Being a big fan of the 1971 film The Omega Man, starring the late Charlton Heston, I was rather concerned when I heard that the story was being re-made with Will Smith in the lead role.

The dystopian setting has also been switched from LA to New York City, as nothing screams ‘post-apocalyptic’ to Americans like the sight of a decrepit major landmark in the Big Apple.Smith stars as Professor Robert Neville, a military boffin, and seemingly the sole human survivor in NYC, after a virus has transformed those who weren’t evacuated into blood-thirsty mutants. With only his pet dog for company, Neville goes out hunting for supplies during the day and spends his nights safely locked in his house, working on a cure for the virus.

The shots of deserted New York streets, where much of the film was shot on location at night and at weekends, look superb, but the film is let down by the shoddy-looking CGI – they really should have done better with this sort of budget. And the bonus features are pretty much standard, although they do include four exceedingly tedious animated comics.

Worth a watch, though it’s unlikely to make any ‘Top 100 Film’ lists. Unless the list in question is for the ‘Top 100 Films Where a Major Hollywood Star is Out-acted by His Canine Co-star’. 

Verdict: 6/10