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August 19, 2009
E-mail a friendYOUNG VOICES
Will Smith is the Last Man on Earth
While the last-person-on-earth scenario in film is hardly a new thing, it is always popular. The idea of being alone in a post-apocalyptic abandoned city, and what one would do in that sort of situation, has been irresistible to filmmakers and audiences for years. Apart from the vicarious thrill of wearing fur coats and driving a different Ferrari every day (maybe that's just what I'd do), such explorations bring up all kinds of important questions about human nature. Mostly, though, they're just immensely entertaining.
In the tradition of such films comes I Am Legend, Will Smith's apocalypse-themed blockbuster, which he will discuss on tonight's program. A remake of Charlton Heston's 1971 The Omega Man, which itself was a remake of Vincent Price's 1964 The Last Man on Earth, I Am Legend stars Smith as the lone survivor of a deadly plague. Along with his sole companion, his family dog, he searches for a cure to the virus that wiped out humanity, all the while dodging roving bands of zombie vampires. He cruises around in a souped-up Mustang, hits golf balls from an aircraft carrier, and lives in a fortified bunker with a hi-tech basement laboratory. What's not to like?
Personally, if I was asked to nominate someone to save the world, it would almost definitely be Will Smith. He has proven time and again that no matter the foe, be it angry aliens, evil scientists, crazy criminals, or more angry aliens, they are no match for the Fresh Prince, with his arsenal of wisecracks and whupass.
I Am Legend, like The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man, is unlikely to win Smith his Oscar, or anyone for that matter. It will be a summer blockbuster for the holidays, featuring a lovable hero, a solid, simple story, and lots of action. The film is predicted to dominate box offices around the world in the coming weeks, proof of both the appeal of the last-man-on-earth movie, and Smith's status as the most bankable leading man in Hollywood.