If you haven't seen "I Am Legend," starring Will Smith, then you are missing out on a rare treat. Sure there are plenty of end of the world zombie movies out there to choose from, but most of them are based purely on action sequences and zombie fight scenes. This particular movie delves deeper into more human issues that would invariably come up in such a situation.
This movie starts out with the disaster already in the past. We see the main character, and his loyal companion, out hunting for some food. We know something is wrong when they come across a deer and a lion on the streets of New York. The hero has a hunting rifle, with which he is either trying to find food, or hunting for pure sport.
At first, we aren't sure if he is all alone, or there are zombies or not. He seems to not worry about being followed, or hunted, or crazy post apocalyptic gangs jumping out. He suddenly becomes worthy when his trusted companion, his dog, wanders into a seemingly abandoned building. He goes in after him, and we discover what he is up against. We find several human looking creatures huddles in the corner, breathing heavily. He barely escapes with this life once they discover his presence.
We find out what caused the current situation through various flashbacks. He lived on Manhattan, and he was a skilled research physician for the military, and there was a horrible disease. The island was evacuated once the military realized that the disease was out of control. He decided to stay behind, as this was ground zero, and he is sure that he can find a cure. He lives fairly comfortably, or so it seems at first. He has a regular house with electricity, food, and video tapes of old events that he watches. But when with nightfall, we hear the horror that happens.
At night, the vampires, or zombies, we're not sure which, come out and hunt. And we find out that they are not the mindless zombies of other movies. They are intelligent, organized, and he must go to great lengths to avoid discovery by them. Then two events will change things drastically. The horrible thing is his loyal companion is bitten by one of the creatures, and has to be killed. After his dog is killed, he lets his sadness and aggression get the best of him, and he forces a conflict with the monsters at night. As fate would have it, he is saved by a woman who has a daughter.
We also find that he has a laboratory of sorts, and he is continuously searching for a cure. The monsters somehow find out where he lives, and converge on his house. He must make a tough decision once the zombies break into his house and corner him, the girl, and his daughter in his basement laboratory. At the last minute, he sees a sign which he interprets as a message from fate. As a bonus, the DVD contains who completely separate and different endings to choose from. This remake (of a remake) is a great take on the familiar post apocalyptic theme, and is highly recommended.
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