I Am Legend: Awakening - Story 1: Sacrificing the Few for the Many (2008 Video) User Reviews

Short and... sweet?

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 6/10 · 24 October 2009]

This is one of the four "animated comics" on the I Am Legend DVD, taking place in the same universe as the film. The style in which the plot is told is fitting. Kept in b/w, with little color, and movement being minimal. There is not a single word spoken in this(unless the chorus stuff means something), it's all in the music, the sound effects, the cinematography, the editing, and of course, the images. The design is all great. There is no real humor in this, but it is a dark story. However, it is not as tragic and devastating as it intends to be, and with that being the main goal of this, it is a little disappointing. Well, you have to be really compelling to be terribly effective in a mere three minutes. I am intrigued by the fact that this, and the other three, were developed by Jada Pinkett Smith, Will's wife; I had no idea she was so inclined. Perhaps I am the last to find out, I don't know. This is more violent than the movie itself, I would say, though that is the only objectionable material. There is obviously no strong language. I recommend this to anyone who liked the flick. 6/10

The colors are the highlight

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 30 October 2015]

"Sacrificing the Few for the Many" is a 3.5-minute short film and the first of 4 from the "I Am Legend" series. It is basically black-and-white with some additions of red. Apparently a virus has broken out and at a scientific lab there are some patients who are sick and treated by the scientists. Then we see a military unit arrive and kill everybody, well almost everybody. The goal was obviously to kill the virus that way as well. Of course, they did not succeed as we find out in the end when we see a moving camera shot on a girl nearby the action. Little criticism: The way the boy was moving looked really amateurish and the animators should have not released it like this. But in terms of the story, it's a good watch I think and I recommend it.

Effective

[it001k0306 · 10/10 · 19 August 2010]

I must disagree with the other review which suggested that this wasn't shocking. I felt that it left a genuine feeling of horror completely missing from the main feature. A sad thing when the animated extra provides more of a frisson than the big budget movie! The music and animation is haunting with violent splashes of colour that effectively act as a visual parallel for what is occurring. The idea is straightforward and perhaps obvious but it remains with you and does more to emphasise the collapse of civilisation than all of the main feature. In fact, all four animations are excellent. Funny - I like Will Smith's work but was more disappointed with the main event in which he appeared than in the DVD extras that his wife worked on!

Another great work by Brooke Burgess

[Rectangular_businessman · 10/10 · 9 July 2012]

Too be honest, I liked this much more than the actual movie.

In my opinion, this little animation was everything what the "I Am Legend" film wasn't: It is subtle, mysterious and fascinating, leaving you wanting to know more about the story.

Even when the history doesn't have the same depth of Brooke Burgess's masterpiece, "Broken Saints", it is something pretty effective, and having the emotional impact that the movie lacked. The art is incredibly good, with a great atmosphere of tension, something that fits perfectly well with the the dramatic story. The music is simply beautiful.

It's funny how without words, this was able to express more things than the actual movie.