Warner Bros. Pictures'

I Am Legend

Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Salli Richardson-Whitffield, Willow Smith, Charlie Tahan

Directed by: Francis Lawrence

RS: 3of 4 Stars

2007 Warner Bros. Pictures All Movies

It is totally cool to see Manhattan devoid of people as Will Smith and his dog roam the ruins after a virus wipes out the population. Or did it? Strange things come out at night. I'll say no more and won't need to if you've read Richard Matheson's classic 1954 novel or seen the two previous screen versions, 1964's The Last Man on Earth, with Vincent Price, and 1971's The Omega Man, with Charlton Heston. What you need to know is that Big Willie has no problem holding the screen. In fact, trouble enters only when the script overcomplicates things in the end. Until then, especially in a growling dogfight, director Francis Lawrence (Constantine) keeps you squirming.

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