I Am Legend

After seeing the film on Saturday, I was going to jump in here and write up some thoughts, but never got around to it... finally am, and I'm hoping to be at least somewhat coherent in my ramblings...


First off, I have not read the book, but have seen The Omega Man. Thank God its not like that movie. The only thing with that one that would have been good to carry over, but done in a better way, is the "Dark Seekers" not being fully CGI in this one, making them real actors, or at least more realistic CGI... I kept thinking of the Mummy films every time I saw them on screen. The other part with the dark seekers is that I think the movie could have been a lot better if their story had been fleshed out more. If I remember correctly, Smith pretty much states flat out that he thought they were nothing more than nearly unintelligent zombies, but the way the movie plays out, he realizes that not right, but then nothing else is mentioned about that. The movie was only an hour and 40 minutes long. I think they could have spent an extra 20 minutes explaining more about the dark seekers and what the heck really IS going on with them. Maybe the filmmakers were concerned with that making the story go by too slowly, but personally, I would have liked to seen more info on the reality of the dark seekers, especially after Smith's character realized there was more to them than he had previously thought/seen.

Overall however, I liked IAL. From what has been said here, it sounds like it diverged quite a bit from the book, but quite often, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Since I haven't read the book, I'm not going to bother saying anything else about that topic.

I agree that the scene with Shrek was intended to help the audience understand just how long Smith's character has been alone, but I did the same thing that most of the rest of the audience did, laughed a little at first, but I'm not sure how many in the audience really picked up on what it was really trying to convey; how you started to feel the pain of his loneliness, but how he has gotten used to it in an odd way, and is kind of annoyed at the interlopers now trying to change things. Personally though, I think they could have left that out. People have gotten too used to seeing Smith do some sort of comic relief in films, and I think too many saw that scene as only that, they didn't really pay attention to what the scene was all about, so it didn't have the impact it should have.
On the other hand, I think everyone there got the impact of the last scene with the woman mannequin. I thought Smith did a really good job in that one.

The ending was, well... what it was. I pretty much guessed it was going to happen like that as things were unfolding, but whatever. It was nothing earth shattering. Maybe they needed M. Night to come in to write the ending, I dunno, but while it wasn't amazing, I was OK with it.

2 things though that no one has mentioned so far here;
1. The dog... What a well trained, very intelligent dog!! Seeing the way she and Smith interacted was quite impressive.



2. There was a billboard I saw in the background in one of the scenes that might be foreshadowing a future project. It was the Batman symbol (current "Dark Knight" look), with the superman symbol superimposed over top, with a release date of some time in 2010 (I can't remember the exact date). Was it coincidence that there was a trailer for The Dark Knight shown before I Am Legend and the appearance of that "fake" (??) billboard in the movie? Could this be a teaser for a Batman vs. Superman film?

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That just made me remember something. I just assumed the dog was a boy. Did anyone else feel more emotionally affected by what happens when you find out the dog is female? For some reason, i did.

Well Batman, Superman and I Am Legend are all Warner, so they can get away with putting a little in-joke like that in there. I don't think there is any planned movie like that as yet, but obviously given time, it's inevitable. I think that was just chucked in there for the fanboys of the comics as that is every Superman/Batman's fan's fantasy.

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Yeah the sam-samantha name thing threw me off

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meatwad...

I'm surprised more people haven't jumped on your case...but all you do is post one liner comments that don't back up anything you said...other people sit here and waste their time pointing to specific references and you just come back with "oh thats not true" or "thats out of context"

There are many reasons why these forums thrive and dead comments like that are not part of them.

sorry to jump on you, but seriously..if you have nothing substantial to post..then don't post at all.

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Δύο άτομα. Μια μάχη. Κανένας συμβιβασμός.

I enjoyed the movie a lot, Smith did a fine job.

Yeah i saw that and came on here and searched it and i guess there was a rumor back in 2002 bout a Batman Vs. Superman Movie.

Thread Here

I'm curious if it was for tickling fanboys funny bone....it got mine after seeing there was some supposed plans for it, but that was 5 years ago, so yeah maybe it is just a joke. anybody got info on that?



EDIT: Well that didnt take long to debunk...

