I Am Legend (2007)

Director:

Francis Lawrence

Writers (WGA):

Mark Protosevich (screenplay) and
Akiva Goldsman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 December 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The last man on earth is not alone

Plot:

Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.

Plot Keywords:

Helicopter Accident | Exploding Bridge | Injection | Dystopic Future | Loss Of Family

Awards:

4 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Will Smith	...	Robert Neville
Alice Braga	...	Anna
Charlie Tahan	...	Ethan
Salli Richardson	...	Zoe
Willow Smith	...	Marley
Darrell Foster	...	Mike - Military Escort
April Grace	...	TV Personality
Dash Mihok	...	Alpha Male
Joanna Numata	...	Alpha Female
Abby	...	Sam (as Abbey)
Kona	...	Sam
Samuel Glen	...	Military Driver - Jay
James Michael McCauley	...	Male Evacuee (as James McCauley)
Marin Ireland	...	Woman Evacuee
Pedro Mojica	...	Sergeant

Also Known As:

I Am Legend: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Soy leyenda (Argentina) (Mexico) (Peru) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
Je suis une légende (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Eu Sou a Lenda (Brazil) (Portugal) (literal title) [pt]
Ben efsaneyim (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
I Am Legend (Germany) [de]
Io sono leggenda (Italy) [it]
Já, legenda (Czech Republic) [cs]
Ja sam legenda (Serbia) [sr]
Ja sam legenda (Croatia) [hr]
Jestem legenda (Poland) [pl]
Ma olen legend (Estonia) [et]
Som legenda (Slovakia) [sk]
Zontanos thrylos (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Peru:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Venezuela:PG-13 | Norway:15 | Malaysia:U | Hong Kong:IIB | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Taiwan:PG-12 | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/12 | Austria:14 | South Africa:13V | Ireland:15A | Australia:MA (DVD) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Czech Republic:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | France:Unrated | Denmark:11 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43988) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Slovakia:12 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Warner Bros. Pictures has owned the rights to the book since the 1970s. The studio first attempted adapting it as The Omega Man (1971) with director Boris Sagal, starring Charlton Heston. Then as 'I Am Legend' with director Ridley Scott, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which fell through when the production went over-budget. And then in 2002, Michael Bay was set to direct Will Smith, but they decided to make Bad Boys II (2003) instead.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Robert Neville is a Lieutenant Colonel, but his insignia in the shots portraying him in his military dress uniform are golden, which indicate the rank of Major.

Quotes:

[first lines]
TV Personality: The world of medicine has seen its share of miracle cures, from the polio vaccine to heart transplants. But all past achievements may pale in comparison to the work of Dr. Alice Krippin. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
Dr. Alice Krippin: Not at all.
TV Personality: So, Dr. Krippin, give it to me in a nutshell.
Dr. Alice Krippin: Well, the premise is quite simple - um, take something designed by nature and reprogram it to make it work for the body rather than against it.
TV Personality: You're talking about a virus?
Dr. Alice Krippin: Indeed, yes. In this case the measles, um, virus which has been engineered at a genetic level to be helpful rather than harmful. Um, I find the best way to describe it is if you can... if you can imagine your body as a highway, and you picture the virus as a very fast car, um, being driven by a very bad man. Imagine the damage that car can cause. Then if you replace that man with a cop... the picture changes. And that's essentially what we've done.
TV Personality: And how many people have you treated so far?
Dr. Alice Krippin: Well, we've had ten thousand and nine clinical trials in humans so far.
TV Personality: And how many are cancer-free?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Southland Tales (2006)

Soundtrack:

Three Little Birds

This could have been the pinnacle survival horror movie

Thumbs up for presenting a totally deserted New York City. It's really a wonder how the movie production managed to film something like that. It's not the usual apocalyptic scenario wherein it's devastated, dark and gloomy. It's just that the dead silence of the most populated city on Earth makes it all the more moving and realistic.

Will Smith portrayal of Robert Neville, as a sole survivor of a global virus epidemic, is topnotch. And as the sole actor in the movie, he'd better be. Optimism and loneliness, laced with Smith's trademark humor and you can really relate to his character. Of course, no disaster movie is complete without an endearing pet dog.

Given the family-friendly PG-13 rating, horror buffs should expect to be disappointed. For one I'm disappointed with the zombie/vampire/mutant-like Infected. They looked so CGI generic, so reminiscent of Gollum. Who'll get scared of that? Lots of ridiculous moments when he encounters the overwhelmingly numerous Infected. It's "I, Robot" all over again.

Excellent buildup during 2/3 of the movie but it falters near the end. Lots of plot holes you'll feel the third act was rushed. I won't spoil it but the ending was unexpected, in a bad way. The movie just squandered the foregoing events and character development.

This could have been the pinnacle survival horror movie. What a waste of potential.