I Am Legend Ultimate Collector’s Edition

The problem? Figuring out how to control the virus is difficult, figuring out how to obliterate it is nearing impossible for Neville. Armed with guns and a half-sense of sanity, he spends his day gathering supplies and ‘patients’ for testing, while at night he spends his darkest moments trying to survive. The virus hasn’t simply killed off the population of people, the virus has mutated the majority of New York’s population into half-mindless zombies/half-vampires. They don’t communicate, they only thrive on blood. They can only come out in the dark, never into light; they are the Dark Seekers. For Neville, having to find a cure is the first choice of business, but needing to go unnoticed is the second. Time is ticking away for him, as well as chipping away at his sanity.

I had so much hope for this film. The Heston version was good, not great. The Price version was the best, but now dated. Will Smith’s I Am Legend was a good mix of both, with maybe some poor choice of editing. The story essentially starts off well. You’ve got Smith as Neville hunting deer in the middle of New York, trying to keep his food rationsactive/alive. The entire movie is a bit slow-paced, but the beginning certainly does establish how desolate New York is and how alone this poor guy is. The slow-pace could be a nice representation of how lonely his life his. It could also establish how cut-off from the world Robert Neville truly is. In this sense, the film seems to pull this off perfectly. On the flip-side to that coin, you can see that the film is struggling with keeping Neville desolate and trying not to show too much action (which is what the film is promoted as being). The original book lacked action, so they keep that intact pretty well. The book focused mainly on the psychological aspect of the monsters trying to get the last known survivor of the human race out of the way. It was literally one man versus the entire world, and he was struggling internally to keep it together. Heston’s movie brought this home pretty darn well.  Heston uses the partial body of a statue to keep him company, but occasionally realizes that he can’t handle is situation, but keeps it together anyway. Smith takes the same path, maybe at times even taking this partial sanity to a higher level of emotional distraught.  Smith’s performance rates up there with the other two lead actors from the prior films. He keeps the heart of the book alive and well. The place where the book and this version of the movie truly separate is the moment where the creatures are introduced. The creatures, for the most part — in the original story and in the previous versions of the film — talk to Neville during the evening.They’re not mindless, just basically restricted from nearing him due tolights. The book seemed to capture everything creepy and surreal about Neville’s situation. He’s truly struggling to stay alive, doing his best to get through, but is psychologically being worn down by the constant talk during the evening hours from the creatures he’s trying to keep out. This movie turns Neville into more of a scientist on the verge of a great solution, dealing with a mindless population of creatures who just simply moan/groan. Creepy, yes. Psychologically damaging, not as effective as previous attempts or as effective as the novel itself. Because of this straying away from the original storyline, the movie struggles to find footing. It has moments here and there where you’re saying ‘DON’T!’, but generally you’re just waiting for something to happen.  In Heston’s version of the film you had him trying to stop the voices from penetrating into his head, adding to his madness.  The voices were coming from the folks outside of his house.  In the book, it’s the same.  The creatures are real, they’re intelligent, they have an agenda.  In the most recent version of the film, the creatures are a bit too one-dimensional; monsters more than human.   It was disappointing to see it done this way, but it worked.  It just didn’t work as well for the overall theme. 

I watched this movie multiple times, just to be fair. It’s a good story that Smith and director Francis Lawrence have put together. If you’re not comparing this storyto the original story or the previous films, then you’ve got yourself a good movie. Certainly worthy of seeing, without question. But for most fans of the book and of the previous films, there might be a slight disappointment factor. Again, the film was toted as an action flick, but failed to deliver that. With the slow-pacing of the storyline and the drawn out flashbacks (You’re nearly half-way through the film before you see what happens to his family), it’s gonna be tough to call it ‘action’. I think if the flashback had been established at the beginning, or at all once during a dream sequence, this would have been much better overall. Because it wasn’t, you’ve got yourself a very slow-paced film looking for an exciting way to bring the dreary atmosphere up.

Being Blu and alone

While certainly not the calibur of The Dark Knight, mainly because it wasn’t shot in IMAX (or didn’t seem like), I Am Legend looks positively amazing on Blu-ray.  The lonely cityscape, the haunting darkness and the action scenes really benefit from HD.  And for a movie such as this, the audio is just unreal.  For example, when Smith is running after his dog inside of the dark building, the sounds of silence, death and creatures are all around.  You will certainly jump from this 5.1 masterpiece.  Even after four viewings, I jumped.  It keeps you honest and alert. 

As for the features, what’s great about the Ultimate Collector’s Edition is that you get just a bit more with it.  You get what came on the original Blu-ray, which consisted of the Alternate version of the film and features that will breakdown, in short segments, how the movie was created from beginning to end.  You get some really good HD footage of behind the scenes.  You also get a very nice documentary on how viruses were created and how they developed and even how people discovered them.  The filmmakers actually visited the CDC for information about how the virus would mutate, how a doctor would react, etc.  It’s about 10-20 minutes in length is just super darn cool.  Anyway, here are a list of features:

Disc One

Focus Points

• Play Movie with Focus Points – Explore the making of I Am Legend and the process of bringing the film to the screen.

