I AM LEGEND

[Maui]

Bob Marley got up on stage to do a concert 2 days after the murderous attacks on his life - I can fight these infected people the same way!!!!!!

Wow - so profound

Ok, so I don't think it was great idea but I also don't think it was meant to be profound, it's just Neville grasping at even the most stupid things for hope.

No, it's absolutely not profound. I am being sarcastic.

It was an incredibly cheesy moment. Neville holding the CD explaining this analogy to the woman.

[tapehead]

Bob Marley got up on stage to do a concert 2 days after the murderous attacks on his life - I can fight these infected people the same way!!!!!!

Wow - so profound

Ok, so I don't think it was great idea but I also don't think it was meant to be profound, it's just Neville grasping at even the most stupid things for hope.

I can appreciate that point of view, but this combined with the Shrek scene just smacked of Will Smith's ego and ideas being given too much free reign to me.

I'm of the opinion, based on the quotes I linked, that Smith had a hand in a fair amount of re-writes and ideas contributed, especially the whole religious angle and the 'light up the darkness' motif in the dialogue and certain scenes.

[Maui]

We have alot of Wil Smith in this movie and I'm not talking acting. No need to spell it all out - anyone who saw this movie knows that it's a commercial starring Wil Smith, that just happens to have some vampires in it. That may be strong - but enough!

The working out scenes, him singing, the Bob Marley analogy (his idea) - too much!!!

[TonyWilson]

Bob Marley got up on stage to do a concert 2 days after the murderous attacks on his life - I can fight these infected people the same way!!!!!!

Wow - so profound

Ok, so I don't think it was great idea but I also don't think it was meant to be profound, it's just Neville grasping at even the most stupid things for hope.

I can appreciate that point of view, but this combined with the Shrek scene just smacked of Will Smith's ego and ideas being given too much free reign to me.

I'm of the opinion, based on the quotes I linked, that Smith had a hand in a fair amount of re-writes and ideas contributed, especially the whole religious angle and the 'light up the darkness' motif in the dialogue and certain scenes.

I don't think I can argue with the theory that Will Smith had too much control. The seemingly disjointed nature bears out the idea of too much editing and "creative difference" it's an oscar bait star vehicle at the end of the day.
Having said that I though the Shrek scene was definitely evidence that Neville is going/gone bugfuck nuts - as anyone would in that situation.
I sitll liked it a hell of a lot more than most of the people here but it's got huge problems.

[Maui]

The Shrek lines felt show off to me.

Did you find yourself paying more attention to how accurately he pronounced each word - OR - did you find yourself going WOW - he really is f*cked up?

[Fried Gold]

Interesting speculation. In that scene (I think KCBC had noted this earlier in the thread) why on earth don't the ghouls come out when the sun comes down. We see the zombie dogs waiting until the thin beam of sunlight fades before they attack Neville and his dog, but the ghouls, which we have already seen are waiting in the shadows, don't come out and take a bite out him?

So much of this movie just fails to make any sense...

The difference between the infected dogs and infected humans is spelt out for you - when Neville goes into an abandoned apartment, there is a poster or newspaper that he looks at which has a headline like "INFECTED CANINES ABLE TO COME OUT IN TWILIGHT".

So that aspect of the scene did make sense.

That's right FG - good observation. I do remember seeing that.

Going back to the dog thing quickly:

[Keepcoolbutcare]

that's so photoshopped...

oh, and good find, fucko.

[Maui]

Interesting speculation. In that scene (I think KCBC had noted this earlier in the thread) why on earth don't the ghouls come out when the sun comes down. We see the zombie dogs waiting until the thin beam of sunlight fades before they attack Neville and his dog, but the ghouls, which we have already seen are waiting in the shadows, don't come out and take a bite out him?

So much of this movie just fails to make any sense...

The difference between the infected dogs and infected humans is spelt out for you - when Neville goes into an abandoned apartment, there is a poster or newspaper that he looks at which has a headline like "INFECTED CANINES ABLE TO COME OUT IN TWILIGHT".

So that aspect of the scene did make sense.

That's right FG - good observation. I do remember seeing that.

Going back to the dog thing quickly:

Good job FG! I have to admit, that was a good scene - where the infected dogs were waiting for that last bit of light to disappear before they attacked Neville and Sam! See I didn't hate all of it.

[tapehead]

I called '1800-14-SAFETY', and got a recorded message warning me to avoid any movies with an Akiva Goldsman writing credit...

