Wow.

If you’ve ever lived in Manhattan, if you’ve ever visited Manhattan, if you’ve ever seen pictures of Manhattan, or even if you’ve only heard of Manhattan, you’ve got to see this movie. Whether or not you’re a Will Smith fan, whether or not you like science fiction movies, whether or not you read the 1954 I Am Legend novel by Richard Matheson, whether or not you saw the 1964 movie adaptation (The Last Man on Earth), whether or not you saw the 1971 movie version (The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston) — you absolutely, positively must see this movie. Trust me on this one.

I have no idea what combination of digital photography, simulation, and other magic was used to make this movie, but the images of post-apocalyptic Manhattan — set only five years from today — are enough to send shivers down your spine. There are scenes of knee-high grass growing in the cracked asphalt along Park Avenue, of crickets chirping in the springtime background along Fifth Avenue, of packs of wild deer running past Grand Central Station, of a bombed-out Brooklyn Bridge near the South Street Seaport, of shredded billboards in Times Square, of decay and neglect in Washington Square Park, of chin-high rows of corn growing in Central Park, and of Will Smith driving golf balls off the SR-71 “stealth” bomber on the deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise, docked at its berth on the Hudson River … all of which is obviously unreal, and yet so “real” that you can’t help wondering whether civilization has vanished. Maybe this won’t affect you so much if you happen to see this movie while safely sitting in Minneapolis, or Mumbai, or Melbourne, or Munich; but it’s very spooky sitting in a darkened Manhattan theater while watching such a realistic depiction of the end of civilization.

As for the story: in this version, scientists have genetically reengineered a measles virus, which appears to cures cancer. But the virus mutates and runs amok, basically wiping out all of mankind –except for a few stragglers who, by some quirk of fate, have a natural immunity. Will Smith, a military virologist, is one of them, and it happens that he’s based in Manhattan when the crisis occurs. Manhattan is quarantined, his family is sent out on the last helicopter out of Manhattan, and Will stays behind, hoping to find an antidote. Three years of chaos and isolation ensue, and then … well, I won’t spoil the story, because you should see it for yourself. You may or may not find the ending credible or satisfactory; having peeked at some reviews, I didn’t think I would be … but was surprised that when I actually saw it, it really did make sense.

I know nothing of viruses and their mutations, so I have no idea whether the basic plot is credible. If mankind did get wiped out in a flash, I think it would take more like a century for Manhattan to become as wild and overgrown as depicted in this movie; but I was willing to suspend my disbelief and try to imagine myself trapped in such a strange land. In any case, what impacted me the most was not the credibility of the plot, or the personality of the characters (though I thought Smith’s acting was terrific), or the final outcome of the story. It was the visual imagery, more than anything else, that made this movie so powerful for me. (But I couldn’t help smiling when I saw that the computers Will Smith used for his research, even after three years of isolation, were Macs. Naturally.)

See for yourself…