D.C. MOVIE GUYS

Will Smith has been a reliable money maker at the box office since the earliest days of his career.  He has also displayed real and rare skill and talent as an actor, despite the fact that his only pre-movie training grounds were his network television situation comedy, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and his rap music videos.

In “I Am Legend, ” a re-male of the 1971 Charlton Heston science fiction cult favorite “The Omega Man,”  Smith tries to balance his warm and ingratiating presence with his serious acting skills to power this end of the world thriller.  Sadly, a weakly written script and unimaginative director sabotage Smith and the movie.

As with “Omega Man,” the surce material here is veteran sci-fi writer Richard Matheson’s novel, which follows the struggle of Dr. Robert Neville (Smith) to deal with a deadly virus.  In this version, the virus began as a retro-virus cure for all cancers.

The virus mutated, spread through the air, killing millions.  The treated patients who survived became “darkseekers,” mindless zombielike creatures who feed on the living survivors who haven’t been infected.  Neville, a military scientist, is assigned to battle the disease in heavily infected New York City.  He remains in the city, even after it is ordered cut off from the rest of the country.

Three years later, Neville, who, strangely, is immune to the virus, seems toi be the only normal human left.  He hunts the city for food and supplies only in daylight, avoiding the Darkseekers and broadcasting daily messages to anyone who can hear them on AM frequencies.  All the while, he countinues to experient to try and find a cure, using his own blood as a starting point.

Director Frances Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsmith make several miscalculations throughout the movie.  Among the most glaring in the decision to force Smith to carry more than half the moivie by himself, with no other actors to relate to.  While Smith is a gifted artist, much of his on-screen appeal stems from his charm and ability to relate to the other actors sharing scenes with him.  With no one, save a dog, to speak to, Smith is robbed of his best opportunity to engage audiences.

Lawrence’s direction also creates an air of detachment in which we watch whatever action there is without feeling as if we’re along for the ride.   Unlike “Omega Man,”  “Legend” lacks a villain for us to fear and focus on.  Another mistake “Legend” makes is to ignore the  humanizing element of romance “Omega” embraced.

While the world it creats is visually fascinating, “I Am Legend” offes little more for viewers to take away with them.  The time has arrived, I think, for Will Smith to decide if he’d rather be a box office champion or a top drawer actor.  Being both at the same time is getting harder every day.

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for profanity and violence.
JOE’S RATING: TWO STARS.

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