I Am Legend

Basic Story Idea:
This is a remake of a remake of a remake of an adapation of a book. This is the first adaptation of the novel I Am Legend that actually uses the books' title. Robert Neville is the "last man on earth", living in New York three years after a massive infection wipes out most human life on Earth. Those that survive the virus are either immune to it or are turned into aggressive creatures that feed on the non-mutated humans that barely survive. Neville puts all his effort into finding a cure for the virus.

Acting:
Will Smith is an actor that I can enjoy and dislike all in the same movie. He does a great job in this movie, carrying the weight of the film on his shoulders as the main character. However, I never bought into his scientist persona or his background as a military scientist. I just never bought it, not once. The dog character in the movie is just as much of a relatable and loveable character as Smith, if not more. I really got into the dog's persona and what the dog meant to Robert Neville. The other normal humans are really just there as plot device and don't have much to work with.

Writing/Story:
This is the least like the book (but that doesn't necessarily mean it's horrible). It is a good story until Robert Neville meets the normal humans, then it becomes paint-by-numbers and overall a bit mundane. It might just me be, but I enjoyed the "Cast Away" aspects of the first half of the movie. Once that part was over, the movie just didn't mean much to me anymore. It was just another action-y, end-of-the-world-but-with-hope flick after that.

Special Effects:
Mostly Bad. All the creatures are poorly done CGI, they all look the same, they have stupidly generated facial features and expressions. They are really below serviceable. Sad really. However, the transformation of New York into a wasteland is really well done and a highlight of the movie.

The Main Disappointments:
1.) - The "Darkseekers" (a.k.a. the creatures). They could have been done up as real people in make up and with minor CGI touches to be very cool, but we got crappy CGI models that just don't look real in any sense.
2.) - The last 15 minutes is pretty much - "Okay, let's end this now and force-feed them all the final information, as well as validate the title of the movie."

Overall Opinion and Rating:
Rating - 5 outta 10.
It is what it is, I guess. It's a pretty good movie up until the last 45 minutes. I really enjoyed all the moments of lone Will Smith and his dog up until that point. Then the movie sort of nosedives.

Extra Thoughts:
The Last Man on Earth (with Vincent Price) and The Omega Man are much better movies in my opinion and much better adaptations of this story/novel.