Aside from an interesting first act and decent performance from Will Smith, I Am Legend nearly falls flat on its face due to surprisingly weak and an overly abundant use of computer effects. After a strange virus wipes out the majority of Manhattan, which, after three years, has been slowing being taken back by nature. One man is left alone, immune to the virus military scientist Robert Neveille (Smith), accompanied only by his trusty German Sheperd named Sam. Robert tries to live his life as normal as possible, but during the night he secures his house and hopes to survive the night, when the "infected", who cannot stand the sun's UV rays, come out to wreck havoc and search for food.

The film is based on the 1954 novel of the same name, written by Richard Matheson. Directed by Francis Lawrence, whose only other directorial credit includes 2005's Constantine, shows that there's not much depth in his grasp as a filmmaker. I Am Legend pales in comparison to both 28 Days/Weeks Later in terms of providing an interesting commentary on society and in drumming up effective scares. In this adaptation of the novel, the "infected", which bare more in common with vampires than zombies, look like character rejects from Beowulf. After a stunning opening sequence which tries and somewhat successfully convinces us of the grim reality of which the film is set, it's a major disappointment to see that veil of escapism shattered by cartoonish CGI, which destroys the "horror" of the picture. I can't say I was bored with I Am Legend, not for one minute, but I also can't say I was really interested in it either.

I Am Legend will be forgotten quickly--disappearing into the gulf of blockbusters that had their moment and died away from memory. The film isn't scary, isn't much insightful and while Smith tries his best, in this one man performance, I've seen him do better (The Pursuit of Happiness and Ali, for example), but while I did enjoy the set up and I love premise and novel from which the film is based from, this film just doesn't cut it. You're better off staying at home and rewatching 28 Days Later. I can only imagine what kind of greatness this film might have been if Guillermo Del Toro hadn't decided to have passed on the material.