Box office
I Am Legend collected $77.2 million during its opening weekend, ranking in first place at the box office above Alvin and the Chipmunks.[66] It surpassed The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to have the highest December opening weekend.[67] That record would be surpassed by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey five years later in 2012.[68]
The film grossed $256 million domestically and $329 million internationally, increasing the total gross to $585.4 million.[3]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 68% based on 217 reviews with an average rating of 6.34/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "I Am Legend overcomes questionable special effects and succeeds largely on the strength of Will Smith's mesmerizing performance."[69] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[70] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[71]
A. O. Scott wrote that Will Smith gave a "graceful and effortless performance" and also noted the "third-act collapse". He felt that the movie "does ponder some pretty deep questions about the collapse and persistence of human civilization".[72] Dana Stevens of Slate wrote that the movie lost its way around the hour mark, noting that "the Infected just aren't that scary."[40] NPR critic Bob Mondello noted the film's subtext concerning global terrorism and that this aspect made the film fit in perfectly with other, more direct cinematic explorations of the subject.[73] Richard Roeper gave the film a positive review on the television program At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, commending Will Smith as being in "prime form", also saying there are "some amazing sequences" and that there was "a pretty heavy screenplay for an action film."[74] In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, writing, "Given its setup, I Am Legend is well-constructed to involve us with Dr. Neville and his campaign to survive."[75] The film has been criticized for diverging from Matheson's novel, especially in its portrayal of a specifically Christian theme.[76] Much of the negative criticism concerned the film's third act,[46][47][77] with some critics favoring the alternative ending in the DVD release.[9]
Other response
Popular Mechanics published an article on December 14, 2007,[78] addressing some of the scientific issues raised by the film:
- the rate of deterioration of urban structures, infrastructure, and survival of fauna and flora
- the plausibility of a retrovirus spreading out of control as depicted in the film (The measles virus depicted in the film is not a retrovirus, but is in fact a part of the Paramyxovirus family.)
- the mechanics of the Brooklyn Bridge's destruction
The magazine solicited reactions from Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us, virologist W. Ian Lipkin, MD, and Michel Bruneau, PhD, comparing their predictions with the film's depictions. The article raised the most questions regarding the virus' mutation and the medical results, and pointed out that a suspension bridge like the Brooklyn Bridge would likely completely collapse rather than losing only its middle span. Neville's method of producing power using gasoline-powered generators seemed the most credible: "This part of the tale is possible, if not entirely likely," Popular Mechanics editor Roy Berendsohn says.
Marxist philosopher Slavoj Žižek criticized the film politically for, in his view, "being the most regressive adaptation from the novel." He said that while the original novel had a "progressive multicultural message" where Neville became a "legend" to the new creatures and is subsequently killed by them (much like vampire were legends to humans), the 2007 film finds a cure for the Darkseekers and it is delivered by a survivor through "divine intervention". For Žižek, this misses the original message and "openly opt[s] for religious fundamentalism."[79]
Accolades
I Am Legend earned four nominations for the Visual Effects Society awards,[80] and was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards,[81] Outstanding Film and Actor at the Image Awards,[82] and Best Sound at the Satellite Awards. In June 2008, Will Smith won a Saturn Award for Best Actor.[83] Will Smith also won the MTV Movie Awards for Best Male Performance.[84]
