It seems inevitable that a sequel or prequel will be made of I Am Legend. They will probably coax Will Smith back into the role even though he is not interested in doing repeats of his character roles.

But does anyone besides me think that I Am Legend was a bad, bad film? Yes Will Smith did a great acting job, he always does. This was the director’s fault, Mr. Francis Lawrence. It was his decision to replace old school effects (actors in costume) with CGI monsters.

The CGI was horrible! The entire film felt like a video game. I feel like everyone is excusing this film from criticism simply because Will Smith starred in it.

Why can’t directors learn that you use CGI for special shots but not for close-ups? It was the same issue that ruined The Mummy 2 to some extent because of The Scorpion King close-ups (what? No one trusted The Rock to act?).

I Am Legend could have been a good film if the director had spent time creating realistic humanoid-zombies, but he treated them like cheap special effects.

Compare the 2007 incarnation of the classic science-fiction story to The Omega Man with Charlton Heston. It has its faults: some cheezy soundtrack music, not the greatest make-up effects, etc, but the zombie-like things were real–they felt real! And because of it the danger they posed felt real.

 I couldn’t take I Am Legend seriously. I don’t care if it was hit. I wouldn’t watch it again if I were the last man on earth.

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