I Am Legend Opening Scene Analysed-Will Smith

I Am Legend begins with an establishing shot of an abandoned and derelict looking New York City. The only diegetic sound to be heard is seagulls screeching. It now starts to become obvious the city is abandoned with numerous shots showing run-down buildings, empty streets and the eerie quietness.

A birds eye view is used looking down on a sports car driving slowly down the road, cutting to  a close up of an assault rifle laying down on the passenger seat. The driver of the car picks the gun up and rests it on his lap. The camera then pans up to show the protagonists face. The man looks to his right where the camera shows he is looking at his companion and dog, Sam.

The roads have vines and grasses overgrown on them, showing the road is rarely driven on by cars. Point of view shots of Will Smith (known in the film as Robert Neville) are used to show the poor states of the road. As the car turns a corner our attention is distracted onto posters with messages of hope, one of them reading "God still loves us".

The camera cuts to another point of view shot to put the audience in the character's shoes. A herd of deer jump out of nowhere causing Smith to jump and lose control of the car. Medium shots are used of the protagonist struggling to keep the car in control as well as point of view shots seeing Smith frantically turning the steering wheel.

The viewers realise Will Smith is out in his car hunting for food, panning shots are used to follow the car as it chases the deer around the city. Smith gets out his gun to kill the animals and aims it out of the window, an over the shoulder shot is used to get in the perspective of the protagonist. The angles are against Smith who continues to drive through the city taking a shortcut route to get back to driving alongside the deer. It becomes obvious Smith is accustomed to all the city routes and shortcuts, suggesting he frequently hunts and that New York is his playground.

The opening sequence ends with the deer getting away by running through a barricade of police cars before they enter a maze of abandoned cars. The end shot is a crane shot rising up showing the extreme scale and distance of vacated cars.

This opening scene causes an enigma code for the audience, enticing them to watch on and raising the questions of what caused the humans to disappear? Why did they abandon their cars? And is Robert Neville the last human left on earth?