The successes and failures in adapting i am legend film. How i am legends ending is different in the book screen. Smiths i am legend title makes no sense, it lacks the dialogue and information to build up to the title, rendering it meaningless. And if it is true that mankind has 100 years to live before we destroy our. Published in 1954, acclaimed author richard mathesons novel i am legend is one of the most highly regarded works of apocalyptic fiction to date. As such, its no surprise that the book has been adapted for the big screen, in this case three. Near the beginning of the slightly futuristic, slightly scary and slightly ridiculous i am legend, will smith goes roaring through the desolate streets of manhattan in a firered sports car, an assault rifle in hand, with a happy german shepherd sitting in the passenger seat weeds and vines have reclaimed times square, now a giant parking lot for abandoned vehicles. By analyzing three adaptations of the same book, its clear that the most faithful, and strongest, adaptation is the last man on earth. The movie really draws you in and effects you at a deep emotional level. Today the most recent movie adaptation of richard mathesons classic vampire story i am legend comes out on dvd. With i am legend we have an intriguing opportunity to compare book and film. Its been three years since civilization came to an end, and the loneliness has taken a. Theres lessons to be learned about mob behavior and respect for minorities.
It is the third film adaptation of richard mathesons novel i am legend 1954, following the last man on earth 1964 and the omega man 1971. Spoilers as he swallows the pill, all of these monsters staring and he laughs to himself saying i am legend. This aside, it is a fairly good movie with post apocalyptic themes and a storyline that will keep you interested for the 96 minutes duration. Will smiths acting is spoton and the movie delivers action and suspense in spades, and yet it fails to actively engage the audience in a meaningful. The infected people attack nevilles lab and he hands over the infected female hes been working on to the leader a. He is a legend because he is the source of the cure. I am legend plagued by cartoony cgi characters, cliched. Twodisc dvd or bluray for those unaware, let me explain the concept of richard mathesons book to. I really liked that one, and i wrongly assumed that since they had used the original title from the book that both movies were based on, that it stayed closer to the original source material. The movie took all the intelligence out and just made it about the action. Ending spoiler for i am legend 2007, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. The two earlier films are the last man on earth 1964 and the omega man 1971. Thus, in the final line of the book which also serves as the books title, neville accepts that he is a monster.
For june and day everything is pretty much a lifeordeath matter, so theyre always on the lookout or running from something. The will smith i am legend once again fails to replicate this ending, but its alternate conclusion is much closer to the books message. I am legend 2007 the basics hopefully all of you know the basic story behind i am legend. I am legend is about a zombielike horde wiping out much of humanity, but its confusing ending becomes clear if you understand the personal journey of its hero. As discussed by first showing and film, the alternate ending for i am legend is a better representation of the source material. I have gone through a similar question to mine, but in that question they are talking about the ending of the book while. But if you have only seen that will smith movie that went 180 degrees on the books message, the soulcrushing impact of. Whether is it has something to do with aliens or the world ending. Theres something about the way the story is told that, while the scenario is highly fantastical, the character is almost painfully relatable. Richard mathesons i am legend is a masterpiece of horror that has spawned three film adaptations, none of which have quite captured the essence of what makes this. I am legend is a 2007 american postapocalyptic action thriller film based on the 1954 novel of the same name by richard matheson.
I am legend is brilliant commentary and society and human relationships and, really, the very definition of humanity. Francis lawrences 2007 film i am legend had not one but two endings, and while both are different from what happens in the original novel by richard matheson, the alternate ending not shown in theaters is a lot closer. Spoilers its not a bad movie, and it does have a certain charm. The story is set in new york city after a virus, which was originally created to cure cancer, has wiped out most of. I remember enjoying the movie the omega man with charlton heston when i was young.
I am legends biggest change from the book broke the movie. Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 1. If anyone had any doubts left that will smith could carry a movie, i am legend will banish them forever. I am legend is about a zombielike horde wiping out much of humanity, but its confusing ending and butterfly symbolism become a lot more clear if you understand the personal journey of its hero. I am lege nd is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson. The book is important historically, though without the 2007 adaptation starring will smith, contemporary readers wouldnt bump into it in an airport bookstore. Immune, neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of new york city and perhaps the world. I am legend forfeits any semblance of dramatic impact, much as i, robot did, with its cartoonlike cgi villains. Yesterday, some intrepid soul posted an alternate i am legend ending to youtube. Hes virtually alone in this scifi thriller, with a dog albeit a talented one as his only foil. I am legend is a novel by richard matheson in which robert neville struggles to survive as the sole remaining human in a world overrun by vampires robert neville is the only. I am legend characters from litcharts the creators of. Furthermore, the final line suggests that human societyof which neville was the last representativeis now fading into the past.
