I Am Legend
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
Sad. Scary. Dark. And spiritual. “I Am Legend” isn’t your typical Christmas blockbuster -- or your typical Will Smith movie. But it is a sci-fi horror movie with some big ideas hiding under the fear and despair.
The Story
Smith stars Robert Neville, a military doctor specializing in virus research. He also happens to be immune to a manmade virus that has nearly brought humanity to extinction. After packing his wife and son on to one of the last helicopters off of the island of Manhattan before it is quarantined, Neville continues his research searching for a cure.
When first we meet him nearly three years later going about his day with his German Shepherd Sam in an otherwise deserted NYC, he appears to be the lone survivor, the last man on earth. But as the sun sets, we realize the city is still well populated with victims of the virus -- animalistic humans who feed on human and animal flesh, die in sunlight, and attack without mercy. Think of a combination of vampires and zombies.
For most of the movie, we follow Neville through his routine of surviving, researching possible cures, flashing back to the loss of his family, hopelessly hunting for any other survivors, and slowly losing his mind. Eventually, though, all his careful plans begin to unravel and he is forced to grapple with the ultimate questions of destiny and faith.
The Verdict
“Legend” is a powerful, haunting, but ultimately somewhat hollow film. Where it succeeds most is in the performances of its three stars -- Smith, the dog, and the eerily deserted Manhattan. And when the three are on screen together, the film is mesmerizing. The emptiness of New York City may be the best special effect of the year. Beyond empty, it’s overgrown, littered with thousands of abandoned cars, and overrun with herds of elk and families of lions. Director Francis Lawrence and his team pull off the amazing illusion of placing Smith and dog in many of the most famous parts of the city and giving the impression they are utterly, devastatingly alone.
Smith’s acting may not earn him an Oscar nod, but it’s a masterful achievement. Though he is buff and armed to the teeth and accompanied by a German Shepherd sidekick, he never once slips into action hero mode. He is never cocky, never cool, always scared and intentional and lost.
It’s a performance that fits the despairing tone of the film from start to finish. Even in the battle scenes with the endless vampires/virus-victims/“dark seekers,” there is not triumph in victory, only more dread and a sense of the inevitable hopelessness of Neville’s situation. And it’s a hopelessness that grows in increasingly sad turns of event.
The film’s final third brings some startling changes and raises the ultimate question: “Where is God?” And the answer it comes up with is as strange and gripping as the rest of the story. Still, it left me unsatisfied and more than a little sad.
If a film could be rated “R” for tone, this one would qualify. It pulls a PG-13 for all that scary zombie/vampire violence and a little harsh language. However, there’s not a lot of blood. Neville also works on one monstrous female victim of the virus who wears a revealing top.
Worldview
[Warning: To really get into “Legend’s” ultimate worldview, I’ll have to talk about it’s ending. Don’t read on if you don’t want to know some details.]
I heard one reviewer build a case for the idea that this movie is about America’s current global situation in the age of terrorism. Interesting, but forced. As with most zombie movies, you can read all kinds of metaphors/worldviews into the subtext of the story.
Wikipedia tells me the book the film is based on, a 1954 work by Richard Matheson, has more to do with Neville himself becoming a kind of monster to the community of vampires and infected humans. The film dumps that idea right from the start.
Smith and co. here seem focused on Neville’s inability to make anything work out right. “I can fix this; I can’t let this happen,” he insists at several points in the story. Like Robinson Crusoe, he’s the ultimate picture of self-reliance. But as impressive as his survival skills are, his life is all about what he can’t do, the loved ones he can’t protect, the apocalypse he can’t reverse. He can’t fix this. He can’t make it right.
When a woman and her son show up toward the end of the film and rescue Neville from what amounts to a suicide attempt, she claims to have been sent by the voice of God to save him. Neville angrily rejects any notion of God. Too many people have suffered and died. His faith, demonstrated by a very Christian-sounding prayer with his family early in the film, is dead.
But in the film’s crucial moment, Neville discovers something that gives him just enough hope to believe God is still at work for good. Instead of seeing himself as humanity’s savior, Neville’s choice to believe in God’s greater plan allows him to see his own life as a one part of that plan. Neville is able to sacrifice himself with a sense of destiny and purpose, believing God might still use his work to “fix this.”
The bit of redemption is not enough to keep the sadness (and a little fear) from lingering after the credits roll, but the worldview idea is a powerful one. Sometimes Christians too easily quote Romans 8:28 when tragedy happens: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” In the face of the recent shootings in Omaha and Colorado, for instance, how can anyone suggest God still has a plan that could possibly be working? We don’t blame Neville for rejecting that idea, given all he has seen.
But what’s the alternative? If there is no God, no greater plan, then I must become God. I must be adequate to fix the problems in my world and make good things happen. And when I realize -- as everyone does, as Neville does -- that I am not God, that I can’t “light up the night” by myself, all that is left is hopelessness and despair. In accepting that God is still working, still in control, however, our lives take on far greater purpose. By surrendering to Him (in Jesus), the good work we do takes on far greater meaning. Because we serve His plan, our lives can matter even in the face of senseless loss. We can be part of the ultimate fix even if we have to wait for the next life to see it all work out. (See Romans 12:1-8 for more about how fixing our idea of ourselves is the first step toward finding our part in God’s big plan for the world.)
Questions:
• “I Am Legend” isn’t exactly a “feel good” blockbuster. Was it what you expected? Did you like it?
• Were you surprised by who lived and died in the story? Why or why not?
• Did you get a little excited when you saw the crumbling movie poster for a Batman/Superman movie?
• Were you surprised how much the characters talked about God? Do you agree with our worldview take -- or do you think something else was going on in the mind of the creative team?
• Do you think God is still in control of the universe? Do you think He’s working a plan? If so, is it possible to be part of His plan? How can that happen?