[Bayouwolf]

I have to admit, that was a good scene - where the infected dogs were waiting for that last bit of light to disappear before they attacked Neville and Sam!

The scene following that one is the best part of the whole film. (Pretty New York visuals aside...)

[RaulMonkey]

I called '1800-14-SAFETY', and got a recorded message warning me to avoid any movies with an Akiva Goldsman writing credit...

I found the whole BATMAN/SUPERMAN speculation frightening because the whole idea for the billboard was Akiva's, and here people are getting excited about it like they want another Batman movie that has anything to do with the guy. The Bat-symbol on the billboard was even ass-raping the Supes-symbol the same way it raped the Robin symbol at the beginning of B&R. I hope that shit has petered out for good, or else certain geeks need to have their heads examined. I would rather never have another Batman or Superman movie for the rest of my life than go back to the Akiva days.

[Maui]

I called '1800-14-SAFETY', and got a recorded message warning me to avoid any movies with an Akiva Goldsman writing credit...

I found the whole BATMAN/SUPERMAN speculation frightening because the whole idea for the billboard was Akiva's, and here people are getting excited about it like they want another Batman movie that has anything to do with the guy. The Bat-symbol on the billboard was even ass-raping the Supes-symbol the same way it raped the Robin symbol at the beginning of B&R. I hope that shit has petered out for good, or else certain geeks need to have their heads examined. I would rather never have another Batman or Superman movie for the rest of my life than go back to the Akiva days.

The billboards were stupid, especially the Batman/Superman one!

[brownkidd]

I thought that Will Smith portrayed the blond-haired, blue-eyed Robert Neville to a "T". I especially liked how they incorporated the vampire spy and the fact that Neville was going around murdering vampires all day. And how could you forget the villain!!! His former best friend who lead a pack of vampires to Neville's house each night to torment him with their screams that drove him to drink.

Oh wait.... they didn't put ANY of that stuff in the movie...

I still liked it. =)

[bluebottle]

Richard Matheson discusses his feelings on the I Am Legend film with Fangoria Radio - mp3

[Maui]

I find it interesting that the scriptwriters for 'I Am Legend' didn't consult with Matheson on the movie.

Matheson also mentions that he was not happy with 'The Omega Man' and 'The Last Man on Earth' . He felt Vincent Price was not properly cast for the role.

He seemed very pleased with 'I am Legend' and how Wil Smith portrayed Neville - how Smith captured the solitude/emptiness/depression that the only man left on earth would feel.

This is the kinda stuff I love to hear. How an author feels about how his novel is portrayed on the big screen. I wish there was more of this kinda thing.

Very interesting audio Blue! Thanks!





I still think the movie sucked though!!

[Fried Gold]

I called '1800-14-SAFETY', and got a recorded message warning me to avoid any movies with an Akiva Goldsman writing credit...

No Batman Forever DVD for you then?

[tapehead]

I'm sure there must be a down side too...

[Maui]

Fred Trap - Part Deux

I had some friends over last night to watch 'I am Legend'.

I asked them what their thoughts were on the Fred Trap.

They both felt Neville set it up/forgot due to his mental state and didn't feel it was the Dark Seekers.

That is all.


I like my friends They think like me!!!

[Lord Voldemoo]

Fred Trap - Part Deux

I had some friends over last night to watch 'I am Legend'.

I asked them what their thoughts were on the Fred Trap.

They both felt Neville set it up/forgot due to his mental state and didn't feel it was the Dark Seekers.

That is all.


I like my friends They think like me!!!

I thought the same thing when I first saw the film.

[Maui]

Fred Trap - Part Deux

I had some friends over last night to watch 'I am Legend'.

I asked them what their thoughts were on the Fred Trap.

They both felt Neville set it up/forgot due to his mental state and didn't feel it was the Dark Seekers.

That is all.


I like my friends They think like me!!!

I thought the same thing when I first saw the film.

I like you too Moo!!!

[Fievel]

Fred Trap - Part Deux

I had some friends over last night to watch 'I am Legend'.

You live in a movie theater!?!?

[Maui]

Fred Trap - Part Deux

I had some friends over last night to watch 'I am Legend'.

You live in a movie theater!?!?

Sssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

[thomasgaffney]

At some point soon, I will have to read through all 6 pages of this thread, but for now I will just say that I Am Legend sucked.

Will Smith was wicked cool as Robert Neville. And that's all that was good with the movie.

