By Frank Wilkins

Seems Manhattan was depopulated by a medical experiment gone horribly awry and Neville takes it upon himself to find a cure for the contagious disease that leaves its victims hairless, hungry and extremely athletic - very zombie-like, but allergic to light. So Neville scats about an abandoned Manhattan in a variety of well-equipped vehicles, whether it be a candy-apple red Shelby Cobra (a tip of the hat to Heston’s character), or a grill-guarded SUV, foraging for food and necessities during the day. But as the sun sets, he locks himself into his modest Brownstone, drops the metal shudders, and fires up the exterior spotlights, lest he become overrun by the ravenous “dark-seekers.”

Neville is the ultimate scientist, having purposefully stranded himself on the island to find a cure for the virus that was originally reverse-engineered to fight cancer. He routinely runs thorough medical tests on the occasional captured zombie in his laboratory basement. We learn of the fate of his family - and the rest of the population for that matter - through periodic flashbacks that show a massive evacuation (on the scale of War of the Worlds) of Manhattan, in hopes of isolating the spread of the rogue virus. Now Neville is reduced to talking to his trusty canine sidekick, Sam the German Shepherd, as well as to the clothed mannequins he’s set up in his favorite stores.

It’s a risky proposition resting the weight of an entire film on the talents of one, single actor. But fortunately, Smith has the chops to pull it off. As expected, he handles the action parts like the action-star we know he is, but he’s also quite convincing during the tender moments as well. Some of the film’s best segments feature Smith interacting only with his dog. We’re comforted by Neville’s tough external façade, yet that confidence is shaken when we later see him curled up with Sam in a bathtub, machine gun at their side, wolf-like screeches emanating from the darkness outside.

As the film nears its climax, Lawrence falters a bit as he bows to Hollywood pressure and allows us to see too much of the creatures. In an early scene, Neville and Sam inadvertently stumble into the darkened shell of a building where Neville’s flashlight strobes across a nest of the zombies, their backs turned to us. These fleeting glances send chills down our spines, but as the film progresses, and the monsters get more and more screen time, the fear factor diminishes considerably. A lesson in less-is-more would go a long way here.

It would have been nice to see more of the survivalist-parable themes present in Matheson’s book and subsequently in The Omega Man. But Lawrence did realize that those earlier versions got lift from the ironic loneliness of being the last human alive in an environment once flourishing with prosperity and human excess. And because of this understanding, and with his talents as an action director, I am Legend is sure to please both sci-fi fans and action-lovers alike.

Frank Wilkins