I Am Legend

J_Burnham

Is it just me or was that film toatally rubish. I know it has a long time past, but it just seems a real shame that with such a huge budget and great scope the film turned out to be aweful.
The acting by Smith is good, but certainly not his best, the story line = weak, the zombies look like something out of the film The Mummy and the ending is poor (both versions).
What do others think?
JB -{

Lexi

J_Burnham wrote:

Is it just me or was that film toatally rubish. I know it has a long time past, but it just seems a real shame that with such a huge budget and great scope the film turned out to be aweful.
The acting by Smith is good, but certainly not his best, the story line = weak, the zombies look like something out of the film The Mummy and the ending is poor (both versions).
What do others think?
JB -{

I agree, I thought the premise was good, and I got lulled into a false sense of security.....
the ending was crap, but then, well.....

BTW I love your sig. Now that is a great movie! {[]

TonyDP

If you were intrigued by the movie's premise but disappointed by the execution, I'd suggest you read the original novella by Richard Matheson, also called "I Am Legend". It's a good, fast read with an ending that is somewhat dark but also very powerful, appropriate and fitting of the title.

There have been a couple of other adaptations of Matheston's story: The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent price captured the book's lost, melancholy tone and was quite faithful to the original text. The film is now in the public domain and can be downloaded from the internet for free; just google the title. Charlton Heston's The Omega Man is loosely based on the story, though it takes a lot of liberties with the material and while still entertaining is more an action vehicle for Heston.

Loeffelholz

My sons and I enjoyed it more than you did, JB---but you're certainly right in that it wasn't all it could have been.

I'm a worshipper of Matheson; what a writer B-)

I got a kick out of Omega Man, as well. Vincent Price's film is, as Tony said, certainly not to be missed.

John Drake

I liked it, but I'm told the book is far better. I must read it some day.

J_Burnham

BTW I love your sig. Now that is a great movie! {[][/quote]

Your telling me, by far one of his best performances and certainly one of the best gritty British movies {[]

J_Burnham

TonyDP wrote:

If you were intrigued by the movie's premise but disappointed by the execution, I'd suggest you read the original novella by Richard Matheson, also called "I Am Legend". It's a good, fast read with an ending that is somewhat dark but also very powerful, appropriate and fitting of the title.

There have been a couple of other adaptations of Matheston's story: The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent price captured the book's lost, melancholy tone and was quite faithful to the original text. The film is now in the public domain and can be downloaded from the internet for free; just google the title. Charlton Heston's The Omega Man is loosely based on the story, though it takes a lot of liberties with the material and while still entertaining is more an action vehicle for Heston.

Thanks Tony I will certainly look into gettin the Novel, but I wander if it would be wasted on me, a 17 year old as I get the impression its a fairly old book? And therefore I might not be able to fully appreciate it? Your thoughts?

TonyDP

J_Burnham wrote:

Thanks Tony I will certainly look into gettin the Novel, but I wander if it would be wasted on me, a 17 year old as I get the impression its a fairly old book? And therefore I might not be able to fully appreciate it? Your thoughts?

Well, just because a book, any book, is old is not a reason to dismiss it. I've read stuff that was written in the early to mid 20th Century (and earlier) that still feels fresh and relevant today. A good story is timeless and transcends the era it was written in.

If you enjoy reading and are into sci-fi or horror then I think you'll get some mileage out of the novella (which is very short BTW, less than 150 pages as I recall). But be aware that its a very small, closed and personal story. There are no big setpieces and no grand action sequences. Its about one man's attempt to survive in the face of a terrible horror. Neville barely even leaves his town until the very end of the book and much of the text details his day to day existence. In many ways, it reads like something you might have seen on the old Twilight Zone or Outer Limits TV shows.

Here's a link to an excerpt from the book (don't let the Wil Smith cover fool you, this is still the text from the original novella). Check it out and see if the style of writing resonates with you:

I Am Legend Excerpt

Hope that helps.