Come to think of it, that's a bit weird, too.

But rather than slathering on Number 500 sun block, or even just putting on more clothes, the mutants prefer to stay huddled up in hidden, indoor hives during the day, coming out at night to hunt down Smith, whom they see as nourishment. Even a momentary exposure to a shaft of afternoon sun is lethal. Still, the mutant 'zompires' are surprisingly malevolent powerhouses, and - contrary to any life form you're likely to meet in the visible universe - they have absolutely zero tolerance for ultraviolet radiation. OK, so that's a little wonky, but most of the medico stuff in this film is moderately credible (except, that is, for the basic premise) - due, no doubt, to the twenty or so doctors you'll see thanked as consultants in the endless credits.

Well, this time the Americans have been too soon seduced by a miracle cure, and - somehow - Big Pharma has managed to make sure that every man, woman, and child on the planet gets their dose of the engineered virus right away (something that hasn't happened with AIDS medication, or even aspirin.) In reality, of course, you would think that a cure for cancer would be a pretty expensive and difficult-to-obtain drug in places like, oh, say rural Bangladesh. Remember Thalidomide? Europeans OK'ed that 'wonder drug' too quickly, with horrific results. In fact, no matter what you think of the Food and Drug Administration's lack of speed in approving new therapies, you'll come away with a finer appreciation for their conservative tendencies after seeing this flick. Well, with six billion dead patients, you might cautiously venture that this biotech cure is worse than the disease, and the inventor is probably not going to get the Nobel Prize for Medicine this year. That's an unattractive hybrid incidentally, which warps their personality to that of a rabid dog, and adds insult to injury by morphing their complexion to that of the Borg Queen. Most of the rest get turned into a cross between a vampire and a zombie. Ninety percent of the population takes the pill, and succumbs pronto. It turns out there are some less-than-desirable, long-term side effects to this wonder drug, most notably death. Despite tests on ten thousand people, the nerds down at your local research lab have pulled a boo-boo. The trouble is you have to worry about Number One - which is that little pill. Yep, just one little pill, and you can stop worrying about America's Number Two Killer. Imagine this: it's but a few years hence, and science has conquered cancer. The fear of genetically-modified food has been slightly transmogrified into a horror tale of genetically-modified medicine. It's our own scientists, once again doing more harm than good. It's not even a trendy environmental catastrophe invoked by Hollywood scriptwriters to wipe the world clean of Homo sapiens. What happened? Well, it's not space aliens that are making sure no one has a nice day, nor is it androids lacking in social skills. Smith strongly suspects he's the only normal person on Earth (a belief he shares with many of my relatives). He alone can enjoy the Big Apple's urban amenities and stiff sales tax. As the film opens, we find Smith as the only bit of humanity left in Manhattan. Now, in I Am Legend, he's back in action to save humankind from itself. Whether it's rumbling with invading extraterrestrials ( Independence Day), keeping neighborhood aliens in line ( Men in Black), or corralling anthropomorphic robots who just don't want to get along ( I Robot), Smith is your ultimate white hat. Whenever there's a problem that threatens the entire planet, Will Smith is on the scene.

I am legend new york