I Am Legend…Oh No

It’s obvious to anyone who reads anything I write or who has spoken with me for more than a few minutes: I’m a nerd. I’m just fine with that. Part of my nerdish nature revolves around horror, fantasy and sci-fi books and movies. With that in mind, try to imagine my horror when I first saw the trailer for the upcoming Will Smith vehicle, “I Am Legend.” “I Am Legend” is a book published in 1954 by Richard Matheson. When I first heard about the book back in the late Nineties, I had tracked down a copy on a fledgling Amazon.com (back when they still sold only books) and, after reading it, added it to my list of all-time-great horror stories. I won’t rehash the plot here (you can read it yourself), but suffice it to say that the idea of Will Smith in the lead role, having it set in a major city, and the fact that it’s directed by a guy who used to direct a lot of music videos for pop stars bodes ill for this project. I know Will Smith can, on occasion, expand his acting abilities beyond snappy one-lines in over-hyped, under-written action films, but the trailers for this adaptation lead me to believe that the studio is approaching this with less than reverence for the source material and more for the CG department.

I know I should wait to pass judgment until I’ve actually seen the film, but all I can see in my mind’s eye is a smug Will Smith tossing about his politically correct, toned-down urban slang and throwing in a few hammy gags while “acting” in front of a green screen. See iRobot, Independence Day, Bad Boys I and II, Men in Black I and II, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, and so forth. None of the roles in these “blockbuster” movies had Mr. Smith stretching his acting beyond the occasional smile, grimace or grunt as he flies through the air due to an explosion. Given the pedigree of the people on this adaptation of Mr. Matheson’s work, I see no reason to expect that there will be much effort to stay faithful to the source material. Further evidence of this is very simply obtained: read the book and then watch the trailer. Rarely the twain shall meet.

Now I know that books can rarely be transferred to the big screen without major changes, but those changes don’t mean that the source material should be ignored in favor of setting up another sight gag for your lead actor. The Lord of the Rings series demonstrates this perfectly. The movies are faithful to the source material and seek the heart of the story, yet left much of the story elements and tales on the cutting room floor. However, you could tell that the people behind this movie had respect and love for the story they were turning into movies, because the heart was true. Compare this approach with the approach of director Francis Lawrence when he helmed the film version of the Hellblazer comic entitled “Constantine”. Allow me to be blunt: it was utter shit. First, they cast Keanu Reeves who I consider one of the least talented actors of this age. Constantine was blond and British with a cutting wit. Keanu Reeves is neither blond, British or particularly witty in his acting. Constantine used his mind and wit work his way through problems whereas the Keanu Reeves character predictably shot them. For some reason the movie was 100% Roman Catholic whereas the comic series had almost nothing to do with Catholicism. It was big, dumb, loud and predictable.

Oh, another reason I don’t hold much hope for “I Am Legend”: the tool who directed “Constantine” directed “I Am Legend”. Sigh. His history directing music videos for Britney Spears won’t help him here.

So I urge you all to read the book. It’s not long, is a classic of the genre and the book I linked comes with some short stories as well.

I won’t see this movie adaptation (and yes, I know there were others) in the theaters, but I will almost certainly rent it when it comes out on DVD. I’d like to say that I’m hoping that it will far exceed my expectations, but who are we kidding here?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 10:57pm and is filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.