In the near future a researcher re-engineers the measles virus to kill cancer. In clinical trials it has a 100% success rate, cancer is now cured. Except then it all goes wrong, the virus mutates, kills 95% of the infected, turns 4% into photophobic zombies (basically a fast moving zombie with a vampirelike weakness to light), and a very very unlucky 1% are immune to the virus. Unfortunately (yes, it gets worse) the zombies kill and eat the immune, so by the time we get to the beginning of the movie virologist/soldier Lt. Col. Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the last man alive and things are grim.

He hasn’t spoken to anyone in about 3 years (seriously, everyone is dead) and is slowly going insane.

Now, I saw the trailer how long ago? A long time. I thought the movie looked kick-ass. Then I read a review (or maybe saw one in one of the many video podcasts I follow), and the bad news was that the movie sucked ass.

But here’s the thing, Will Smith is a talented actor, and this movie doesn’t suck ass, it kicks ass. From start to finish.

It probably helps to be a dog lover, as our man Robert’s only remaining connection to sanity is his dog Sam. I don’t want to go into this too much, but let’s just say that, he has a daily routine (a good thing, as he really is going insane), visiting the local DVD store, hunting deer on the streets of Manhattan, and working on a cure for the virus in his basement lab, all the while accompanied by his loving dog, and hiding from the (scary as shit) zombie-vampires.

You could perhaps level a criticism against the quality of the CG of the zombie things, but come on, it’s a movie, you know it’s a movie, and you know these things don’t really exist. (They’re probably about as good as Gollum, but moving faster.)

You should see this. You should really see this. And when you see it, you should do so on iMax – it’s an incredible transfer, super clean, just beautiful and immersive.

(Bonus: if do you check it out at iMax, you get the Dark Knight Prologue, which is completely O-some.)