War & Legend

Charlie Wilson’s War is an almost great film if not for a few clunky scenes in Afghanistan. Mike Nichols’ film is so close to greatness you can’t taste it, but atlas it is not to be. What is there is very funny and a fresh view of warfare and politics. You also get three great performances from Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and the scene stealing Phillip Seymour Hoffman who deserves some serious recognition from the Academy.

I Am Legend is another film that shoots for greatness, though it’s farther away. The film is almost completely undone by the shabby CGI work and the character design of the Dark Seekers. Why didn’t they just use real actors for those roles? The character design of the Dark Seekers, which is atrocious, looks like something you’d find on the cutting room floor for The Mummy series. You can clearly tell the director was far more interested in the last man on Earth plot than the action-adventure aspect.

Will Smith’s truly great performance carries the motion picture and saves the day at the end. I’ve never seen the Fresh Prince so completely vulnerable before. Easily his best performances to date.