The SFX sucked. The choices made by the writers, producers, and directors sucked. The changes from the book sucked. Everything but Big Willie Style sucked.

Having recently read the book, then watched the film, it's like the screenwriters didn't read the book, but had someone who read it years ago explain the plot. Robert Neville is the last man on earth...there's vampires...there's a dog...the dog dies...Neville finds a woman...the vampires get into Neville's house...there's talk of a new society...Neville dies.

And they created their own shitty story based just on that. Horrible, horrible film. I want to read more to see if other people talked about the things that I think sucked the most before I go into more detail. I don't want to rehash stuff that's been discussed to death.

[burlivesleftnut]

How would you rate it if you disassociated it from the book?

[thomasgaffney]

How would you rate it if you disassociated it from the book?

Hm. Honestly, a lot better. It had some very tense moments. Like when he followed Sam the dog into the dark building when Sam chased the Stag in there. And the vampire dogs waiting for the line of sun to vanish after the "Fred" trap.

Plus, there was some great acting and funny, but very subdued humor from Will Smith. Best role of his that I've seen (and no, I haven't seen Happyness yet).

[Fried Gold]

Having *now seen the alternate (original?) ending, I still prefer the version we all saw in the cinema which seemed to me like a fitting conclusion.

While it's a slightly spooky and unsettling scenario, it doesn't quite sit right with the infected as they are set up earlier in the film and the quality of the CG infected lets it down a bit again (and it really needs to be spotless for the scene to work).

However...however...if the infected had been set up different, with more emphasis on the notion that they had begun to evolve this alternative conclusion may have been the right choice.



* i Got it frOm Our friend Greg, in LakE VIDEO

[Maui]

How would you rate it if you disassociated it from the book?

Hm. Honestly, a lot better. It had some very tense moments. Like when he followed Sam the dog into the dark building when Sam chased the Stag in there. And the vampire dogs waiting for the line of sun to vanish after the "Fred" trap.

Plus, there was some great acting and funny, but very subdued humor from Will Smith. Best role of his that I've seen (and no, I haven't seen Happyness yet).

What about 6 Degrees of Separation? He was rather good in that.

[MasterWhedon]

ORIGINAL/ALTERNATE ENDING IS ONLINE!!

...and it's much better than the theatrical ending!!

[so sorry]

ORIGINAL/ALTERNATE ENDING IS ONLINE!!

...and it's much better than the theatrical ending!!

its fucking gone already!

EDIT: nevermind... found it elsewhere on youtube.

[John-Locke]

Motherfuckers took down the video as I was watching it, I wanted to watch it full screen so I copied the url to watch it from the youtube site and the video was gone.

DAMNIT!

[MasterWhedon]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

You guys will have to at least rent the DVD then. It picks up with the face-off between Neville and the Big Bad down in Neville's lab, when the dude is smashing his face against the glass to try to get in. He eventually stops and calms down, looks Neville right in the eye. He wipes his face or something, then wipes his hand on the glass one way, then the other way. And Neville sees he's making a "butterfly." He connects it to his "patient" (her tattoo) and begins to understand.

He asks the chick in there with him to open the door. She objects but does. The beasts outside start to holler but the Big Bad barks at them and tells them to STFU. Neville wheels the comatose patient out and it's SUPER-EERIE because he's just standing next to them and they all SO want to pounce. He says he was to get something for her and he has to walk over through three snarling guys to get a needle. He injects her, she wakes up, she and the Big Bad have a tender moment.

Then Neville notices the Big Bad looking at all of the pictures on the wall of his previous "patients" and understands what it means to them. He says "I'm sorry," and sits on the ground. The Big Bad orders the others to leave.

Cut to the next day, w/ Neville, the girl and the kid driving out of town as a radio message plays in VO. It's the chick now, repeating Neville's message to anyone out there. "You are not alone." It says they're driving up north to try to find the compound or whatever. And that's that.

I WAY preferred it to the theatrical cut.

[so sorry]

Go to youtube (quickly!) and start clicking on all the links for the alternate ending... i found it eventually (and then watched the bootleg "original" ending)

[bluebottle]

Go to youtube (quickly!) and start clicking on all the links for the alternate ending... i found it eventually (and then watched the bootleg "original" ending)

i did the same.

it is WAY better.

