I Am Legend

I AM LEGEND (2007) - Dec. 18, 2007
Anchored by an impressive performance from Will Smith, for the first hour or so this is a very good film. About the lone survivor of a disease that either kills or turns people into bloodthirsty vampires, the film is very compelling just on a visual level -- the film's deserted New York looks great. And for a while, when the film is just about Will Smith's character and his day-to-day life in this deserted wasteland, it really works. But then the action kicks in, and the director takes the disastrous route of making the vampires entirely CGI, and they just do not look convincing at all. There's never really any moment where they seem like a real threat, because they're just so fake looking. And the last act is pretty much nothing but action with the vampires, so... yeah. It's a bit of a disaster. It's too bad, because the first half is very good. ***