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Created May 31, 2008 06:21PM PST • Edited May 24, 2015 10:09PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Good 3.0

   I Am Legend is a darn good zombie movie, though I admit, zombie flicks aren’t my faves. Will Smith’s tremendous charisma carries the picture, a good thing since he’s the only person on screen for much of it.

4. Acting

   Good 3.0

   Somewhat like Charlton Heston in the original Planet of the Apes, this movie plunks superstar Will Smith into a post-apocalyptic world where he must persevere as The Last Man On Earth. Our man Smith is more than up to the job, both in terms of rescuing humanity and in making the movie compelling to watch.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

6. Female Stars Good 3.0

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Good 3.0

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

    A deserted New York City makes for a terrific setting. Well exploited by first time movie director Francis Lawrence, the Big Apple never fails to fascinate, whether teeming with people, as in real life, or overgrown and full of wild animals, as in “I am Legend.”

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

12. Play Good 3.0

13. Music Great 4.0

    “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Stir It Up,” “Redemption Song:” great Bob Marley songs pepper the movie and inform the screen play. Even Will Smith’s daughter’s character is named “Marley.”

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 1.6

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Fierce 2.3

19. Rudeness Polite 1.5

21. Reality

    Supernatural 3.7

    It is a wonder that the poor humans exposed to the movie’s dread virus emerge with apparently superhuman strength while subsisting on a cannibalistic diet. Zombie living at its best, I guess.

22. Circumstantial Surreal 3.0

23. Biological Fantasy 5.0

24. Physical Surreal 3.0