Another Movie Review: I Am Legend

My mom was gracious enough to watch Ben for us while we went out to dinner and a movie. This is especially gracious of her because she had just gotten home from spending the night at my sister's to watch their kids while they had a last hurrah before moving to Atlanta for the next few months. So we had a great dinner at Saltgrass (thanks for the gift card, too, Mom!) then headed to the mall to see I Am Legend.

I had only seen a couple of previews for this movie and read one or two reviews online, so I really didn't know what to expect one way or another going into it. Let me say, though, that I love Will Smith and most anything I've seen him in. He's a great actor. And he was really great in this movie. It has a lot of "Cast Away" characteristics and is somewhat modeled after that movie it seems. We see him in the amazingly deserted NY City then what happened previously comes to him in dreams and flashbacks. Robert Neville (Smith) is a doctor trying to find a cure for a mutated cancer cure virus that went disastrously wrong. It turns the people into "Dark Seekers" in an advanced rabies-like disease. Apparently the virus killed everyone but him, he's immune, and all that's left (or so we think) are him and these Dark Seekers. Now don't get me wrong, it may sound a bit cheesy, but it really is fascinating to watch. And not to mention a whole heck of a lot scarier than I ever thought it would be. The effects are really great and even though the Dark Seekers seem a little too video game CGI looking, they're still pretty believable. It was kind of slow in parts, but not boring and a lot of the movie is very quiet. I really liked it, even though it was not at all what I thought it would be. It had a surprisingly meaningful ending even though it did come pretty abruptly compared to the pace of the rest of the movie.

**SPOILER WARNING**
Now, all that being said I do have a bone to pick with the old lady sitting behind us with breathing problems. I know I shouldn't be mean, but she was either snoring, grunting or snorting laughing during most of the movie, so much so that it really did take away a lot of the meaningful parts of the movie for me. I shouldn't have let it get to me, but it did. I mean, here I am wanting to be so sad when he had to kill his own dog who contracts the virus from being attacked by Dark Seeker dogs trying to save Robert Neville. But instead I was bothered by the snoring coming from behind us. Oh well. We always have great experiences like that at the movies!
**

That all being said, for some reason this movie really got to me. I couldn't get it out of my head. I even woke up at 5:45am and couldn't go back to sleep because it was racing in my mind. It's a touching movie. It makes you really think about your family and the people you love and what if something like that could really happen. John and I talked about that, if God would let something like that happen, on the way home. And it's not that I'm afraid that it would, but really there are evil things out there in much less obvious forms that make you want to wrap your family in your arms and hold them in your homes forever. But instead we have to have faith and face our fears and that was the message I got from this movie. It was great. If you have a chance and want to be scared, but entertained, I highly recommend it!