In I AM LEGEND, Will Smith joins the ranks of Vincent Price (in 1964's THE LAST MAN ON EARTH) and Charlton Heston (in 1971's OMEGA MAN) as the star of an adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name. Often surprising in its focus on loneliness and loss, this thoughtful, eerie, and restrained sci-fi horror film provides a parade of startling visuals, but never allows special effects to overcome the human element. Smith, in a strong performance very different from his usual persona, is Robert Neville, the lone survivor in a New York City where streets are overgrown and deer gambol among deserted automobiles. Following an epidemic, the Earth's population has been turned into an army of nocturnal zombies. Immune to the virus, military scientist Neville searches for a cure in his Washington Square townhouse. Haunted by visions of his family leaving quarantined Manhattan two years prior, he drives through the city with his German Shepherd, Sam, by day and barricades his home from the monsters nightly. But when Anna (Alice Braga)--another immune stranger-finds him, they will have to fight the onslaught twice as hard. Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich's emotionally-charged script showcases the charisma of Smith, who commands the screen alone for most of the picture (aside Abbey, a talented German Shepherd). Director Francis Lawrence (CONSTANTINE) uses music minimally, wisely allowing the eerie cityscapes to remain mostly silent. The set pieces, ...

Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, James McCauley, Tyree Simpson, Dash Mihok, Darrell Foster, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Charlie Tahan, Willow Smith, April Grace, Joanna Numata, Abbey, Kona, Samuel Glen, Marin Ireland, Pedro Mojica, Anthony Mazza, Steve Cirbus, Calista Hill, Gabriella Hill, Madeline Hill, Adhi Sharma, Blake Lange, Alexander DiPersia, Abraham Sparrow, Patrick Fraley, Caitlin McHugh, Deborah Collins, Exo, Lynná Davis, Moses Harris, Jr., Eric Jenkins, Heather Lang, Katherine Brook, Anika Ellis, Kennis Hawkins, Reed Kelly, Drew Leary, Vince Cupone, John Grady, Marc Inniss, Grasan Kingsberry, Asa Liebmann, Deborah Lohse, Luke Miller, Okwui Okpokwasili, Paradox Pollack, Hollie K. Seidel, Mark Steger, Anthony Vincent, Jon-Paul Mateo, Courtney Munch, Erin Owen, Will Rawls, Hannah Sim, Charlie Sutton, Greg Wattkis, Ian McLaughlin, Kim Murphy, Victor Paguia, William Schultz, Eric Spear, David Hamilton Thomson, Mike Patton

Director: Francis Lawrence

Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Release Date: December 14, 2007

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Screen Writer: Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman

DVD Release Date: March 18, 2008

Runtime: 101 minutes

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures