Demonstrating the same sort of empathetic sensibility and broader range of acting that made his performance in last year’s The Pursuit of Happyness noteworthy, Smith does well with a role that doesn’t call for much dialogue. And one can’t help but notice that silence as the story relies on action scenes to keep the story moving. Without belaboring the point any longer, these often-cheesy sequences simply don’t cut it in the absence of conversation, making I Am Legend nothing more than an interesting premise that really never takes off. It’s like a second-rate horror movie with no sense of humor, which isn’t probably how most people would prefer to spend 100 minutes in a movie theater.
       
CAUTIONS:

• Drugs/Alcohol:  No alcohol use is portrayed, and the only drugs that are involved are the ones of the medical variety.
• Language/Profanity:  A few mild expletives of the “hell” and “damn” variety of are uttered. A couple of instances of the Lord’s name taken in vain.
• Sex/Nudity:  None.
• Violence:  In abundance, given the film’s subject matter. Because of the threat of the infected creatures, Robert carries a gun at all times to protect himself and uses it repeatedly. There’s also plenty of disturbing images (animals preying on one another, the shouts and growls of all those zombie-like creatures running around). SPOILER ALERT:  Robert’s dog is euthanized after getting infected with the virus.
• Religion:  Before Robert’s family is separated, Robert’s wife initiates a prayer for safety. Robert also makes the clear delineation that it was humans—not God—who caused the crisis. The more time Robert spends alone, however, his faith wavers. When Anna talks about God providing a safe haven from the virus at a compound a few hours away, Robert says he doesn’t believe there’s one—or that God would provide that sort of respite. SPOILER ALERT:  But in the end, Robert regains his faith and makes the necessary sacrifice to save Anna (and anyone else who happens to alive) from further harm.