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thats generally because its easier to ignore and post replies to the more intelligent posts..

Definitely this is the most awaiting film of the year and i can't wait to watch this film...

I got really psyched for this movie and read the Matheson story, which I loved for the inclusion and scientific update to all the crazy vampire lore that had grown over the years, much of it from Stoker's Dracula. I went into the movie knowing the filmmakers hadn't been entirely faithful to the original source material obviously, because the movie takes place in Manhattan, but I was fine with that. What I wasn't fine with was the fact that they changed nearly every plot detail possible (they aren't even vampires!!!) and trashed a perfectly good story and to what end? The Hollywood ending and illogical turns in the home stretch serve only to further weaken the picture. Very disappointing. At least I gotta see The Dark Knight prologue.

Well I can't say the same , because I've never even seen you post here - and doubt you've even read my posts. Also , this very post that I'm quoting is completly useless and unrelated to I Am Legend.

You can't blame him, he doesn't know what people would, and what they wouldn't consider substantial. To know that, he'd have to have a time machine. Or brain.

Okay, I'll have my negative rep now, meatwad.

Thats because I practice what I preach. I don't often post but I'm always reading other people's opinions and such and only post when I have something that is worth the time it takes to say it.

I think that should be pretty obvious considering that I've been a member for almost four years (actually much longer but I changed usernames) and only <2000 posts.

Just saw I Am Legend this afternoon. Just finished reading the original last night. And I inadvertently saw the Vincent Price version back in October. A few random thoughts in no order:

-- The Vincent Price version is pretty close to the original, and it didn't seem to have a problem with the subtler twists of Ruth (rather than Anna) and the third category of "humans" left.

-- As soon as I saw the red helicopter, I knew what was going to happen with his wife and kid. How did I know this? Besides my uncanny knack for such things (*koff*), I knew this because the present-day shots of Neville made it plain he knew for certain his wife and child were gone. If they had gotten off the island safely, he would still be wondering in some small little way.

-- Hated the stupid ending. Saw it coming a mile away, but kept hoping Anna would act more like Ruth in the original.

-- I thought Neville's reactions to Anna and Ethan weren't nearly forceful enough. And hers to him were rather bland ...considering they've both been out of touch with reality for three years now.

-- If Anna knew this colony was "in Vermont," ummmm... how did she find it in the course of one day's sunlight? Did I miss something? Did she have a specific address that I missed?

-- If any version should have been called I Am Legend, it would have been the Vincent Price version, NOT this one.

-- On Comcast's On Demand, we have a 14-minute "Making Of..." video for this movie. A lot of it is the behind-the-scenes folks talking about how they made some of the decisions they made, and at some point they even have Matheson on the screen. I am a bit amazed that he gave this movie a thumbs-up with his title because frankly, the book was so much better.

-- These creatures have very little vampire in them at all in the movie (aside from being attracted to blood and apparently their eyeteeth grow). In the book, a lot of what Neville struggles with is which parts of the various vampire legends are true, and scientifically why. And the interesting twists when he finds out which ones aren't true that he assumes are true. (He's not a scientist in the book.)

All in all, although this movie was fine for what it was -- since I just read the book, to me it came off as a cheesy Hollywooded-up filtering and thin squeezed juicing of an otherwise good book.

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I know exactly what you're talking about. I was waiting for the other shoe to fall and when I realized that wasn't gonna happen, I was most displeased.

Wow, all I thought about was "How did she get there so fast?" when the real question should've just been "How did she get there?".

And I agree with you about the vampire mythology. It was probably the best part about the book, which I really enjoyed, and me and my friend who also read the book, were very disappointed with the way it was handled (or not handled) in the film.

Saw it, I probably would have enjoyed it more had I not seen 28 days later (which is a superior film but couldn't dream of making as much money as IAL undoubtedly will...but 'tis the way the world turns). All in all, it was ok, but definitely doesn't deserve 4 pages of discussion...*shrug*

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Well I like the part where he was broadcasting for all those who survive the virus....Saying that he was Neville and he can provide food, shelter and security and for last saying that you are not alone!!!... I really like that line!

I liked that car he was driving in the beginning of the movie. But he only drove it once. The car must have been just a way to get it advertised I guess.

