Seasoned actor Will Smith stars in this film as Robert Neville,  a brilliant scientist who survives a terrible virus that was seemingly unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world.

Director Francis Lawrence (CONSTANTINE) makes the most minimal use of music in this film, allowing the haunting silence of the deserted remains to linger in one’s senses.    The savage zombie killers never speak, yet they are intelligent, and consider themselves the rightful heirs to the planet that the humans once dominated.  While the film does raise a lot of points it never manages to answer (how a cancer cure could wreak such strengthening havoc on a person’s genetic makeup),  the film does manage to pull enough out if it’s hat to make it work - largely in part due to Smith’s incredible acting performance.  The entire crux of the movie seems to rest on the shoulders of Smith’s ability to portray the vast loneliness and desparation one would imagine finding themselves in such a situation.  Had anyone lesser been cast in the role, I don’t think the movie would have been able to pull it off nearly as well.

While I’m not necessarily looking forward to any sequel to where the film left off, I did find myself entertained enough to not wander off during the movie, as well as being left with a bit deeper appreciation for Will Smith’s ability to act.  Maybe I’ll finally be able to shed my memories of him as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and see him for the rock solid actor he has matured into.

 The film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.