I Am Legend - BIG HONKIN' SPOILERS!!!!!!

[Darklord Dave]

I can buy that, but I'd imagine the concept was presented in a way that made much more sense in the book..? In the movie it feels very out of place, up until that point we're told that the zombies are dumb animals with no remaining signs of intelligent human behavior. Ugh, I guess that does technically explain it though. Bummer! I liked my theory better.

I actually really liked this aspect of the film. Neville thought they were nothing more than beasts because he had to in order to experiment on them so callously. But I got a subtext that when he captured the female it was the lead zombie's mate and that's what prompted the lead zombie coming after him. The fact that he copied Neville's trap exactly shows that they can learn and plan.

 

[Andy Bergholtz]

...Neville thought they were nothing more than beasts because he had to in order to experiment on them so callously...

See, I tend to disagree... I think Neville had to believe they weren't just beasts. He had to believe there was still something human about them, he need to so he would have a reason to wake up every day and continue his work. I think that's what kept him going. I see what they were trying to do with the character's psyche, I'm just not sure it played out well. If there were any signs of sophistication in these zombies, I'd think Neville would cling to that rather than subconsiously deny it. After all, I don't think there was anything callous about the way he experimented on the zombies, no more than any doctor who treats a severely terminal patient... In fact he treated them with considerable care from the looks of things, even the rats. The man was desperate for some kind of human contact/interaction, I would think his subconsious would favor the idea of the zombies being 'smart'. Does that make sense?

I do like the notion of intelligent zombies, with the ability to learn, etc. I still think it would have been more believable if the zombies' trap was somehow a little more primitive than Neville's rather than being the EXACT same trap. But that's a minor quibble.

Also, I'm not entirely sure I understand WHY the zombies are so agressive to normal people? Do they actually consume them? Or is this just a "Really-pissed-off-at-humans" virus like 28 Days Later? I can't imagine that they do it out of sheer hunger, as NY seemed to be teeming with natural food sources and wildlife. If the zombies were so smart they surely figured this out. Is there something in the book that describes a logical motive for these creatures? Heck, screw logical... Do they at least eat brains or drink blood for sustenance?

 

[Jair]

We'll if you watch Omega Man with the esteemed Charlton Heston, the "zompires" were just trying to rebuild society without the trappings of technology and they had a sever case of hate for Neville.

Pretty similar to the early version Last Man on Earth version with Vincent price, both sets of zompires were trying to rebuild society and had intelligence.

Think the only problem I had with the Will Smith version is actually the zompires, they were much to bloodthirsty and aggresive compared to the previous versions and the book, which made it more like another 28 days feeling. Was still a good popcorn flick though


Evan

 

[IronFingaz]

Just got back from seeing it!!

Awsome movie! I really loved it. Big Will and Sam? was great in it and i got a huge lump in my throat when Samantha died Got me thinking of my dead dog
The CGI could have been a bit better some places but it didnt bother me much. Got a few shocks and some funny moments and great action and suspence scenes. Overall a great movie imo.

 

[Booyah!]

Fun film overall.

I wasn't really digging that the Zompires were CG tho, they didn't look real enough.

 

[tomandshell]

For a while I was waiting for the big reveal that Neville had his zombified wife or daughter strapped on a gurney in the back room under heavy sedation, which was driving his search for a cure. But when they showed you (or almost showed you) that they both died in the helicopter crash, that theory went out the window.

I just got the latest copy of Cinefex, in which they talk about the effects work and spoil the ending:

Once the infected, including the alpha male, have made it inside the laboratory, it becomes clear that their intention is to retrieve the alpha female--nothing more. "At that point," noted Janek Sirrs, "Neville's--and the audience's--assumptions about the nature of these creatures are shown to be incorrect. We see that they have actually retained some of their humanity. There is a very important moment between the alpha male and Neville..."

"There was a lot of subtlety that had to come through in that moment," said David Schaub. "Then, when Neville finally turns the alpha female over to the alpha male, there is this little love moment between the two of them. That was another very tricky bit of business to get just right."

Having secured what they came for--the alpha female--the infected spare Neville's life, and he, Anna and the boy leave Manhattan, hoping to find other survivors in the outside world. The last shot follows their car traveling over what is left of the George Washington Bridge--a shot comprised of aerial photography and digital environmental elements.

So the ending was changed fairly late in the game. (I read that Will Smith was called back for reshoots only four weeks or so before the film's release because the studio was unhappy with the finale.) I wonder if we will see this version included in the special features on the video release...

 

[Darth Caedus]

For a while I was waiting for the big reveal that Neville had his zombified wife or daughter strapped on a gurney in the back room under heavy sedation, which was driving his search for a cure. But when they showed you (or almost showed you) that they both died in the helicopter crash, that theory went out the window.

