Are you a fan of zombie movies? Zombie anything? If so, you absolutely need to see this homage to brain-eating, walking corpses- and the panic of our leaders screaming to find a cure. “I Am Legend” is a must-see. Personally, this is one of my favorite movies of all time. Brilliant actor and personal favorite Will Smith stars as Robert Neville in this thriller/horror film. Even Willow Smith, his real-life daughter, plays his daughter in the movie.
It’s a grisly tale set in a vacant, vastly empty New York City. Empty of life, that is. It’s full of the dead who walk, and the whose only purpose is to consume brains and flesh.
Filmed in 2007, “I am Legend” was the highest grossing movie of that year, bringing in over $500 million. Directed by Francis Lawrence, “I Am Legend” is pure entertainment. Firstly, the zombie-virus that killed off most of the people on the planet (turning them into blood-thirsty, brain craving humanoid beings that cannot handle light) is man-made. Secondly, these aren’t any of your “stereotypical” zombies. These ones are fast, and they aren’t rotten;; instead they are a greyish color, with almost translucent skin, and rather intelligent eyes. That’s one aspect that especially creeps me out.
Robert Neville is (fortunately) a brilliant scientist living in the sprawling city, when the virus takes hold and the entire world literally falls apart. Tragically, he stays behind as everyone else is evacuated during the beginning stages of the virus, and ends up being the last living survivor in the entire city of New York. His goal is to find a cure, no matter what the cost (even saying goodbye to his family to do so) and is one of few that is actually immune to the zombie virus. Although life as he knows it has completely fallen apart, he continue with his quest to find a cure.
In the beginning, the virus was spread through a vaccination. Now Robert, there years into the new world, had his own routine, not to mention the room of the city. With his trusty best friend beside him, a beautiful German Shepard that used to belong to his daughter, Robert hunts from the front seat of a beautiful and expensive car, racing through the deserted streets after a pack of zebra, every crashing thru Central Park. Hey, if I was the only one left in my city, you can get I’d be driving the nicest cars, (yes, plural) that I could find. He plays golf off of an abandoned naval ship, sailing his ball into the distance. The ambiance of this film is so utterly devoid of life, full of silence, it’s very foreign to envision a New York City with out people, hundreds of thousands of people! bustling about. It’s so very unsettling.
To stay “normal” in a situation that is as far from normal as one can get, Robert keeps himself, as well as Sam the dog, on a strict regimen. They sleep while it’s dark and wake with the sun. They eat rationed food that has been packaged accordingly, to the mindless chatter of Ann Curry from the Today Show playing in VHS take in the background. Both run on separate treadmills, doing exercises to stay in shape. Later in the day, Robert has a routine that includes going to the video store, where he’s “almost through the G’s.” (He is also quite beat, print everything back in it’s place).
Strangely (to me, anyway, but this is an obvious nod to his loneliness) Robert has dressed mannequins from around the city and placed them in various places that he frequents. He greets them and visits with them, same as he would if they were real. Some even have names, like the clerk he’s set up in the video store. One he shyly pretends to flirt with. He confides to Sam that he doesn’t know whether or not to approach her, later in the day when they are out gathering supplies. I don’t see this as him losing his mind, rather, I see this as his desperate attempt to hold onto it. Every day Robert also broadcasts on a ham radio, an announcement of sorts for any survivors they may be out there. He promises safety, food, and shelter. He is a beacon of hope to what is left of mankind.
Throughout this entire time, Robert has worked devotedly to finding a cure, three years now since the outbreak. Using his own immune blood, he mixes it with the known virus and several variants in order to achieve his ultimate goal- a cure. He tests mice, checks his theories frequently, makes notes, documents his work; he watches as each of his test subjects is a failure and the mice turn into the living dead (yes, animals are affected too) the virus, into nasty little rodents out for brains. They bang themselves bloody inside their cages. Until, one morning, Robert comes downstairs to find one of the mice fine. Seemingly unaffected, normal. Not a zombie mouse. Filled with hope, Robert makes note of his discovery (he’s even wearing eyeglasses with video) and he seems filled with new purpose as he sets out for the day.