Behind the Story

• Commentary by director Francis Lawrence and producer-screenwriter Akiva Goldsman
• Cautionary Tale: The Science of I Am Legend – How life threatening microbes have caused pandemic viral infections and the looming dangers of advanced strands to the human race. [HD]
• Creating I Am Legend
  • The Joy Ride Jump – All alone with a hot car and an empty street; setting up the perfect scene. [HD]
  • Will in the Driver’s Seat – A realistic balance between live action and the stunt world. [HD]
  • Robert Neville’s Psychology – Will Smith, director Francis Lawrence and novelist Richard Matheson set up the character of Robert Neville, particularly his devotion to discipline in routine in order to keep his sanity. [HD]
  • The Story – Will Smith, director Francis Lawrence, producer-screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and novelist Richard Matheson discuss the roots of the film, as well as the story and its relevance. [HD]
  • Will Smith in Action – As a man in action, we get to see the humor and kindness of actor Will Smith when cameras are not rolling. [HD]
  • That Scary Place Inside All of Us – Will Smith and producer-screenwriter Akiva Goldsman discuss he complexity of the story and the Robert Neville character’s ragged psyche. [HD]
  • Shooting on the Intrepid – Faced with isolation, this NYC landmark was a perfect location against the city skyline. [HD]
  • NYC Gone Back to Nature – Will Smith, director Francis Lawrence and others focus on the challenges of making a city of over eight million look deserted. [HD]
  • Will’s Physical Training – Will Smith and trainer Darrell Foster discuss the physical training Will undertook for the role of Robert Neville. [HD]
  • Creating the Dark Seekers – Producer-screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and novelist Richard Matheson discuss the development of the film’s virus-infected creatures. [HD]
  • Evacuation, Part 1: Family Convoy – Military coordinator Sam Glen and Second Unit director Vic Armstrong discuss shooting the evacuation sequence. [HD]
  • Evacuation, Part 2: Military Cooperation – Producer-screenwriter Akiva Goldsman and others discuss the enormous amount of cooperation provided to the production by the U.S. Military in the evacuation sequence. [HD]
  • Building the Pier – Director Francis Lawrence and others explain the significance of building a pier in New York’s East River. [HD]
  • Canine Co-Star – Animal coordinator Steve Berens and his star dog Abby share some of her secrets for the training on this film. [HD]
  • Quiet Imagination – Will Smith talks about his growth as an actor and what was required from his performance. [HD]
  • Closing Down Fifth Avenue – Unique challenges to shut down one of New York’s busiest streets. [HD]
  • Evacuation, Part 3: Choppers – Skilled chopper pilots played a key role to deliver dramatic footage. [HD]
  • The Conflicts of Isolation – Will Smith and producer-screenwriter Akiva Goldsman discuss the psychology of the character of Robert Neville, who believes he is the last man on earth. [HD]
  • Trusting the Unknown – A profile of the characters Anna and Ethan, as played by Alice Braga and Charlie Tahan, and the significance of their roles in this film. [HD]
  • The Creatures Break In – Preparing Robert Neville’s home for the attack of the Dark Seekers. [HD]
  • Neville’s Weapons – The balance between protection and the reality of his environment played a role in the weapons used by Robert Neville. [HD]
• Animated Comics
  • Death as a Gift – Jinghua Xu, immune from the virus and the last survivor in Hong Kong, struggles with the reality of living in a world decimated by the infected. [HD]
  • Isolation – Abandoned by his country, John Edward Lard is left to die in a maximum security prison while all other inmates are transferred to a more secure facility. [HD]
  • Sacrificing the Few for the Many – In a Central American jungle, two seemingly unaffected children witness the slaughter of aid workers and the destruction of a sick camp by an unknown military operation. [HD]
  • Shelter – A father’s agonizing choice to keep his infected daughter locked outside a refuge proves useless as the shelter walls are ultimately breached by the sick.] [HD]
• Trailer – Standard definition
  • Theatrical trailer

Disc 2 (Alternate Version)

• Includes Digital Copy
• Behind the Story
  • The Making of I Am Legend [SD]
  • I Am Legend: Making of Shots [HD]
• Additional Footage – Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Francis Lawrence and Akiva Goldsman
  • Joy Ride – Robert Neville drives his car through the desolate streets of New York. [SD]
  • Sam and the Butterfly – Sam plays with a butterfly in the park. [SD]
  • They Set a Trap – Neville realizes the creatures are evolving. [SD]
  • Driving on the FDR – Neville and Anna drive down the empty freeway. [SD]
  • You Go Around the Door – A protective Neville reveals his fatherly side. [SD]
  • Do You Know How to Shoot a Gun? – Neville teaches Ethan the basics, to Anna’s dismay. [SD]
  • 5th Avenue Walk – Neville, Anna and Ethan walk down the abandoned street. [SD]
  • Questioning Faith – Anna begins to doubt her beliefs for the first time. [SD]
  • Eat Fish on the Couch – Neville and Anna share a quiet moment. [SD]
  • Death or Life – Anna tries to convince Neville to escape from New York. [SD]
  • A Haunting Sight – Neville and Anna open the door and see the destruction he’s caused. [SD]
  • Hope – Anna’s faith is restored. [SD]