Let me preface this review by saying that I have read the book by Richard Matheson and think it is an excellent little horror story with a very satisfying ending. Of course they had to go and make the movie again, but this time move things to New York and cast Will Smith as Neville. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge Will Smith fan. He has ruined some good ideas (Wild Wild West) and tends to be more annoying in roles than impressive. So entering into this I was a little apprehensive.
Well, if this movie did little else, it at least convinced me that Will Smith can act and can easily hold the screen by himself for an hour or so. Most of the first half of the movie is just Will Smith and his dog. This is the part of the movie that I enjoyed the most. The shots of an abandoned New York were amazing and haunting and Will Smith actually conveys some emotion as a man trying as hard as possible to keep a grip on his sanity. Really, for me the movie ends when (spoiler) his dog Sam dies and he goes after the zombie/vampire/CGI shit monsters.
After that point, where they introduce God and tack on an annoying happy ending, it really is just a sucky summer blockbuster. I thought they might have had something, but of course they had to fuck it up in the end. I knew they couldn't have used the ending of the book (too much of a downer) but the ending they had and the way they tried to explain the title were just piss poor.
Note: Another huge problem I had with this movie is the CGI shit monsters. They looked just awful and not realistic. Did they really have to use CGI? Why not use makeup? CGI does not equal a better movie. They could have done a much better job and spent a lot less.
Well, if this movie did little else, it at least convinced me that Will Smith can act and can easily hold the screen by himself for an hour or so. Most of the first half of the movie is just Will Smith and his dog. This is the part of the movie that I enjoyed the most. The shots of an abandoned New York were amazing and haunting and Will Smith actually conveys some emotion as a man trying as hard as possible to keep a grip on his sanity. Really, for me the movie ends when (spoiler) his dog Sam dies and he goes after the zombie/vampire/CGI shit monsters.
After that point, where they introduce God and tack on an annoying happy ending, it really is just a sucky summer blockbuster. I thought they might have had something, but of course they had to fuck it up in the end. I knew they couldn't have used the ending of the book (too much of a downer) but the ending they had and the way they tried to explain the title were just piss poor.
Note: Another huge problem I had with this movie is the CGI shit monsters. They looked just awful and not realistic. Did they really have to use CGI? Why not use makeup? CGI does not equal a better movie. They could have done a much better job and spent a lot less.
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