I am legend

Finally the movie that was set to be directed by Ridley Scott and to star Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1997 is coming to theaters! But this time, its not Ridley scott, and instead of the Governator its Will Smith! The movie follows the journey of the last man on Earth in post-apocalyptic NYC. Warner Bros. Pictures began developing I Am Legend in 1994, and various actors and directors were attached to the project, though production was delayed due to budgetary concerns related to the script. Production began in 2006 in New York City, filming mainly on location in the city, including a $5 million scene at the Brooklyn Bridge, the most expensive scene ever filmed in the city at the time. Warner Bros. launched a tie-in comic and an online multiplayer game on Second Life as part of its marketing campaign. I Am Legend was released on December 14, 2007 in the United States. It opened to the largest ever box office for a non-Christmas film released in the U.S. during December. The film's success cemented Will Smith's status as a major box office draw

Short synopsis of the movie

After the outbreak of a lethal virus in 2009, U.S. Army virologist Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville (Will Smith) is left as the last healthy human in New York City and possibly the entire world.

The story opens in 2012, and a series of flashbacks and recorded news programs reveal that three years earlier a genetically re-engineered measles virus, originally created as a cure for cancer, mutated into a lethal strain, which rapidly infected humans and some animal species. By the end of the first year, more than 90% of the planet's human population died; over 9% were infected, but did not die. These survivors degenerated into a primal, aggressive state and began to react painfully to UV radiation, forcing them to hide in buildings and other dark places during the day. Less than 1% were completely immune to the virus, and were hunted and killed by the infected or committed suicide due to isolation. Three years after the outbreak, Robert Neville believes he is the last healthy human in the world.

Neville's daily routine includes experimentation to find a cure for the virus and trips to hunt for food and supplies through a Manhattan devoid of humanity. He waits each day for a response to his continuous, automated radio broadcasts, which instruct any uninfected survivors to meet him at midday at the South Street Seaport. Flashbacks reveal that his wife and daughter appear to have died in a helicopter accident during the chaotic evacuation of Manhattan, prior to the military-enforced quarantine of the island back in 2009. Neville's isolation is broken only by the companionship of his dog Samantha ("Sam"), interaction with mannequins he has set up as patrons of a video store, and recordings of old news and entertainment broadcasts.

Neville seems to find a promising treatment derived from his own blood, so he sets a snare trap and captures an infected woman while an infected male watches from the shadows. Back in his laboratory, located in the basement of his heavily-fortified Washington Square Park home, Neville treats the infected woman without success. Shortly after, he is ensnared in a trap similar to the one he used to capture the woman. By the time Neville escapes, it is dark and he is attacked by infected dogs, one of which bites Sam (although dogs are unaffected by the airborne strain of the virus, they are still affected by the contact strain). Neville takes Sam home and injects her with a strand of his serum, but when she shows signs of infection and tries to attack him Neville is forced to strangle her. The next night he goes out and recklessly attacks a group of infected. He is nearly killed, but is rescued by a pair of immune survivors, Anna (Alice Braga) and a young boy named Ethan (Charlie Tahan), who have traveled from Maryland after hearing one of his broadcasts. They take the injured Neville back to his home where Anna explains that they survived the outbreak aboard a Red Cross evacuation ship from São Paulo and are making their way to a rumored survivors' camp in Bethel, Vermont.

The next night a group of infected — who have followed Anna and Neville and are led by the same male that attempted to trap Neville — attack the house, overrunning its defenses. Neville, Anna, and Ethan retreat into the basement laboratory, sealing themselves in with the woman Neville has been treating. Discovering that the last treatment has been successful, Neville draws a vial of the woman's blood and gives it to Anna. He pushes Anna and Ethan into an old coal chute, and then sacrifices himself to save their lives, using a hand grenade to kill himself and the attacking infected.

Anna and Ethan escape to Vermont, and locate the survivors' colony where Anna hands over the cure. In the closing voice-over, she states that Neville's cure enabled humanity to survive and rebuild, establishing his "legend." The movie ends with Anna quoting Bob Marley: "Light up the darkness".