Once there was a man so appealing he could open any movie at number one with a bullet. He could do family drama or futuristic horror or romantic comedy all in one decade and still bring in $70 million opening weekends. In this, his first winter tent-pole, Will Smith again shows what it takes to be number one and in doing so makes a strong storyline stronger and our hero more likable. That said, despite a creepy, quiet and well-photographed first hour, “Legend” manages to fall apart by film’s end. Smith stars as scientist Robert Neville. He may or may not be the last man on earth. He and his dog frolic through Manhattan as he searches for a cure to heal whatever of humanity may be left. He is intense and intelligent in this role, playing the scenes for all they are worth. Its worthiness is akin to “Castaway.”
With only one fleshed-out character, “Legend” loses sight of its plot and forces us to care for a larger good, when really all we as an audience would delight in is larger thrills and more of them. As a narrative story of a man in a post-apocalyptic ruin, “Legend” is believable if all too simple. As a “care-if-the-survivors-actually-survive” horror flick, it struggles to compel and serves to confuse and darken the viewer’s mood. An ending that does-n’t necessarily fit the logic of the protagonist only further hurts this film’s ranking. ‘Walk Hard’
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 5, 2008. Read the original PDF.