I Am Legend

Will Smith loves these apocalyptic, impending doom on all mankind, blockbuster movies in the summer. This time, his I Am Legend, a graphic novel adaptation, is released in the heart of December to rake in the green during the holiday season. And, of course, it did because Will Smith is a sure thing, golden ticket that will get everyone off the couch and into the theater.

Will Smith plays Robert Neville, a brilliant scientist who is the sole survivor in New York City five years after a plague wiped out practically all of humanity. Being immune to the virus and the genius he is, Neville struggles to find the cure. The remaining survivors aside from Neville are monsters/zombie-type beings that feast on the living.

The concept of this movie, last man on Earth scenario, resembles that of Tom Hanks's predicament in Cast Away. Plain and simple, the whole movie lies on the shoulders of one man; in this case it's Will Smith and he's certainly talented and charismatic enough to pull it off. As a one man show goes, he does his job and keeps us tuned in.

Some of the scenery is really awe-inspiring as the barren landscape of an abandoned New York City graces the screen. It's a whole new world and we're looking into the future five years down the road. Where the movie suffers, however, is the pacing. The first 75 percent of the movie is slow as Neville works to find a cure and survive as he goes through his daily routine, but during the last quarter, it seems like they try to rush the ending. It's as if they forgot to write one in and they're like, "Oops, here's one real quick."

The ending was unsatisfying to say the least. I'm not going to spoil it, but it's different from the adaptation on paper written a long time ago. Will Smith gives a stellar performance, but the story's structure and unfolding is poorly done, resulting in a movie that you just feel indifferent towards.