I just got the latest copy of Cinefex, in which they talk about the effects work and spoil the ending:



So the ending was changed fairly late in the game. (I read that Will Smith was called back for reshoots only four weeks or so before the film's release because the studio was unhappy with the finale.) I wonder if we will see this version included in the special features on the video release...

I like the original ending better, but some schmuck exec prob said: "hmmmm, we need a huge explosion at the end" and changed it. would have been a much better ending IMO for neville to live and go to vermont

 

[jungle jom]

I just saw the film today with my two sons. I loved the art direction. The Manhattan shots of the streets were amazing and I live here! Just amazing. I don't know exactly what was shot on practical sets and city streets and what was done on blue screen. That technology appears to be seamless at this point. I often went to the video store in the movie... sadly it is now closed.

Like others here, my problem was the CGI zombies. I am sick of CGI characters that are supposed to be real. (I have no problem with any Pixar, Disney, or Blue Sky characters) Actors should be used whenever possible for this type of thing with special effects appliances. They are much more menacing and threatening than a cartoon, which is all the zombies were in this film. Please Hollywood, ENOUGH with computer generated characters who aren't cartoons!

Finally, the ending described above was much better than the one in the film. Smith blowing himself up in the film seemed like a Heston move... He never wanted to do sequels and seemed to demand his characters buy it in the end.

 

[Jamal]

One of the top 5 movies of '08 IMO

 

[galactiboy]

Late to the game, but I did finally see this yesterday. It was a pretty good movie... not the best, but enjoyable. I definitely would have preferred the original ending Tom posted though... it just makes more sense, especially given that Neville seems to want to ignore any shred of humanity left in the creatures.

And I agree the CGI wasn't terrible for the creatures, but they looked a little funky.

Oh and the Dark Knight trailer was unbelievable... that is gonna be so kickass

 

[lcummins]

I agreed with Dave (and the article Tom posted confirms it) that the alpha male was only trying to get the female back; he followed Neville out into the sunlight when he trapped the female, and began stalking him from that point on.

"The Last Man on Earth" has always been a personal favorite of mine and I like "The Omega Man" well enough. I don't think I'd call the "vampires" in Last Man intelligent though, just the vestiges of intelligence left I think. But in both films, there is the ironic twist ending that Neville gets killed by the "partially infected" people he is trying to cure, and that was missing in "I Am Legend", which made me feel that something was just "missing" in the film, along with some other things. Over all, I enjoyed the movie but was a little disappointed... I think Price's Last Man is still my favorite of the three versions, but I will definitely get "I Am Legend" on DVD when it comes out and watch it several more times...

 

[Darklord Dave]

I'm wondering if they discarded the original ending because they couldn't get the right "performance" from the CG Alpha male.

 

[galactiboy]

Its really hard to ever understand why they make some of these decisions... my guess is they wanted to keep the line between good and evil/human and non clear and not confuse the viewer

 

[amarcord]

Saw this one a few days ago.
Sorry, but I disagree that Will smith is a great actor. (could not sympathize with his character)
The zombiemonsters were like Playstation things: they did not feel like a real threat.

And why did they let the leading actor die in the middle of the film?

 

[Andy Bergholtz]

For a while I was waiting for the big reveal that Neville had his zombified wife or daughter strapped on a gurney in the back room under heavy sedation, which was driving his search for a cure. But when they showed you (or almost showed you) that they both died in the helicopter crash, that theory went out the window.

I just got the latest copy of Cinefex, in which they talk about the effects work and spoil the ending:



So the ending was changed fairly late in the game. (I read that Will Smith was called back for reshoots only four weeks or so before the film's release because the studio was unhappy with the finale.) I wonder if we will see this version included in the special features on the video release...

Now this is incredibly interesting! Here's hoping the DVD offers both endings, I like the one outlined in Cinefex much better than what we got in the theater.

 

[Rogue Trooper]

Saw it at the weekend and thought it was a good popcorn movie, never thought about the alpha female/male thing which i now think it make more interesting. But have to agree with the CG, not cool but still though they were creepy.

Digged the superman/batman logo and the empty new york with all the plastic on the building.

I was hopeing that the alpha female became human again and was the one you saved Nevile, but alas 2 kid managed to fight off the horde and save him.

That dog was great and really did not want him to turn. Surprised that the zombies use zombies dogs, still mans best friend.

 

[dunedain]

I saw the movie (finally) last night. I really liked it. It's not the best movie I've ever seen but it was pretty much OK.

I found Will Smith's performance very good and I felt sorry for him when the dog got bitten. The zombies were pretty nicely done but it just felt a bit... unfinished like the zombie effects were at 90% not at the full 100%.

Now I'm doubting to see in in the theaters again or just wait for the DVD release.