This is a must-have release for any Blu-ray collection.
Video:
"I Am Legend" looks quite dapper on Blu-ray disc with an ultra-detailed and highly colored transfer mastered with the VC-1 codec at a resolution of 1080p and maintains the film´s 2.40:1 theatrical aspect ratio. I guess the time has come where I really don´t need to point out the 1080p resolution anymore. This has become pretty much standard on both high definition formats. However, the supplements are included in a mix of 1080i, 1080p and 480p. I should also point out that the added scenes for the alternate version blend seamlessly with the theatrically presented footage. This Blu-ray release is easily one of the better looking films I have seen on the Blu-ray format.
Detail is incredibly strong. The individual hairs on Will Smith´s closely cut hair could be counted and I found myself wondering if Smith is going grey or if this was makeup. The blades of grass growing up through the streets of New York are again countable because of the high level of detail. There is never any drop in resolution and the film continues to impress even during the darkest moments, which is a testament to its strong shadow detail and black levels. Colors are also strong and I found the red Ford Mustang looked stunning. This is a colorful film and the filmmakers nicely decided to keep natural colors and not play with saturation or contrast. Every hue is perfectly rendered and flesh tones are as faithful as it gets; at least Will Smith´s skin tones look good considering you don´t see too many other non-dark seeker faces. The image is clean and there are no instances of edge enhancement, film grain or flaws from the source materials. "I Am Legend" shows how good Blu-ray can look.
Sound:
While the Alternate version of "I Am Legend" is available in only English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are provided in addition to these two tracks for the theatrical version. "I Am Legend" is a film with some very solid moments that show off the full capability of TrueHD, but it is an uneven experience with an equal amount of time spent with nary a sound in the apocalyptic quiet of New York. Thankfully, the quite moments still exhibit a sense of ambience and while "I Am Legend" may move between being an incredibly aggressive mix to being quite timid, it is technically sound and a very good example of high definition sound. The front speakers do a very good job of carrying the load of the film, but the rears have plenty to do throughout the viewing of "I Am Legend" and some scenes contain wonderfully placed elements in the rear speakers. When Neville captures the female dark seeker, the sound of the trap being sprung is nothing less than incredible. The .1 LFE channel is deep and throaty. Vocals are strong and clear. When "I Am Legend" is getting busy, this is a reference quality soundtrack.
Extras:
Before digging into the actual supplements contained on the Bu-ray disc, it should be pointed out that "I Am Legend" contains both the theatrical version of the film and an alternate version. The expanded version of "I Am Legend" runs for about four minutes longer than the theatrical release and has a completely different ending tacked on. From the moment when the dark-seekers invade Neville´s laboratory, things change. The ending completely changes the tone of the film and allows for a ´happily ever after´ vibe to the picture. One or two minor scenes are thrown into the film, but aside from the ending, nothing is Earth-shattering. Neither ending delivers the tone of the novel, but the alternate version seems more in line of what I was expecting with Will Smith starring as Robert Neville.
The disc starts off with the featurette Cautionary Tale: The Science of I Am Legend (20:41). This takes a look at the real world epidemics and touches on the recent social fear of pandemics. With the world in a state of worry that an avian flu may become easily passed among humans, pandemics are a hot topic and this supplement digs into that fear and shows the relevance of events depicted in "I Am Legend" and discusses how they are pertinent today. Many experts in the viral field take a few minutes to speak their mind and although this doesn´t dig too deeply into anything, it looks at the history of pandemics, discusses AIDS and a few other epidemics. I´m not sure if we´d ever seen an epidemic that reaches the proportions of "I Am Legend" or induces similar symptoms, but this seems fitting given the subject matter.
The making-of feature Creating I Am Legend (51:58) is a series of twenty one vignettes that take a deep look into all aspects of creating the film. They may be played separately or collectively. I found the features on the special effects to be quite intriguing and also enjoyed learning how they created the empty and apocalyptic version of New York City. While the entirety of these featurettes clocks in at nearly an hour, this is not a lot of time given the fact that there are twenty one subjects covered. Therefore, only about two to three minutes is spent on any given topic and while this does cover a lot of information on the making of "I Am Legend," it never digs too deep.
A series of four Animated Comics completes the supplements provided on the Blu-ray disc. These comics expand the world of "I Am Legend" and focus on events not told in the film. Death is a Gift (3:03) is a quick look at a girl who is the lone survivor of the outbreak in Hong Kong. The second, Isolation (6:36) is set in Colorado and looks at a prisoner in a secure facility surviving the infection and the dark seekers due to being contained in isolation. Sacrificing the Few for the Many (3:30) is a horrific look at a disease care center getting ´cleansed´ by the military to prevent the spread of the disease. The final short, Shelter (8:40) is the longest of the animated shorts and focuses on the spread of the disease in India. There are some tasty moments contained here. These comics are quite the downers and can be played individually or collectively.
Closing Comments:
I wasn´t sure of what to expect with the latest big-screen adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel "I Am Legend." For one, Will Smith is the star of the film and I didn´t know of how the filmmakers would handle the end result of the main character and how much they would change it for this film. Secondly, I couldn´t see anybody throwing Smith into a role where he is ultimately a bad guy. Sure, Smith wasn´t the nicest character in his early film "Six Degrees of Separation," but that was a long time ago. Thankfully, "I Am Legend´ works and while this isn´t an overly faithful adaptation, it is highly entertaining and packs a nice mix of action, thrills and chills. Smith is able to fly solo for most of this film and shows why he is one of today´s top actors. The Blu-ray release features sight and sound that is as good as it gets on the format. The supplements are a little lackluster considering this was a very high profile release for Warner Bros., but I enjoyed the attached alternate version. This is a must-have release for any Blu-ray collection.
