"I am Legend" is based on a 1954 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson, credited with influencing a generation of bestselling authors like Stephen King and Dean Koontz. One can only marvel at the powers of his imagination, as since as long time back as 54 years ago, he already had visions of a major US state  overrun wih vampires/the infected. Its no wonder that he can also be considered as the father of modern zombie genre, vampire stories and virus-related apocalypse. Owing to the success of his novel, it has been made into a movie several times, "The Last Man on Earth" in 1974, "The Omega Man" in 1971 and most recently in 2007 as "I Am Legend".

"I Am Legend" is directed by Francis Lawrence (Constantine), starring Will Smith, Alice Braga and Charlie Tahan. The story this time, is set in Year 2012 in New York, three years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters. Will Smith plays the main character Doctor Robert Neville, a brilliant scientist who believes that he is the sole survivor with immunity to the terrible man-made virus. The virus, which was suppose to be a cure for cancer and initially hailed as a breakthrough in medical discovery, ends up mutating into a more deadly virus, killing off most of the world's population, leaving behind a new breed of highly-agile, vampire-like creatures devoid of human instincts. The mutated victims, referred to as The Infected, lurk in the shadows, as UV and sunlight makes them dissolve. They survive by preying on any living creature for food, Neville himself included. Since he is supposedly the only human who is somehow immune to the virus and having lost his wife and daughter in an air crash during an emergency evacuation, he has decided to dedicate his life to surviving and finding a way to reverse the effect of the virus.

Director Francis Lawrence effectively builds up suspense throughout the movie, from the deer hunt, to the collecting of supplies from abandon houses and the nightly ritual of locking down the house against The Infected.

Will Smith's character in the movie, also brings to mind another movie, "Cast Away" starring Tom Hanks, where the main plot is also about being a sole survival in a place with no other living companion. The similarity is in the way the director has chosen to portray the loneliness of the main character by getting them to talk to inanimate objects, like the way Will Smith's character was trying to strike a conversation with the various mannequins.

Of course Neville had it better because he at least had a canine companion. Special mention has to be given to Neville’s dog companion, Samantha, whose real name is Abbey. Sam is probably one of the main reasons why Robert Neville is able to soldier on for as long as he did. The German shepherd dog is quite the show stealer and you can almost hear the sigh in the audience whenever there is a tender moment between Neville and his dog. It enables the movie to have touching moments amidst all the violent fighting and blood gore. Sam the dog also helps to bring out the human side to Neville, distinguishing him from the infected vampires.

Will Smith gives a riveting performance as always. In the first half of the movie, he shows his range as an actor, when he evolves from terror, to grief, to rage. His performance in this movie has once again proved that he is one of the most versatile actor in this day and age. He has evolved so much from his Fresh Price of Bel-Air days and he is now hailed as the actor whose movie is almost guaranteed to be a box-office hit. He has also had a whole array of movies under his acting belt, from disaster-types like Independence Day and I,Robot, to comedies like Hitch and Bad Boys, and even though provoking movies like "The Pursuit of Happyness".

The ending is also rather sudden, but you certainly can't say that is a typical Hollywood-prescription ending.

The verdict: It is a gripping, edge of your seat sci-fi zombithon that is well-worth the ticket price.

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