OMO At The Movies: "I Am Legend"

This year is going to be a year of going to the cinema, so we started the proceedings early with "I Am Legend".

So, what's it like? Well, it's like 28 Days Later with a bigger budget.

I won't bore you with one of my huge plot synopses, but what I will say is that a deserted New York is brilliantly realised, whilst the Infected aren't. In fact, amazingly they're some of the worst CGI I've seen since Spiderman 3, and that's saying something (ok, ok, I'll shut up about Spiderman 3 now). Why they didn't just use real people in make-up I don't know. It would have been much more believable, and would have greatly added to the tension, which disappeared as soon as we saw the cartoon "Zombie/Vampire/Infected" thingy.

Will Smith does a good enough job of commanding the screen (Will Smith does exactly what it says on the tin), although the dog steals every scene it's in. Having not read the book I can't comment on some of the plot and how it differs, however we were disappointed at the way God, as protector, was suddenly shoehorned in to the proceedings. Ah well, such is the way with American movies at the moment. And it seems as though the film-makers thought it enough to rely on the Wow! factor of a deserted New York rather than concentrating on the story. In effect it really doesn't have much of a plot - it relies purely on trading on the "Last Man On Earth" premise without delving deeper.

Yes, it's worth seeing, but don't hold out for any great social comment - it's a much flimsier film than that. I have a feeling that the book on which it's based is much deeper, and this depth has been eliminated to make the movie more of a blockbuster. That's a shame.