"I Am Legend" looks quite dapper on Blu-ray disc with an ultra-detailed and highly colored transfer mastered with the VC-1 codec at a resolution of 1080p and maintains the film´s 2.40:1 theatrical aspect ratio. I guess the time has come where I really don´t need to point out the 1080p resolution anymore. This has become pretty much standard on both high definition formats. However, the supplements are included in a mix of 1080i, 1080p and 480p. I should also point out that the added scenes for the alternate version blend seamlessly with the theatrically presented footage. This Blu-ray release is easily one of the better looking films I have seen on the Blu-ray format.
Detail is incredibly strong. The individual hairs on Will Smith´s closely cut hair could be counted and I found myself wondering if Smith is going grey or if this was makeup. The blades of grass growing up through the streets of New York are again countable because of the high level of detail. There is never any drop in resolution and the film continues to impress even during the darkest moments, which is a testament to its strong shadow detail and black levels. Colors are also strong and I found the red Ford Mustang looked stunning. This is a colorful film and the filmmakers nicely decided to keep natural colors and not play with saturation or contrast. Every hue is perfectly rendered and flesh tones are as faithful as it gets; at least Will Smith´s skin tones look good considering you don´t see too many other non-dark seeker faces. The image is clean and there are no instances of edge enhancement, film grain or flaws from the source materials. "I Am Legend" shows how good Blu-ray can look.
Sound:
While the Alternate version of "I Am Legend" is available in only English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are provided in addition to these two tracks for the theatrical version. "I Am Legend" is a film with some very solid moments that show off the full capability of TrueHD, but it is an uneven experience with an equal amount of time spent with nary a sound in the apocalyptic quiet of New York. Thankfully, the quite moments still exhibit a sense of ambience and while "I Am Legend" may move between being an incredibly aggressive mix to being quite timid, it is technically sound and a very good example of high definition sound. The front speakers do a very good job of carrying the load of the film, but the rears have plenty to do throughout the viewing of "I Am Legend" and some scenes contain wonderfully placed elements in the rear speakers. When Neville captures the female dark seeker, the sound of the trap being sprung is nothing less than incredible. The .1 LFE channel is deep and throaty. Vocals are strong and clear. When "I Am Legend" is getting busy, this is a reference quality soundtrack.
Extras:
Before digging into the actual supplements contained on the Bu-ray disc, it should be pointed out that "I Am Legend" contains both the theatrical version of the film and an alternate version. The expanded version of "I Am Legend" runs for about four minutes longer than the theatrical release and has a completely different ending tacked on. From the moment when the dark-seekers invade Neville´s laboratory, things change. The ending completely changes the tone of the film and allows for a ´happily ever after´ vibe to the picture. One or two minor scenes are thrown into the film, but aside from the ending, nothing is Earth-shattering. Neither ending delivers the tone of the novel, but the alternate version seems more in line of what I was expecting with Will Smith starring as Robert Neville.
The disc starts off with the featurette Cautionary Tale: The Science of I Am Legend (20:41). This takes a look at the real world epidemics and touches on the recent social fear of pandemics. With the world in a state of worry that an avian flu may become easily passed among humans, pandemics are a hot topic and this supplement digs into that fear and shows the relevance of events depicted in "I Am Legend" and discusses how they are pertinent today. Many experts in the viral field take a few minutes to speak their mind and although this doesn´t dig too deeply into anything, it looks at the history of pandemics, discusses AIDS and a few other epidemics. I´m not sure if we´d ever seen an epidemic that reaches the proportions of "I Am Legend" or induces similar symptoms, but this seems fitting given the subject matter.
The making-of feature Creating I Am Legend (51:58) is a series of twenty one vignettes that take a deep look into all aspects of creating the film. They may be played separately or collectively. I found the features on the special effects to be quite intriguing and also enjoyed learning how they created the empty and apocalyptic version of New York City. While the entirety of these featurettes clocks in at nearly an hour, this is not a lot of time given the fact that there are twenty one subjects covered. Therefore, only about two to three minutes is spent on any given topic and while this does cover a lot of information on the making of "I Am Legend," it never digs too deep.
A series of four Animated Comics completes the supplements provided on the Blu-ray disc. These comics expand the world of "I Am Legend" and focus on events not told in the film. Death is a Gift (3:03) is a quick look at a girl who is the lone survivor of the outbreak in Hong Kong. The second, Isolation (6:36) is set in Colorado and looks at a prisoner in a secure facility surviving the infection and the dark seekers due to being contained in isolation. Sacrificing the Few for the Many (3:30) is a horrific look at a disease care center getting ´cleansed´ by the military to prevent the spread of the disease. The final short, Shelter (8:40) is the longest of the animated shorts and focuses on the spread of the disease in India. There are some tasty moments contained here. These comics are quite the downers and can be played individually or collectively.
Closing Comments:
I wasn´t sure of what to expect with the latest big-screen adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel "I Am Legend." For one, Will Smith is the star of the film and I didn´t know of how the filmmakers would handle the end result of the main character and how much they would change it for this film. Secondly, I couldn´t see anybody throwing Smith into a role where he is ultimately a bad guy. Sure, Smith wasn´t the nicest character in his early film "Six Degrees of Separation," but that was a long time ago. Thankfully, "I Am Legend´ works and while this isn´t an overly faithful adaptation, it is highly entertaining and packs a nice mix of action, thrills and chills. Smith is able to fly solo for most of this film and shows why he is one of today´s top actors. The Blu-ray release features sight and sound that is as good as it gets on the format. The supplements are a little lackluster considering this was a very high profile release for Warner Bros., but I enjoyed the attached alternate version. This is a must-have release for any Blu-ray collection.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]23075[/release]