[TonyWilson]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

You guys will have to at least rent the DVD then. It picks up with the face-off between Neville and the Big Bad down in Neville's lab, when the dude is smashing his face against the glass to try to get in. He eventually stops and calms down, looks Neville right in the eye. He wipes his face or something, then wipes his hand on the glass one way, then the other way. And Neville sees he's making a "butterfly." He connects it to his "patient" (her tattoo) and begins to understand.

He asks the chick in there with him to open the door. She objects but does. The beasts outside start to holler but the Big Bad barks at them and tells them to STFU. Neville wheels the comatose patient out and it's SUPER-EERIE because he's just standing next to them and they all SO want to pounce. He says he was to get something for her and he has to walk over through three snarling guys to get a needle. He injects her, she wakes up, she and the Big Bad have a tender moment.

Then Neville notices the Big Bad looking at all of the pictures on the wall of his previous "patients" and understands what it means to them. He says "I'm sorry," and sits on the ground. The Big Bad orders the others to leave.

Cut to the next day, w/ Neville, the girl and the kid driving out of town as a radio message plays in VO. It's the chick now, repeating Neville's message to anyone out there. "You are not alone." It says they're driving up north to try to find the compound or whatever. And that's that.


I WAY preferred it to the theatrical cut.

I fucking knew the dark seekers were intelligent!!!!! God damn, the studio fucked the film up with the ending they used. WOW.

[so sorry]

Go to youtube (quickly!) and start clicking on all the links for the alternate ending... i found it eventually (and then watched the bootleg "original" ending)

i did the same.

it is WAY better.

wait, which version are you saying is better?

[Chairman Kaga]

this ending sounds much better.....too bad.

[Evil Hobbit]

frikkin copyright claims, anyone a working link?

[Fried Gold]

ORIGINAL/ALTERNATE ENDING IS ONLINE!!

...and it's much better than the theatrical ending!!

Having *now seen the alternate (original?) ending


* i Got it frOm Our friend Greg, in LakE VIDEO

...so I tell you all about this two days earlier and nobody cares.....

[Pacino86845]

Your puzzles boggle the mind, FG! 'round here we like our info all whizz!!! bang!!!! you know!

[Fried Gold]

Werll, you know...I was only trying to follow the rules.....

[bluebottle]

Go to youtube (quickly!) and start clicking on all the links for the alternate ending... i found it eventually (and then watched the bootleg "original" ending)

i did the same.

it is WAY better.

wait, which version are you saying is better?

the... err... youtube ending... the non-theatrical ending.

there are other ways to see it, btw, if it gets taken off of youtube... you just have to search a BIT. *hint*

[tapehead]

Still Shit.

[John-Locke]

Still shit but much more solid than the original ending. I would have come out of the film quite satisfied if that was in the theatrical cut, still not as satisfying a feeling as taking a good dump though.

[AtomicHyperbole]

I didn't think the film was shit, it was solid but let down in a few places. Could've done with this ending though, which fills in some holes that glared through originally. Much better.

[tapehead]

Still shit but much more solid than the original ending. I would have come out of the film quite satisfied if that was in the theatrical cut, still not as satisfying a feeling as taking a good dump though.

I am Legend shared many qualities with the product of Will Smith taking a good dump, I agree. It's slightly less shit than the theatrical ending.

[bluebottle]

here's the real question - are there going to be deleted scenes that fill out the story a little more?

[Fievel]

I'd rather have seen a movie called "I Am Legend" about Will Smith taking a really big dump than that film regardless of the ending, although the deleted ending makes more sense to the movie than the theatrical ending.

[Coheed_and_Cambria]

Ok, my 2 cents on the Alternate Ending.

I liked it, but at the same time I hated it.

If Neville was alive at the end, there is NO reason that the voiceover had to be the chick. NONE. It would have made more sense to have Neville end the film with a nice quote, perhaps ending with "This is my story, I am Legend"....

But no, that would have been too simple.

I loved the flick, don't get me wrong, but I loved the book a hell of alot more. But this the case with books gone Hollywood. The original ending didn't really do much for me, and this new ending, I get the same feeling.

Oh well...Maybe in 15+ years, we will get the movie that Matheson fans deserve.

Or maybe not.

And that's what really grinds my gears.

[DennisMM]

No reason to mention "I am legend" at all if Neville is alive. The alternate is not bad in that it tries to access the horror Neville feels in the book when he learns he's killed dozens, perhaps hundreds, of living humans. Not one tenth of the power, though, and why does only the chief seeker show much intelligence? Ah, it's a Will Smith film. No need for explanations.

[bastard_robo]

All I have to say about that ending..