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I Am Legend [Blu-ray] [2007]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Will Smith stars in the third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic science-fiction novel about a lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires. This new version somewhat alters Matheson’s central hook, i.e., the startling idea that an ordinary man, Robert Neville, spends his days roaming a desolated city and his nights in a house sealed off from longtime neighbours who have become bloodsucking fiends. In the new film, Smith’s Neville is a military scientist charged with finding a cure for a virus that turns people into crazed, hairless, flesh-eating zombies. Failing to complete his work in time, and after enduring a personal tragedy, Neville finds himself alone in Manhattan, his natural immunity to the virus keeping him alive. With an expressive German shepherd, his only companion, Neville is a hunter-gatherer in sunlight, hiding from the mutants at night in his Washington Square town house and methodically conducting experiments in his ceaseless quest to conquer the disease.

The film’s first half almost suggests that I Am Legend could be one of the finest movies of 2007. Director Francis Lawrence’s extraordinary, computer-generated images of a decaying New York City reveal weeds growing through the cracks of familiar streets that are also overrun by deer and prowled by lions. It’s impossible not to be fascinated by such a realistically altered cityscape, reverting to a natural environment, through which Smith moves with a weirdly enviable freedom, offset by his wariness over whatever is lurking in the dark of bank vaults and parking garages. Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman wisely build suspense by withholding images of the monsters until a peak scene of horror well into the story. It must be said, however, that the computer-enhanced creatures don’t look half as interesting as they might have had the filmmakers adhered more to Matheson’s vampire-nightmare vision. I Am Legend is ultimately noteworthy for Smith’s remarkable performance as a man so lonely he talks to mannequins in the shops he frequents. The film’s latter half goes too far in portraying Smith’s Neville as a pitiable man with a messianic mission, but this lapse into pathos does nothing to take away from the visual and dramatic accomplishments of its first hour. --Tom Keogh

Editorial
DVD Description

Robert Neville (Will Smith, Men in Black) is a brilliant scientist. But when a man-made virus can't be contained, Neville finds himself the last human survivor in New York City and potentially the world. For three years he faithfully sends out daily radio messages, desperate to find other survivors. But he is not alone... Mutant victims of the plague (The Infected) lurk in the shadows, waiting to catch Neville out. As perhaps Earth's last hope for mankind, Neville is driven only by the desire to somehow reverse the effects of the virus before it's too late...

Stills from I Am Legend



Editorial
Synopsis

In I AM LEGEND, Will Smith joins the ranks of Vincent Price (in 1964's THE LAST MAN ON EARTH) and Charlton Heston (in 1971's OMEGA MAN) as the star of an adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name. Often surprising in its focus on loneliness and loss, this thoughtful, eerie, and restrained sci-fi horror film provides a parade of startling visuals, but never allows special effects to overcome the human element. Smith, in a strong performance very different from his usual persona, is Robert Neville, the lone survivor in a New York City where streets are overgrown and deer gambol among deserted vehicles. Following an epidemic, the Earth's population has been turned into an army of nocturnal zombies. Immune to the virus, military scientist Neville searches for a cure in his Washington Square townhouse. Haunted by visions of his family leaving quarantined Manhattan two years prior, he drives through the city with his German Shepherd, Sam, by day and barricades his home from the monsters nightly. But when Anna (Alice Braga)--another immune stranger-finds him, they will have to fight the onslaught twice as hard.

Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich's emotionally-charged script showcases the charisma of Smith, who commands the screen alone for most of the picture (aside Abbey, the talented pooch). Director Francis Lawrence (CONSTANTINE) uses music minimally, wisely allowing the eerie cityscapes to remain mostly silent. The set pieces, including an overgrown, deserted Times Square and a lion hunting a deer in the Flatrion District, are goose bump-inducing moments of stark beauty. A chilling and effective adaptation of a horror classic, I AM LEGEND is also a thought-provoking piece of Hollywood filmmaking.

Blu-ray Quality
Review date: 2008-07-31 Rating: 8 out of 10

I thought I'd write this review for the HD fans out there. As I noticed some people have given the picture quality a 5/5. However I'm sure that there are other HD purists out there like me. I hate digital compression with a passion, to the extent it dictates what channels I watch on digital TV. I really have the eye for it. Unfortunately I was detecting digital compression on this Blu-ray disc. Mainly on Will Smith's face, it really started to annoy me. Parts of his face would stay still when he moved. This is a common problem of variable bit rate. Its actual bit rate does average lower than my other Blu-ray films. It may have been necessary to compress it a bit more because there are 2 films on the disc. I wouldn't let my review put you off of buying the Blu-ray version, it is amazing on scenes of New York. I just wanted to let the HD purists know that it will not be the absolute best quality Blu-ray can achieve.
"Earth" by the BBC is my current Blu-ray demo disc if I want to show the system off.