Saw this yesterday as it's just opened in the UK.

I've seen Omega Man years ago, but can't recall anything about it. I Am Legend is very like 28 Days Later, except here we find out exactly where the virus comes from. What a great idea making it a cancer cure run rampant - humanity interfering with the course of nature again ? It shows how far we've come from films imagining the end of the world by atom bomb huh?

The quiet, overgrown cityscapes were awesome, as they were in 28 Days Later , and this is the part that most people who like imagining these post apocatyptic worlds like about this genre of film. People who know NY get a kick out of seeing their depopulated neighbourhood, just like we did in the UK seeing London and our motorways on 28DL. I liked the idea of the wild animals starting to encroach onto the streets too, although the lions were slightly naff cgi, but never mind the deer were good.

The dog Sam is the image of the oldest of my two German Shepherds so you can imagine what I was like during that scene. The close relationship between man and dog was very well realised.

Will Smith was on the Jonathan Ross show here a couple of weeks ago promoting IAL, and we were all agreeing in our family what a nice bloke he always comes across as. OK this mightn't be a great film overall, but Will Smith gives his all and this is what makes the film for me. He's no superman here, no extraordinary action man, and this is despite what the scriptwriters have given the film - the slightly silly state of the art lab in his basement, the over the top virus ridden monster-humans, all these things that have put some people off the film . When the things attack, he's scared. When the woman turns up, he's scared and confused. When he loses his dog and goes to the dvd shop, it's pitiful. I guess I'm just saying that he does sensitivity well as an actor, so good for him.

I think the film falls apart after the woman turns up and as Yoda says a religious aspect is shoehorned in. This reminds me of Stephen King's The Stand, although of course that book spends hundreds of pages building up the mystical nature of the calling. Turning the film about and shoving that all that into the last 15 minutes makes a hugely disappointing ending. The ending should've been something else altogether, rather than this neat packaged off thing they've done here. Something more gritty was needed. shame really.

Actually in the movie Will Smith life seems boring in the day he used to live in his life alone just with his dog...And fight after with the zombies goes after him...But still the movie is good...

The message Neville broadcasts everyday reached Anna and Ethan but they came to the docks and didn't see Neville. So they don't bother to listen for the sound of someone hitting golf balls from on top of a jet or at least see him on top of the jet. I mean he was standing right where someone could see him!

I Am Legend –

Will Smith has proven that he’s capable of giving an outstanding performance in The Six Degrees of Separation, Ali and The Pursuit of Happiness, but I don’t think that he was the best possible casting choice for I Am Legend. The problem is, as the entire movie is on its main actor's shoulders, his performance inevitably had to determine the overall tone of the film. In my opinion, it was required for the character of Neville to have a feeling of madness and unpredictability to him, so as to feel more realistic and so that part of the movie's creepiness would also come from its character – we should, as well as sympathize with, also be slightly scared of, the main protagonist, and Smith is incapable of giving such a performance. For example, "the mannequins in the video store" scene would, with the right person delivering it, feel disturbing, with Smith it feels cute.

It's hardly a surprise – casting big stars and making easily identifiable characters are often traits of movies aiming to be escapism rather than art, which is by no means a bad thing, when the movie manages to entertain. I Am Legend fails to be what it was originally intended to be (entertainment, that is) because it bores its audience with cliché-laden screenplay, poor attempts at pathos, aggressively blatant presentation of its messages, and visual aesthetics largely resembling that of videogames. Also, not the least of the movie's flaws is the poor animation of generally not so well thought-out CGI creatures, which seem to have kept some of the basic manners – like dressing – that they had when they were humans, but seem to have forgotten the “don't murder and eat people” manners. Set decoration is, not surprisingly knowing the movie’s budget, one of the few things worth mentioning.

Not having read the book and not having seen any of its previous film adaptations, I'm not sure how many of my complaints about the screenplay can be addressed to Matheson’s book. As is, I believe that the movie does feature a few interesting details, such as Neville’s attempts to keep himself sane by acting as if everything is normal, and the story itself is moderately interesting, but it ends up dull, thanks to bad writing and a lack of thrills.

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