Yesterday, Devin debuted the resoundingly deja-vutastic I Am Legend theatrical poster. The one-sheet is uninspiring, doing nothing more than advertising "Hey! A Will Smith movie! And he’s carrying a satchel!" Fortunately, hot on its CMYK comes the trailer, which is still Spartan in its execution– but in a way that’s won my love.
Wisely (and right on target for a teaser) the trailer jettisons details far too often laid out in full via exposition beat and instead focuses on the story’s most basic premise- Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the last man on earth. And there are others with him.
Cue Title.
I’m a sucker for the apocalyptic setup and loneliness imbued by the most of the trailer. Of course, those who know the story realize there’s a whole lot more involved than is being teased here.
I Am Legend made its rounds for way too many years through the studio system thanks to iterations with Ridley Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rob Bowman. December finally sees its release and funnily enough, this trailer (which really shows nothing about the film) has me all kinds of anticipatory and with no hint of surging annoyance at Will Smith to boot. Tip of the hat, trailer editor. Tip of the hat, indeed.
Form your own opinion by viewing the trailer in HD or old-school style right here.