I Am Legend | 2007
I Am Legend
The 2007 American post-apocalyptic action thriller film "I Am Legend," directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich, stars Will Smith as U.S. Army virologist Robert Neville. The film is loosely based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name and is set in a New York City where most of humanity has vanished. The virus was originally created to cure cancer, and Neville, being immune to it, tries to defend himself while developing a cure. This film is the third adaptation of Matheson's novel, following "The Last Man on Earth" in 1964 and "The Omega Man" in 1971.
Warner Bros. began developing "I Am Legend" in 1994, with various actors and directors involved in the project, but production was delayed due to budget issues. Filming primarily took place in New York City in 2006, including a $5 million scene on the Brooklyn Bridge.
"I Am Legend" was released in the United States and Canada on December 14, 2007. The film recorded the highest box office revenue for a non-Christmas movie released in December in the U.S. and was the seventh highest-grossing film of 2007, earning $256 million domestically and $329 million internationally for a total of $585 million. The film received generally positive reviews, with Smith's performance being particularly praised, although there were criticisms regarding differences from the novel, especially concerning the ending. In 2022, it was revealed that Smith would reprise his role as Neville in a sequel being developed alongside Michael B. Jordan.
In 2009, an attempt to genetically recombine the measles virus to cure cancer becomes fatal, leading to many humans becoming infected and dying. The survivors transform into dark-seeker mutants with pale skin, who are extremely vulnerable to sunlight and hunt naturally immune survivors at night.
By 2012, U.S. Army virologist LTC Robert Neville lives a solitary life in abandoned Manhattan, thoroughly defending his home in Washington Square Park. Neville's daily routine involves experimenting on infected rats to find a cure for the virus, searching for food and supplies, and waiting for survivors to respond to his ongoing radio broadcasts. His only companion is a German Shepherd named Sam, and to cope with loneliness, he regularly "talks" to mannequins and characters from video store films. At night, he barricades himself with Sam to hide from the dark-seekers. Neville is haunted by memories of his wife, Joy, and daughter, Marley, who died in a helicopter crash during the chaotic evacuation of Manhattan.
One day, while hunting a deer, Sam chases into a dark building. Neville cautiously follows her inside, discovering the deer's carcass and Sam, but the building is filled with dark-seekers. They manage to escape, but the attacking dark-seekers are killed by sunlight. Neville discovers a promising cure derived from his blood and sets a trap to capture a female dark-seeker. A male alpha dark-seeker chases them but stops in sunlight and retreats into the shadows. Neville returns to his basement lab to treat the female but fails.
The next day, Neville finds the mannequin "Fred" in a usual video store position outside Grand Central Terminal and, confused, shoots at it. However, he realizes that dark-seekers are watching him from nearby buildings. Approaching Fred, he gets caught in a trap similar to the one he used to capture the female and loses consciousness. When he wakes up, night has fallen, and he is attacked by dark-seekers. Neville and Sam kill them, but during the fight, Sam is bitten. Neville injects her with his serum, but when she shows signs of infection, he is forced to strangle her as she begins to transform. Heartbroken and filled with rage, Neville deliberately attacks a group of dark-seekers the next night but is rescued by Anna, an immune human, and a young boy named Ethan, who traveled after hearing his broadcast from Maryland.
They take the injured Neville to his home, and Anna explains that they survived by boarding a Red Cross evacuation ship in São Paulo and are heading to a survivor camp in Vermont. Neville insists that such survivor camps do not exist. He continues to work on curing the female dark-seeker, theorizing that lowering her body temperature with ice will enhance the treatment's efficacy. The next night, a group of dark-seekers tracks Anna and Neville, breaking into the house. Neville, Anna, and Ethan retreat to the basement lab, sealing themselves with the female test subject.
As the dark-seekers attack the lab, Neville discovers that the final treatment has succeeded and assesses the situation. The alpha male dark-seeker charges at the glass door, trying to break it. Neville draws blood from the cured woman and gives it to Anna, locking Ethan and her in a coal hole at the back of the lab while he commits suicide with a grenade, taking the dark-seekers with him to obtain the cure.
The next day, Anna and Ethan arrive at the survivor camp in Vermont, welcomed by military personnel and other survivors. Anna delivers the cure to them, narrating that Neville's efforts and sacrifice ultimately became a legend.
When the dark-seekers attack the lab, the alpha male dark-seeker tries to break through the glass, forming a butterfly shape. Neville realizes that it references the butterfly tattoo on the female dark-seeker's neck and understands that the alpha male and his followers were simply trying to reclaim their mate. He lowers his gun and returns the female. Neville and the alpha male lock eyes, and Neville realizes that he has become a monster in the eyes of the infected due to his experiments, feeling regret.
The next morning, Neville gives up his research and heads to Vermont with Anna and Ethan to find the survivor group. They cross the George Washington Bridge, and Anna concludes the story with a hopeful monologue, saying, "You are not alone." Initially released as an alternative ending in the 2008 2-disc special edition DVD of "I Am Legend," the "alternative" ending was removed from the theatrical version due to negative reactions from early test audiences. In February 2023, it was confirmed that the sequel to "I Am Legend" would consider the "alternative" ending as the official conclusion, with Will Smith reprising his role as Dr. Robert Neville and resuming experiments on dark-seekers.
