The Frame

In the near future, researchers create a cure for cancer by reverse engineering the measles virus. Yay! Unfortunately, viruses are tricky buggers and the cure mutates into a rabies-like disease that spreads like wildfire, turning 99% of the population into bloodthirsty zombie-esque creatures. Boo. The fate of humanity rests in the capable hands of Will Smith, as immune medical researcher Robert Neville, working in deserted Manhattan to reverse-reverse engineer the disease. What could have been a routine survival creature feature becomes a good deal more, focusing on Neville’s loneliness and abandonment. He depends deeply on the company of his dog and of the store mannequins for which he creates personalities and stories – a moment when one of the mannequins is “in danger” from the zombies and Neville breaks down in panic could be merely ludicrous but is instead tragically believable in his world of devastation and isolation. It’s quite obviously a Smith tour-de-force, and he doesn’t disappoint. The special effects on the creatures do, but I choose to believe their lack of believability is intentional, because they aren’t the real horror Neville has to face. I only wish the ending had sustained the contemplative quality of the earlier sections – it eventually does become little more than survival horror and never follows through on the implications of Neville’s psychological situation as much as it could have. Still, a solid blockbuster with a lot more thoughtfulness and integrity than most.
Well Above Average