I Am Legend

[Skippy911sc]

Ok I finally broke down and read the book...I could not help but get the picture of Heston in my mind as I read...Talk about perfect casting. I have seen all three version of this movie not...Last man on Earth, Omega Man, and I am Legend...yuck! I can't believe the Will Smith Movie used this name!!! The only think that was similar was his name. Omega Man had a lot of the book in it...the Vampire think was a little off but hey I though it was fantastic. Last man on Earth was good, but the cheese of the Vamps bothered me...however it did flash of NOLD...hehehe. I thought the book was great...superb imagery but the ending...not so much. Like another post I read some time ago the fact that they have all the short stories at the end threw me for a loop. I thought I was about halfway done and ...FIN. Well just wanted to drop my unsolicited opinion...so bring on the comments

[Legion2213]

It's a while since I read I am Legend, but it's a great book IMO....the closing passage is epic! I also enjoyed the Will Smith movie (the alternative ending is better than the theatrical one). Maybe they should have give it a different title, but it was still a decent movie, I think people are too harsh on it, I'm glad I bought the SE DVD. Last Man on Earth has some good moments, but isn't a great movie, or lets put it another way, I will watch Omega Man & I am Legend more than I will watch the Vincent Price one. "The Omega Man" is a superb flick, one of my all time faves...Chuck Heston is awesome Slight thread hijack here, a question for the "I am Legend" movie haters....would you have rated this movie higher if it had a different title and was "inspired" by the book as opposed to being "based on" the book?

[DubiousComforts]

Slight thread hijack here, a question for the "I am Legend" movie haters....would you have rated this movie higher if it had a different title and was "inspired" by the book as opposed to being "based on" the book? I could care less what a film is titled or based on as long as they do a good job. I Am Legend needed to be about three hours long in order to properly convey the story and develop the characters. After wasting screen time on the upteenth CGI deserted metropolitan city view, my wife yelled "he's alone, we get it!" Say what you want about The Last Man on Earth, but Vincent Price carried an entire movie much better than his successors and with much less to work with. Ironic that he was frequently able to pull off such macho roles and do them better than the macho guys.

[clanglee]

Say what you want about The Last Man on Earth, but Vincent Price carried an entire movie much better than his successors and with much less to work with. Ironic that he was frequently able to pull off such macho roles and do them better than the macho guys. Surely you are not suggesting that the late great Mr. Price had sugar in his tank!!! How dare ye!!

[Skippy911sc]

Slight thread hijack here, a question for the "I am Legend" movie haters....would you have rated this movie higher if it had a different title and was "inspired" by the book as opposed to being "based on" the book? I think the movie had a good idea...far from the story of I am Legend, but was pulled off in a poor manner. I don't mind the CGI vistas of an empty world I am disgusted by the CGI monsters...come on!!! With so much great make-up talent in the world do we need CGI creatures? The first sight of the monsters was cool...dark standing in a corner breathing heavy...then the leader uses monster dogs to attack Neville...SUCKAGE!!! This was my beef with the film. Smith did all he could for the movie and was very good as a man that has lost everything, including his mind.

[Trin]

I did not really like the Will Smith I Am Legend version. An "inspired by" version would've been more palatable to me because it would've justified the deviations from the book much moreso. The book was just wildly different from the movie, and imho the book was more interesting. The book dealt heavily with religious topics and interplay between Neville and the vampires. Neville's journey to understand what was happening. All of that was jettisoned and replaced with action sequences. And that's just the start of the deviations. The book and the movie put good time toward how Neville survived. The book was a tad more detailed, but both were good. Both had suck endings.

[Skippy911sc]

Another thing that bothered me...Smith driving in a car through town chasing deer and shooting them with a 5.56 or .223. I know the round is capable of taking a deer without to much trouble, but come on! He would have been better off waiting and baiting. There seemed to be a ton of them...oh and they were all huge bucks...grouped together!...what a crock!

[Mike70]

Another thing that bothered me...Smith driving in a car through town chasing deer and shooting them with a 5.56 or .223. I know the round is capable of taking a deer without to much trouble, but come on! He would have been better off waiting and baiting. There seemed to be a ton of them...oh and they were all huge bucks...grouped together!...what a crock! good point. given the fact that the film showed lions hunting in the city, i would guess that there were probably other large zoo animals around as well. you'd think neville would've been carrying a 30-06 or a shotgun loaded with slugs. i don't think i'd want to defend myself against a male lion, a brown bear or any large animal with a 5.56mm round - no matter what it could theoretically take out. can you imagine the laughter from an elephant if you shot one with a 5.56?

