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Overall Rating : 6.5/10
Directed By : Griff Furst
Mark Dacascos (Only The Strong)
Geoff Meed (Resident Evil: Extinction)
Jennifer Lee Wiggins (Bone Eater)
Ryan Lloyd
Supplied By : The Asylum
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : January. 22, 2008
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| PLOT The lone survivor of a deadly plague is doomed to an eternal battle with the mutant creatures that now control the Earth. |
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| THE REVIEW About a year ago, when one would come to TERROR HOOK, it would be likely for them to see a t least one review per every other week for a film produced by THE ASYLUM. But since then, I guess a lot of things have changed with the company, and I now fail to receive anything from them - so getting I AM OMEGA is a rarity indeed. In this film that is partially based on the 1971 Charlton Heston film THE OMEGA MAN(which is based on the Richard Matheson book, I AM LEGEND), Griff Furst directs the story of Renchard, a man who believes he is the last person on Earth. Awakening after having an hallucination that depicts the death of his wife and son, Renchard wakes up to a lonely home. A clock radio nearby relays messages of what sounds like a news broadcast explaining some sort of plague that has turned everyone else into mutant, zombie-like creatures. This later sees Renchard studying his surroundings looking for a way to safety He has set up a bomb near a fuel line, it has a time attached that he has instructed to go off in 24 hours which would blow up the city eliminating any and all zombies that the plague has created. So within the 24 hours Renchard must race his way out of the city before he ends up among the dead...but it won't be easy for him. During this time he is attacked by the zombies, and put in a dilemma which involves two corrupt soldiers and a young woman, Brianna who just may be the key to a cure for the plague. With his bomb going off in less than 24 hours, a cure is the least of his worries, but when the soldiers threaten her life - Renchard steps into action....and maybe love as well. As with any of the recent ASYLUM releases, the title, I AM LEGEND just screams "cash-in", their latest inspiration? The recently released Will Smith vehicle I AM LEGEND - a film that is essentially a remake in itself. Since I first heard of this film, I have read countless amounts of negatives from people complaining that this was a "rip-off"(as they do with every ASYLUM release), but as for me, I have never thought of them as "rip-offs" - sure they are close in nature to their counterparts, but I have always seen them as having their own style and in the end differing. And while I haven't enjoyed every single one of them, there are some that are actually quite entertaining - and I hoped that this would be one of them. In the many negative reviews I have read for this one, which seem outweigh the positive ones, I noticed that a lot of the reviewers, seem to concentrate a little too much on the littlest things of technical detail. What ever happened to just enjoying a film for what it is, and not harking on the fact that un-matching stock footage was used in a scene or not? When I watch I film that I know ahead of time, is low budget, all I look for is a story that makes sense, and most importantly one that entertains me. In my many years of movie watching, I have seen films that are absolutely terrible, some were just so-so and semi-enjoyable, and of course some that I really love, but only in times where a story is just so weak do I let minor flaws such as the ones I AM OMEGA possesses effect whether I enjoy a film or not. With that said, I must say that out of all of the films that I have seen from THE ASYLUM, I AM OMEGA is at least the most entertaining from an overall stand point, As the title and tagline may imply I AM OMEGA isn't necessarily a rugged "fight for survival" type film, but one that basically falls into the ever going thing I like to call Zombiedom. It is basically just a zombie action film, starring one of action's best, Mark Dacascos and watching Dacascos in anything is always an action-packed good time. As I noted I AM OMEGA's shooting budget is obviously low, but something that I must give to THE ASYLUM, is that none of their self produced films, every show their budgets - and this remains true with I AM OMEGA. I have seen Director Griff Furst act(mostly under the name "Brick Firestone), I have talked to him personally, but before this film, I had yet to see any of the films he has directed. And to be honest his direction is actually handled pretty well, for a Director that is still relatively new in the field. From listening to the "Making of" it seems as if Furst first approaches a scene with a specific vision and tries to achieve it to the best of his ability, all the while striving to be different from the "same old same old", which is a great mentality to have, and I think it shows in his work here. The acting here is well above average for films of this type of budget, and it's all anchored by the great presence of action star Mark Dacascos whom seems to have never lost his step and is still as charismatic as he was years ago. He is joined in lead status by an actress that has appeared in several ASYLUM films over the years, Jennifer Lee Wiggins. I first came to know Jennifer after seeing one of THE ASYLUM's worst films(in my opinion) SHAPESHIFTER, and even then she impressed me with her ability to catch one's eye with not only her beauty but her ability as an Actress as well. In SHAPESHIFTER, I felt the character in which she was given was really one dimensonal, and Wiggins really didn't have much room for freedom when it came to bringing the character out more. Here in my opinion, the character had much personality, which enabled her to fully give it her all in her performance - The on-screen chemistry between Dacascos and Wiggins is highly believable, and again most of all, fun to watch progress. In the end, sure I AM OMEGA isn't really all that original(there are many films of the type out there) and the story maybe could've been a little more developed, but nevertheless, in a sea of really bad direct-to-video releases, I AM OMEGA is actually one that doesn't lack in entertainment. |
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| GORE
METER 4,5/10 Some of the gore actually looked very good - we have heads exploding from gun shots, heads smashed.....you get the picture! |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3/10 A blend of suspenseful and upbeat tracks(and a slow "love" tune) make up the scoring here, to be honest, the score never really caught my attention. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM I really liked I AM OMEGA, as I said, I feel it is one of THE ASYLUM's best offerings. The action and acting were well balanced, as was both the direction and editing. I AM OMEGA may be a low budget picture, and Mark Dacascos may not be as well known as Will Smith, but as far as my DVD player is concerned, a Dacascos DVD would get playtime over a Smith DVD any day of the week! Check this one out equipped with an open mind, not a jaded fanboy one. |
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