I Am Legend

It took until 'I Am Legend' was released on DVD for me to see it.  I had planned on seeing it at the theater with my assistant swim coach during Christmas vacation of last year - her vacation, from Sonoma State - but she bailed on me at the last minute.  Could I have gone alone?  Yes, but I did not.  

My big fear the first time I saw the trailer was Will Smith is becoming Mr. sci-fi.  I'm a fan of the genre, but so was Kevin Costner for a while, and I'd hate to see Smith follow that path.  I liked 'I, Robot,' but sci-fi is designed to attract a pretty specific audience, and I don't know if that audience is ready for Smith to carry a film on his own.  Were those first thoughts right?  No.  Hell no.  According to wikipedia, the film made a shitload of money.  

Smith has become a good actor, and in 'I Am Legend' does a good job conveying the idea that his character might be nuts, might be completely alone and grudgingly accepts that, and is scared shitless of the dark.  Having missed it in the theater, I'm not sure how well the CG looked because if it looked as shitty as it did on my screen, that's a disappointment.  I'm passed the point in my life in which that really matters anymore though.  One of the biggest surprises is that the film's director, writers, and Smith let the viewer do a little of the figuring out on his own.  It's the anti-Michael Bay technique, which is welcome and should be exercised more frequently throughout the action/adventure movie-making world.  

I've been wrestling off and on with the question of whether or not I'm going to buy the movie.  I'm interested in seeing the alternate ending, which was not on the copy I rented, dammit.  I don't really know that I'm going to watch it that many times if I do happen to purchase it.  It's good.  I liked it.  But I'm not sure there's going to be something new to find the next time, and the time after that.  Will my brain be stimulated to wrestle itself by new or complicated questions of morality each time I watch?  If so, when those questions cease, is the movie strictly blow-up, carnage, entertaining enough to warrant the purchase?  I don't think I'd spend paycheck money on it, but I won $300 at the casino last night so I'm feeling like the buy it/don't buy it question's significance has toned down, which means it'll likely be in my library come this time next week.