Whats the difference between i am legend the book and i am legend the movie. I am legend is a post apocalyptic vision by richard matheson, created in 1954 it tells the story of robert neville, the last surviving human in the world, surrounded by bloodthirsty vampires both living and undead. Book readers and fans of the miniseries will know that stan uris isnt going to healinside or outquite as well as the others. Directed by francis lawrence, the film stars will smith as us army virologist robert neville. Robert neville, the protagonist, is indeed the last man on earth as far as he knows, the rest of the planet having turned into vampires. January 1976 chapter one on those cloudy days, robert neville was never sure when sunset came, and sometimes they were in the streets before he could get back. With that in mind, what some feel is a confusing ending becomes far more clear. If he had been more analytical, he might have calculated the approximate time of their arrival.
This is the book that, to my mind, created the modern vampirezombie genre of horror. I am legend 2007 is an american postapocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by francis lawrence and starring will smith. I am legend characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. The story is set in new york city after a virus, which was originally created to cure cancer, has wiped out most of mankind, leaving neville as the last human in new york, other than nocturnal mutants. Neville comes across a seemingly uninfected woman, ruth, abroad in the daylight and captures her. Changing i am legends creatures which were created by the virus outbreak in the movie made adapting the books ending impossible, as the darkseekers showed almost no signs of heightened intelligence earlier in the movie. Through his perspective, i am legend is a story of hope wrapped in a layer of postapocalyptic turmoil with religious overtones. The i am legend dvd with this alternate ending included is now available to buy on. Its gripping and intense and i think, perhaps, will smiths greatest performance. Maybe the grimmest ending of any book if the only version of i am legend you have heard of is the will fresh prince smith film version you are in for a treat. Its a full, polished ending, with complete special effects intact, so im assuming it was ripped from the special features on the imminent dvd. This man, our protagonist in both the book and film, is robert neville. But when it comes down to it, is the book really better than the movie.
Film column i did on the source material and the four films loosely inspired by it. I am legend does contain memorable scenes, as when the island is being evacuated, and when neville says goodbye to his wife and daughter salli richardson and willow smith, and when he confides in his dog who is not computergenerated, most of the time, anyway. This film is i am legend in name only, it bears very little relation to the book of the same name. Will smiths 2007 box office hit i am legend had an ending that divided audiences, but an alternate ending exists that does more justice to the book. After the initial shock of seeing another human wears off, neville becomes suspicious of ruth and is skeptical of her story.
I am legends alternate ending explained in the theatrical cut of i am legend, nevilles house is stormed by the vampires, right as he finally discovers a cure for their condition. Off the back of the huge success of i am legend back in 2007, warner bros was keen to develop either a prequel or a sequel to the film. Smith wages an eternal war against video game antagonists who cannot speak, making them dimwitted, lowestcommondenominator dolts. Lieutenant colonel robert neville will smith attempts to find an antidote to the worldshattering mutation. I am legend dystopian movies always have a big change in the society. Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 4. The book ends with june and day together, running from the law and. Neville kills himself with poison after being captured by the human like vampires. I am legend is not a supernatural romance, yet it is not a gorefest vampire carnage novel either. The alternate ending to i am legend where they respect him and growl at him in an acknowledging way is odd and feels out of place. The novel is one of my favorite of all time, the inspiration for many a story be it book or movie. I picked it up mostly because i read about the alternate ending of the will smith movie, which some criticized for not following the spirit of the book. The 2007 film was partially based on the 1971 film as well as the original source. The movie stars will smith as virologist robert neville, the apparent sole uninfected survivor in a postapocalyptic version of new york city where most people are dead, and the.
The movie i am legend directed by francis lawrence is dystopian movie. There are stretches when he literally talks to himself, and hes. The version of i am legend which i watched ended with will smith alive, but my friend claims that he had watched the same movie, in which he was killed by the zombies. This version of i am legend is the third movie adaptation of mathesons novel.
Robert neville will smith is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and manmade in this postapocalyptic action thriller. It was influential in the development of th e zombievampi re genre and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. The novel i am legend 1954, written by american author richard matheson, was adapted for the movie by screenwriters akiva goldsman and mark protosevich. He is a legend among the vampires, because he is the only human left and he hunts and kills so many vampires during the day.
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