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Robert Neville, hero of "I Am Legend," is the last man alive. So it seems worthwhile to take note of what sort of representative he is of the human race. He's a creature of habit, measuring out his days in tasks defined by alarm clocks and lining up the labels on his food supplies to an anal-retentive T. He's a fitness buff who can do many, many pullups and insists that his dog eat her vegetables. He's a man of culture, borrowing world masterpieces from New York's museums to decorate his home, working his way through a video store's offerings, killing time by dropping a fishing line in an indoor pond at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He likes Bob Marley and "Shrek" and guns and apple juice and bacon. He's a scientist who's intent on discovering how his immunity to a virus that wiped out humanity can form the basis of a vaccine that will turn the flesh-eating monsters around him back into normal Homo sapiens. And he's played by Will Smith, the happy-faced rapper-cum-sitcom-star-cum-action-hero, which means he's modestly appealing and will occasionally fall prey to the cutes and now and then knuckles down into something that even someone who'd never seen it before could identify as "real acting." In 15 years of making movies, Smith has managed to convince a handful of times -- watch "Six Degrees of Separation," "The Pursuit of Happyness" and, especially, "Ali." But it's worth noting that in the first two of those he's playing someone who's explicitly ingratiating himself with others to improve his material and social status. In short, Smith tapped into his own patent ambition as a kind of natural resource and found something real and magnetic. As Robert Neville, however, Smith is playing at make-believe even more than he did in such semi-comic action films as "Bad Boys" or "Men in Black." Here, though, he's not the cocky rascal with the occasional burst of music or bad temper spilling out of him; he's a brooding nerd struggling to keep depression and self-pity at bay. For a best buddy to bounce off and banter with he doesn't have Martin Lawrence or Tommy Lee Jones, but a German shepherd. And his director, Francis Lawrence ("Constantine"), has neither the comic-book irony of Barry Sonnenfeld ("Men in Black") or the uninhibited vulgarity of Michael Bay ("Bad Boys"). In short, Neville is a drag -- and, far too often, so is the movie built around him. "I Am Legend" has one undeniably cool thing about it, namely the vision of Manhattan as a semi-feral wasteland (which might be a bit overdone, as the film is set not quite three years after the plague -- but then, Neville is supposed to be 52 years old). Weeds grow in Times Square; wild deer run up Park Avenue stalked by lions who, presumably, have escaped the Central Park Zoo and not a Dreyfus Funds commercial; the East River bridges, their spans blasted apart by a military hoping to quarantine Manhattan, hover like ancient ruins of no obvious use; stores and apartments and arsenals and car dealerships stand unguarded like Neville's private warehouses. Neville tears around this empty city hunting deer and fetching supplies and making a systematic survey of the dead. And assiduously avoiding the night. The night -- indeed, the dark itself -- belongs to the infected, the vampiristic, hairless, pigment-free former humans who got the virus but weren't killed by it, and who now form hunting packs sniffing out any living thing with blood coursing through it. Neville stuRead full review
Of course, I snatched up the new version of the book with Will Smith on the cover because I am an extreme fan of movie novelizations. I did not notice that the book is a collection of short stories until it was too late. The "I Am Legend" story was very riveting and I kept going back to the book at every opportunity to see what would happen next. I could be at work or driving while wondering what fate awaited the main character, Robert Neville, and yearned to find out. I was able to visualize the character's struggle, hoping and anticipating his ultimate survival. However, just when the light becomes visible at the end of the tunnel, the character is thrown into an unexpected situation that shakes his already crumbling world. Unfortunately, the story ends a few pages later. I will still see the movie, in hopes of a more in-depth look at the way in which Hollywood takes Matheson's creative existence and turns in into a visual saga. I recommend the book, but have to admit that I was disappointed at the length of the principal story and did not feel compelled to read any of the additional stories.Read full review
I decided to buy this book after seeing the movie starring Will Smith as Robert Neville. I loved this book. You really can feel what Neville is going through as the sole human on the planet. He is antagonized, lonely, and desperate. I really enjoyed the imagery displayed by the author as the narrator describes the world that Mr. Neville lives. The part of the book that I enjoyed most was the ending as Neville learns that all things are not always as they seem. If you are reading this review, and you are thinking about buying this book because you really liked the movie then you should know that the book greatly differs from the movie. The movie starts in the year 2009 and ends in 2012. However, the book is set in the mid-sixties. The book offers a different message from the movie, and the way the book ends is considerably different from how the movie ends. As I previously stated the way the book ends and the message that goes along with this "surprise ending" really makes this book worth the buy.Read full review
I'm relatively new to reading books; especially those that are fictional. This is the first fiction book that I am willingly reading. Although I am only halfway through, I have to say that it is amazing. It's very easy to get lost in the story. Without giving away any spoilers, the book has many similarities, but numerous differences with the film of the same name which is pulled off in a much more believable and overall more compelling way. I highly recommend this book to horror fans, and those that are new to reading books. You will not be disappointed.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I Am Legend was extremely entertaining. The story is slightly dated as it was written in the mid 50's, but I read it know this and adjusted my expectations accordingly. Comparable with Stephen King. Much different than the recent movie of the same name, which is a good thing. The 10 short stories that are included at the end of "I Am Legend" are also gripping and entertaining.
