"Legend" Has It

You'd think, after a novel has been adapted into films starring both Vincent Price and Charlton Heston, there'd be nowhere else to go. But no. Apparently, Richard Matheson's much-celebrated novel "I Am Legend" - already made as 1964's "The Last Man on Earth" and 1971's "The Omega Man" - still has some life left in it. This time, retaining the novel's original title, we find Will Smith cast in the role of Robert Neville - humanity's last survivor after an infection turns the human race into night-dwelling mutants (or something of that ilk). I never thought I'd say it, but for Mr. Matheson's story, it turns out the third time is the charm.

"Legend" opens in 2009, with a winkingly-quick faux interview with a doctor (Emma Thompson, in an uncredited cameo) who, it seems, has engineered a virus which cures cancer. Cut to three years later and humanity has been virtually (or is it virulently?) wiped out. The sole survivor of the human race is Mr. Smith's Neville, a kind of soldier-scientist (he's a virologist, but he's in the Army) who is inexplicably immune to the plague. Neville, along with his faithful German Shepard, has made Manhattan island his playground. He spends his days speeding through the streets in his mint-condition Shelby, knocking golf balls off the Intrepid, and doing all those other things we imagine we'd do if we were the last man on Earth. The special effects in these scenes are nothing short of astounding. Maybe it's the New Yorker in me, but seeing my bustling hometown devoid of humans (albeit digitally) and overgrown by weeds was enough to make me pre-order the "Legend" DVD.

But all is not well for Robert Neville. In order to survive, he must adhere to a strict regiment which gets him barricaded inside his palatial brownstone (he clearly used the same realtor as Jodie Foster in "Panic Room") before sundown. Because, you see, as soon as night falls, the Infected come out. And these aren't your grandfather's (or Charlton Heston's) vampires. The mutants in "Legend" owe as much to "28 Days Later" as Bram Stoker. Like Danny Boyle's ghouls, these guys are fast. Other than that, we learn that they're ultra-sensitive to UV rays and they're "hungry". A tough combo for ol' Neville.

Much credit goes to director Francis Lawrence who, aside from cobbling together the Keanu Reeves debacle "Constantine", has made his mark in the music videos of Ok Go, Green Day and J Lo. He shows admirable restraint (the soundtrack is mercifully empty) and takes his time building up the suspense. A large portion of the film is spent with Will Smith's character going through his paces in Manhattan. The surprise is: it's thrilling. Thanks in part to the inherent creepiness of an abandoned city and to Mr. Smith's inherent everyman qualities, "Legend" is at its best when nothing's happening.

The screenplay written by Mark Protosevich ("Poseidon") and polished by Hollywood It scribe Akiva Goldsman doesn't go into too much detail about the virus or the Infected. And aside from the occasional (borderline tasteless) references to "ground zero", the allegory is kept to a minimum. After a crucial plotpoint midway through the film, "Legend" ventures into territory that could be fatal. But despite some sagging, it survives largely due to Mr. Smith's fully-vested performance. For all his work in dramatic roles, the actor is still at his best as an ordinary man in extraordinary conditions. This film is essentially Will Smith's "Cast Away" - with a German Shepard in place of the volleyball. And while it may not be legendary, it's definitely extraordinary.