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Reviews


Movie: 3~4.25/5 Picture Quality: 4~4.75/5 Sound Quality: 4~4.75/5 Extras: 3/5
Review date: 2008-07-14 Rating: 8 out of 10

Version: U.S.A
Disc size: 40,341,045,500 bytes
Codec : VC-1
Audio : English Dolby True HD 16-bit / Dolby Digital 640 Kbps

Theatrical Version
Running time : 1:40:31
Movie Size : 16,347,887,616 bytes
Average Video Bit Rate : 16.14 Mbps

Alternate Version
Running time : 1:43:53
Codec : VC-1
Movie Size : 17,440,892,928
Video Bit Rate : 16.30 Mbps

No Seamless branching !!!

I Am Legend, Blu-Ray
Review date: 2008-06-21 Rating: 6 out of 10

This film is 'I Am Legend' in name only, it bears very little relation to the book of the same name. This aside, it is a fairly good movie with post apocalyptic themes and a storyline that will keep you interested for the 96 minutes duration. Will Smith plays the role of the relationship starved army medical researcher well. You really feel for him when he talks to mannequins and at his relationship with his dog. The action is pretty good, although the computer graphics left a lot to be desired, both the various animals and the 'dark seekers' seemed very dated compared to other computer graphics films. This is an OK film, that should keep you watching until the end. As long as you don't expect a faithful rendering of the book you should be fine. Watch it with an open mind and you'll get what it sets out to be, an action film that shows another side of Will's acting and how one copes on his own in a world where everyone else is dead! A solid three star film.

Just Brilliant
Review date: 2008-06-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

A lot of the negative reviews have pointed out that it's a terrible adaptation of the book by Richard Matheson, but I simply have to say that it's a standalone movie that takes the plot outline from the book and puts its own spin on things. On its own this film is a very emotional, intense, and at times quite a frightening movie that will have you thinking that this is possibly Will Smiths best performance to date.

A cure for cancer is created from a genetically modified disease, but this cure turns into an infection of its own and soon spreads across the world killing most of the worlds population and turning the rest into mutated vampires which have fed on those last few survivors. Robert Neville is a former Army Lieutenant Colonel/Scientist who is forced to have his family taken away from him whilst he stays in the quarantined New York City looking for a cure to the mutated virus. His daughter hands him her dog, Sam before they take off in a helicopter. 3 years down the line and the human population of New York and possibly the world have died out and Robert is possibly the only human survivor. As he still battles to find a cure we are given an insight into how Robert copes with possibly being the only surviving human on Earth. He sets up mannequins in stores, pretends like their real people and interacts with them as if they were actually living. The Dog Sam is his only companion in the movie and we come to appreciate and love the relationship that develops between Robert and his Dog. One scene in particular that shows the intense emotion that this film reaches from time to time, is when Robert is cradling Sam in his arms after Sam is attacked by mutated dogs. Due to open wounds Sam is infected with the virus and Robert is forced to kill Sam. This, to me is a very upsetting scene and personally had me on the verge of tears, this shows the pure acting skill of Will Smith and proved to the critics that he was perfect for the role. The mutants in the film for the times that we see them are very intimidating and the chase scenes are quite intense and place you on the edge of your seat.

Will Smith has always been one of those actors that a lot of people would doubt until they saw him in a movie or playing any particular role. I have to admit I had my doubts about him playing the last man on Earth and had my reservations about a film like this altogether as you would have to be prepared to sit through a movie with just the one human character on screen for the larger portion of the film and I had my reservations as to how this would play out altogether. Once putting the movie on, my doubts were simply put to rest as from the first scene Will Smith enraptures you in intrigue as you're shown how the man is hunting down his food in the form of a deer. The action sequences are intense and all scenes featuring the mutants are unbelievably frightening, even more than I thought they would be.

This is a genuinely great movie and on Blu-Ray it's made much better with the alternate version parallel to the original cinematic version. This is a gem of a movie that I think all Will Smith fans will adore and even if you're not a fan of his previous work, this will make you want to see more.

This had all the signs of being rubbish
Review date: 2008-06-06 Rating: 2 out of 10

A Hollwood version of a respected sci-fi novel plus Will Smith - this had all the signes of being rubbish - and it is. Why oh why do Hollywood scriptwriters think they can improve on good books when all the do is dumb them down into unbelievable trash. To give this film some credit it isn't as dreadful as Spielburg's War of the Worlds - but its not far off. Will Smith is out acted by the parked cars (but unusually doesn't have the mass product placements - ref I Robot), the story line has more holes than a sieve and the only relationship to Matheson's novel is the title. Utter trash. Don't waste your money. 1 star because the dog looks good in HD.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Charlie Tahan
Alice Braga
Dash Mihok
Salli Richardson
Will Smith

Creators:
Will Smith (Primary Contributor)
Dash Mihok (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900176354
Binding: Blu-ray
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Special Edition,
Release date: 2008-04-21
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Theatrical release date: 2007
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Greek (Original Language)

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