's hardly anything left to be patriotic about), but that doesn't stop him from using his trademark rapid-edit approach during the mutant attacks. Sometimes it makes for exhilarating cinema; other times it's a little tricky to make out what's going on.
At one point in the narrative, Neville takes in and partially cures a female cannibal. This development allows for the only back-and-forth conversations heard in the entire movie; most of the time, Big Will is forced to act and react to himself. Ater being in the company of Smith and Bay for so long, it's almost a relief to see a third party finally introduced. Suffice to say, the film doesn't stay true to the downbeat ending of the novel, but are you really that surprised?
In terms of quality, Michael Bay's I AM LEGEND isn't the best post-apocalyptic movie ever made. But it's undeniably the most spectacular.
I AM LEGEND
Director: Michael Bay
Writer: Mark Protosevich (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/writer/protosevichmark/),
Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
Stars: Will Smith (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/star/smithwill/), Alice Braga (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/star/bragaalice/), Hugo Weaving
Genre: Horror (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/genre/horror/), Science Fiction (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/genre/sciencefiction/), Action (http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/genre/action/)
Length: 151 minutes
Cinema: 26 December 2007
Country: USA
I AM LEGEND was one of those "greatest films never made" you heard from time-to-time. Richard Matheson's original novella about the last survivor of a vampiric plague has inspired two previous incarnations: The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price, and The Omega Man with Chuck Heston. Way back in the '90's, Ridley Scott tried to mount another version with the Great Oak himself Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role.
And now we have Will Smith, courtesy of Michael Bay.
For a while, it seemed as if Bay was the worst possible candidate for the material. His modus operandi mainly consists of giant fireballs and orange-tinted photography. One of the most bombastic directors in Hollywood adapting one of the gloomiest sci-fi tales ever written? It looked like a case of a round peg being slammed into a square hole. The outcome didn't look good.
Call Michael Bay what you will, the man is definitely full of surprises. In an ironic twist that's bound to put all the naysayers out of their misery, Michael's style serves him better here than any of his previous films. You've never seen the apocalypse look so beautiful.
In 2012, an overzealous scientist's attempt to cure all forms of cancer goes hideously wrong, resulting in a contagion that mutates 99.9% of the world's population into cannibalistic sub-humans. Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the only immune human, a former army officer who now patrols the desolate streets of Los Angeles with his canine companion searching for any uninfected stragglers. But the poor guy's grasping at straws, and his mind is already starting to crack under the pressure.
The set-up is simple enough: During the daytime, the light-sensitive mutants seek protection in buildings and sewers, where Neville destroys them. But when nightfall arrives, the hunter becomes the hunted, and Neville barricades himself deep within his five-star condo (allegedly designed after Michael Bay's own house).
The source of Neville's immunity lies in a weaker viral strain he was exposed to while stationed in Iraq. As far as he knows, he's the only "normal" human left, and he tries to combat his boredom (and impending insanity) through any means: television, books, even an X-Box. But the monsters outside are slowly being marshalled together by a more-intelligent-than-usual mutant (Hugo Weaving), and it's only a matter of time before Neville's days are numbered.
The creatures themselves don't show up until the 40-minute mark, but they leave one hell of an impression. Bay was initially planning to go down the CGI route with the diseased beasts, but he was dissuaded by makeup artist Rob Bottin. Thank heaven somebody listened to him. Bay's feral cannibals are the stuff of nightmares, and make the gibbering zombies from 28 DAYS LATER look like reserved butlers. Although Neville is immune to infection, he isn't immune from being ripped to bloody shreds.
To be sure, Bay can't resist allowing his lead the occasional wisecrack or "Smithism", and some of the sequences set at night should be much darker than they appear onscreen. Michael Bay does his best to keep his patrotic gusto under wraps for the first two acts (after all, there's hardly anything left to be patriotic about), but that doesn't stop him from using his trademark rapid-edit approach during the mutant attacks. Sometimes it makes for exhilarating cinema; other times it's a little tricky to make out what's going on.
At one point in the narrative, Neville takes in and partially cures a female cannibal. This development allows for the only back-and-forth conversations heard in the entire movie; most of the time, Big Will is forced to act and react to himself. Ater being in the company of Smith and Bay for so long, it's almost a relief to see a third party finally introduced. Suffice to say, the film doesn't stay true to the downbeat ending of the novel, but are you really that surprised?
In terms of quality, Michael Bay's I AM LEGEND isn't the best post-apocalyptic movie ever made. But it's undeniably the most spectacular.