It was the slap heard around the world - in the middle of the Academy Awards last night, while Chris Rock was preparing to announce the nominees for Best Documentary, Will Smith walked up and slapped Chris Rock as hard as he possibly could. Rock had made a joke about his wife, which - suffice to say - was very poorly received by its target. It was the kind of moment that keeps the Academy Awards alive. I mean, what else would there be to talk about if it hadn't happened?
But long before Smith was fighting off dangerous comedians, he was tackling zombie-vampires in the 2007 film I Am Legend. And he does so with so much gusto, you'd think they had insulted his wife too.
I Am Legend (***)
This is a compelling story carried (almost) single-handedly by Will Smith – he’s haunted, charming, tired, and loving all rolled into one package. I say he almost single-handedly pulled this off because the movie wouldn’t be the same without his dog Sam, who gives us a chance to see what Smith’s character Robert Neville really cares about. Sam is Robert’s connection to his past as well as his companion in the present, and their relationship is one that any dog-lover can connect with. Seeing the two of them live their lives in a post-apocalyptic world is like watching a post-modern Robinson Crusoe. He’s living all alone, trying to make ends meet, forced to adapt and reinvent so much of his life so that he’ll make it through another night.
Speaking of night, let’s talk about the monsters. I love what they did with the central antagonists in this film. This movie steals its premise from an older book by Richard Matheson, but the idea is that the monsters are not so monstrous as Neville first believes. Where he sees mindless zombies, the audience is given little glimpses of the reforming of some kind of primitive society – that’s not something we often get in stories of this genre. I’m told the original book takes this premise much further than the film does, but I think the movie gives us enough to make for a good story. It’s never quite delved into whether these creatures are more like zombies or vampires, but I suppose it doesn’t matter. They’re fast, scary, and they definitely don’t want to do anything nice to our hero.
We’re heading into spoiler territory now, so you’ve been warned. I loved the spiritual component that played a role in this film. When Neville finally meets another human being, a discussion surfaces about how a good God could exist in a world filled with so much evil. It’s an old question, but it’s never one that the world seems to stop asking. Neville’s perspective is wholly justified – you totally understand where he’s coming from. But right at the climax of the film, Neville gets a sign that changes everything for him. It’s a cool moment, and what’s neat about the ‘glass butterfly’ is how a re-watch of the film will let you see all the times butterflies showed up in Neville’s life as a sort of lingering proof of God’s presence in his life. It’s certainly not a sermon, but what I like is that his interaction with the divine resulted in the growth and development of his character.
As scary movies go, this is pretty light. This is more about Robert than it is about the monsters, and that’s just fine with me.
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