This is what the name of Will Smith’s new movie should be, because it was pretty stupid.
Stories are about people, and there was precious little human interaction in this movie. While watching this movie, I wanted to hit the fast forward and get the story going. I remember thinking that it was slower than a bad French movie where the voice over tells us what the character is feeling (take your pick there, because there are lots of offenders.)
This movie seemed like it was going to be a remake of the Charleton Heston vehicle from 30+ years ago, “The Omega Man.” Will Smith plays a scientist and Army officer who is one of the few people immune to a virus with rabies-like symptoms. Think Buckaroo Banzai, but with better abs. Actually, Buckaroo Banzai is more believable.
Emma Thompson makes an appearance via video tape as the doctor who created a virus that cured cancer. That virus mutated into a virus that causes rabies-like symptoms. I think there was more to that sub-plot, but it didn’t make it out of the editing bay.
Dr. Neville, played by Will Smith, sets up a laboratory in the basement of his house across from Washington Square Park in New York City. There is lets us have lots of shots of the city in ruins. It’s Washington Square, it must be New York. But how stupid is that? He is in the middle of a very high concentration of the viral ridden survivors, and they are trying to kill him. He needs subjects on which to test his antidote, and he hunts them. How about setting up a lab on a former army base and going into New York only when a subject is needed?
In the end, his redoubt is not very secure (yeah, like we didn’t see that coming) and things happen. By that point, I was cheering for the poor bastards who were being hunted by this clueless chump.