Here’s the upside to Robert’s zombie-world: he rules the daytime. The zombies are severely affected by sunlight, leaving them writhing in pain on the pavement, incapacitated, so Robert can do anything he wants during the day (hence the Mustang he goes hunting in). The nighttime, however, is the most dangerous part of the day- zombies come out for prey, as soon as the sun sets, and it’s all-out warfare, havoc and chaos in the darkness. Robert even sets an alarm on his phone daily, reminding him of how much time he has until sunset.
His house is a fortress: metal shudders, chains, everything sealed off, 100 percent absolute renforcement against the wave of violence that comes with the zombies each night. Over the time he’s had since the virus turned everyone into crazed corpses, Robert has amassed a large collection of guns and ammunition, to ensure that if the fortress fails, he has proper defense. So far, his system has worked perfectly.
The day when one of the mice seems to be reacting positively after being given a test vaccine comes and reignites Robert’s hope to find a vaccine. Setting out, converting his scent with bleach, he and Sam cruise out in a well-equipped zombie-mobile, listening to Bob Marley’s “Three little Birds” they head out and Robert captures a zombie by rigging up a vehicle to fall and thus trap it. Sam and Robert have a close call when Sam runs into a darkened high rise; they have a very near close call in which we really do get a better glimpse of how reliant Robert is on his dog Samantha. His daughter Marley had almost taken the dog with her when she left, but at the last moment thrust the dog into her dad’s surprising arms. It’s his concern for Sam that makes Robert follow Sam into the darkened building. It’s her that we get our first glimpse of these strange zombies. Only by creating out of a two story window into the daylight that Robert isn’t attached but a hoard.
Robert’s interest and concern is piqued regarding the evolvement of these creatures mentality, after he captures one. A giant one chases him and gets as close to the door as possible, even leaving out just a bit into the sunlight although you can tell it isn’t comfortable for him, and he v sneers at Robert with a deadly glare. Robert is shocked at this behavior as it is something he’s not noticed before, When he gets home, he makes a video diary recording his findings. He sets the body of the zombie downstairs, trapped by restraints and a cocktail of sedatives. It’s simply at this point an observation, but here’s more right that he even thought possible…
Next day, routine as usual, disrupted by checking in on how Robert’s “first human test subject” is doing, and is pleased to note positive reactions. Buddy temperature is due. Vitals seem strange. Hope is profound.
But that day when he’s out driving, something is different. This isn’t the obviously untouched world he’s become used to, no, in fact something happens that causes him to slam on his breaks in fear and confusion. One if his mannequins has been moved into the middle of the street. “Frank!” He calls uselessly, but obviously Frank can’t talk back because he’s not real. But somehow, he’s moved. He’s standing out on the street. Robert gets out of his car to go check, and that’s when everything about Robert’s new world changes.
A zombie- THE very same zombie that faced him aggressively in the doorway- has rigged up a trap Frank in order to capture Robert. And unknowingly, utterly confused but Frank’s strange appearance, Robert walks right into it.
What happens after this, I won’t spoil. Robert comes to realize that he’s facing a new kind of zombie, and they are out for him. He’s taken one of theirs… And they want her back. They are coming for him.
I suggest highly that you give this movie a watch, or a rewatch if you’ve already seen it. Will we see a sequel? Although fans would love it, it’s not likely. Firstly, Will Smith just isn’t that into it. “I don’t want to be the sequel guy,” he’s said. Secondly, the ending would have called for a prequel rather than a sequel, or (spoiler alert) we would have needed a new lead. A prequel was discussed in 2008, focusing on what it was like for the last of mankind, but was deemed not interesting enough. It was said that a prequel was actively pursued yet just wouldn’t work. So no, sadly, there will be no sequel, or prequel, to “I am Legend.” The movie will forever stand on its own- and I keep watching.
Maybe someday.
Written by Mandie Stevens
