I Am Legend

Will Smith and angry zombies. Do you really need to know more than that about "I Am Legend"?

The cure for cancer has been found and everyone celebrates. That is, until the cure tours out to have the side effect of either killing the recipient or turning them into violent, super-human zombie-type creatures. Oh, and if that's not bad enough, the side effects are contagious.

Contagious to everyone it seems except for Robert Neville (Will Smith), a military doctor who continues to look for a cure even after the rest of humanity appears to have either died off or mutated. Keeping him company is his loyal dog, to whom Smith has constant one-way conversations. Neville has his daily routine of working out, returning videos he has rented, and watching previously-aired episodes of the Today Show. Along the way we catch glimpses of newspaper articles highlighting the spread of the disease and the ultimate collapse of society. Neville also has flashbacks that provide a broader explanation of how this all came to be.

Not only does he try to keep a daily routine while trying to find a cure, his nightly routine is one of constant vigilance. You see, the zombie-humans only come out at night seeking food. Neville has turned his house into a fortress in an attempt to keep these creatures from coming after him and his dog.

Very few actors are able to carry a movie on their own for such a long period of time. Tom Hanks did it in "Castaway". Here, Smith accomplishes the same result. The story develops in such a way that we care for his character and worry about his safety. We also witness how ugly events could get in the result of such a plague.

Smith makes this movie fun and thrilling, the pace is quick, and there's never a down point where I looked at my watch. Basically, this a great action-thriller with a heart. I give it a B+.

"I Am Legend" is rated PG-13 with a running time of 100 minutes.