Pun Salad

Will Smith can do no cinematic wrong in my book, and I especially appreciate him being a go-to actor when Hollywood decides to produce big-budget science fiction movies. (E.g., Men in Black, Independence Day, and I even liked I, Robot.)

This one is based on an old Richard Matheson novella, which has been movied three times previously (twice American, once Spanish).

[Meanwhile the world still waits for a single decent Robert Heinlein movie adaptation. With all due respect to Richard Matheson—and a lot of respect is due to Richard Matheson—this is insane.]

Anyway: the Fresh Prince plays Robert Neville, a scientist stranded in Manhattan when a cancer cure goes horribly wrong, killing all but a small fraction of everybody on the entire planet. Of the tiny number of survivors, nearly all are mindless and violent, and conveniently photophobic, so they only come out at night. Only Neville seems to be totally immune.

This gives rise to some misanthropic fantasy scenes, as Neville explores a city that's populated by just him, his dog, and the monsters.

It's pretty good, and Will Smith acts the heck out of a role that has him teetering on the edge of insanity. But—personal taste here—I prefer things a little more upbeat.