[Yojimbo]

good point. given the fact that the film showed lions hunting in the city, i would guess that there were probably other large zoo animals around as well. you'd think neville would've been carrying a 30-06 or a shotgun loaded with slugs. i don't think i'd want to defend myself against a male lion, a brown bear or any large animal with a 5.56mm round - no matter what it could theoretically take out. can you imagine the laughter from an elephant if you shot one with a 5.56? Agreed. Once heard a "story" about some guy that took down a deer with a .22 LR. It is so far fetched that it probably did happen, but a rimfire plinker would not be my first choice to go after a deer, just as a 5.56 would not be my first choice of arms in a city that has lions roaming around. Which leads me to my various problems with the movie, most of which have to do with scenes played out to look flashy as opposed to making sense. This is not to say that I did not enjoy parts of the film, however, I agree that the entire CGI reliance thing is getting really old really fast. A lot of directors it seem think that flashy CGI replaces substance in a film. CGI monster idiots were laughably lame. CGI monster dogs not fit to smell my $hit. I must also admit that, Will Smith just simply is not believable to me as an action hero, and less so as Robert Neville.

[SRP76]

I didn't care at all about "what gun he's using". It didn't matter; perhaps he just couldn't find a rifle that was suitable for hunting. He wasn't exactly in Redneck Heaven, after all. The only problem I had was just that: the fact that he was stuck on Manhattan. That's an island; as we saw in the flashbacks, the military had destroyed all the access points. So, how the hell did that stupid woman and that useless child get to him? Did they swim?!

[AcesandEights]

So, how the hell did that stupid woman and that useless child get to him? Did they swim?! Take a skiff, a rowboat or a motorboat from the north side across the Harlem river and then take a car. However, I'm not sure if the chick says or hints that she has driven the whole way...she may do that in conversation at some point. I'm not sure. Anyway, we can hardly think that we would get the whole nuance of her trip in the little bit of back story oriented conversation that we got to see.

[jim102016]

I didn't care at all about "what gun he's using". It didn't matter; perhaps he just couldn't find a rifle that was suitable for hunting. He wasn't exactly in Redneck Heaven, after all. The only problem I had was just that: the fact that he was stuck on Manhattan. That's an island; as we saw in the flashbacks, the military had destroyed all the access points. So, how the hell did that stupid woman and that useless child get to him? Did they swim?! "Redneck Heaven"? We sure can tell you have the characteristics of a true city rat. I hope an alligator doesn't coming crawling through your doggie door late one night to take a chunk out of your ass. He had that particular "rifle" because Hollywood associated it with the military officer they were trying to portray him as. If he was out roaming around solely for hunting, its not the best choice. He wasn't stuck in Manhattan, he chose to stay there. Its not that far of a swim if you've ever been up that way. Good point about that woman. They must have swam across, then hot wired a car that was could still function after sitting idle for years?

[Yojimbo]

So, how the hell did that stupid woman and that useless child get to him? Did they swim?! Your description of the kid and the woman are right on target. "Stupid woman and that useless child" As others have said, maybe they took a boat across or maybe they swam, but I still hated them and found them to be utterly useless in the scope of the movie. Why does hollywood always seem take a perfectly good story like Matheson's "I Am Legend" and then have to mess with it and add stupid and useless characters to it? This sort of meddling does not make for a superior story or film. Damn them all to hell!!! He had that particular "rifle" because Hollywood associated it with the military officer they were trying to portray him as. If he was out roaming around solely for hunting, its not the best choice. I think that a dude as resourceful as Neville would have been able to scrounge or loot out of the whole abandoned area of Manhattan Island an appropriate piece for deer or elk hunting (sporting good stores, abandoned police stations, etc.) I agree that Neville's primary piece was incorrect for hunting and the fact that he was armed in this fashion was more a figment of hollywood stupidity than a reasoned choice.

[Craig]

I Actually just finished reading I Am Legend today. Definitely one of the best books I've read. It's amazing how much is crammed into such a short book, it feels like you've been following Neville's trials and tribulations all the time, even when it skipped ahead a few years it didn't feel like lost time. Once I'd gotten into the meat of the book, every page I read my heart was in my throat, hoping that Neville would make it through. A superb story in my opinion. I actually saw the most recent screen adaptation a couple of weeks ago, I'm glad I saw it before I read the book because if I'd read the book before the film had been released, I would've been more disappointed that the movie hadn't lived up to the book... if that makes sense. The movie wasn't bad, but it didn't really try to be the same story anyway... so it's was fairly enjoyable but not something I'd buy or rent again.

[bd2999]

I also really liked the book. You can see where Romero stold ideas from at times, but the best true adaptation is probably Last Man on Earth with Vincet Price. They change some names but otherwise it is very close. Omega Man with Charles Heston is also pretty good too. I think the new I am legend was alright, Smith did a good job acting and all, but they did terrible with the monsters (never stated what they were but they were vampire like). The ending to the new one was crappy though. One of the biggest things about the name and the power of the story comes together in the ending that is both a downer and a strange look at hope.