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You know when you’re deer-hunting down Broadway in a tricked up muscle car that New York City is not the same old place – this is a very effective way of introducing you to this new world and how different it is from the way we know it. Flashbacks tell us what happened. A virus is created that cures cancer, only something goes horribly wrong – it mutates, people die, and the ones who don’t are turned into vampire-like creatures that can’t tolerate sunlight, but have voracious appetites.
After 3 years of avoiding night and turning his house/laboratory into a
fortress, Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith) thinks he’s the last man left
on Earth. He’s gone a little crazy with no one for a companion but his
trusty dog Sam. He finds a new colony of "dark seekers" but he
believes he’s getting close to a cure so he refuses to leave, even when
he realizes they’re getting smarter and they know he’s out there. What
will he do if there are others like him?
This movie creates a genuine mood of incredible tension – you’re on the
edge of your seat, jumping at all the things that go bump in the night
and anticipating monsters around every corner, even when nothing is there...
yet.
There are a few issues that have to be overlooked, but if you just let the situation seep in and think about what it would be like – it’s no wonder his imagination has run wild and he can’t trust what he sees, or thinks he sees. It’s easy to imagine how you would fill your days and be at least sympathetic with some of the creative ways Neville spends his time.
This is one book that we haven’t read, so all we had to go on was the Charlton
Heston movie for a point of reference – from what we’ve been told and seen,
this version deviates from both accounts. If you’re expecting a true adaptation,
you’re likely to be disappointed. The "dark seekers" here are
mostly killing machines with little personality to tell them apart, except
the leader – they aren’t the focal point of the story. This movie is all
about Will. You know we’re not going to give away the ending, but here’s
where our only complaint comes from. Not the actual events that occur,
but the abruptness. The rest of the movie takes the time needed to tell
the story, but the final chapter feels like someone was looking at the
clock, saying, "Okay, time to wrap this up." Still, it’s a Will
Smith summer blockbuster that you don’t have to wait until summer to see.
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