[Movie] I am Legend, What Did You All Think?

[Polygon]

WARNING- THREAD & POSTS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!












I saw the movie yesterday and I was a bit disappointed to be honest. Something about the plot of the film didn't rub me the right way- I think it was the concept of Will Smith fighting CG mutants which came across as a bit absurd. The way the trailers were set up made it seem as though there was some kind of grand, profound scheme for the whole film.

Granted, the environment was extremely well rendered, but I personally wish that the creatures were at least partially animatronic/prop as opposed to being entirely computer generated. Also, in terms of acting the (real) dog most certainly stole the show!

I would personally give the film 7/10.

 

[UncleDrax]

A friend of mine saw it yesterday.. said his biggest gripe was to much CGI.. I haven't seen it yet, but once I do I'll post up a full review on my site (see sig)..

Unfortunately no one I know has read the book, and no one else I know has seen all 3 of the movies (most have seen 2 of them, the current one plus either The Omega Man or Vicent Price's 'The Last Man on Earth')

 

[Boogerhead]

With a baby at home (now actually in another country), it's tough for me to go see movies. ...

Which is why I'm really damned glad I saw "The Mist." Wow. If there were any justice, Marcia Gay Harden (Mrs. Carmody) would win for Best Supporting Actress. Gotta see if the guy who plays Ollie has been in anything good before, Netflix that, too.

//three posts in and already trying to change the subject.

 

[Tomcat_ha]

i skipped over the spoilers.

7/10?

:|

i hoped for a good sci movie. There arent enough really....

 

[Polygon]

To be honest, you're not missing much. I'm sure the book is a hell of alot better than the movie.

 

[Dascoo]

I was planning on seeing it.

I didn't expect much though....good twist in the end of the book

EDIT: People should also be reminded that this isn't a horror movie.

 

[Oldih]

The name of this thread can be rather misinformative.

 

[Polygon]

Except that it's not.

 

[Tomcat_ha]

Except that it's not.

finns cant help it polygon....

 

[Shadrach]

This movie reminds me of "A boy and his dog". Now that's a true classic of the apocalypse genre

Not watched I am Legend yet.

 

[UncleDrax]

This movie reminds me of "A boy and his dog". Now that's a true classic of the apocalypse genre

A Boy and His Dog is definitely good stuff (well.. if it wasn't for the ending, it wouldn't be nearly as good).. but IMO, it's still in the same category as movies like Cherry 2000 and (not as much) Tank Girl. Post-Apocy but semi humorous.. intentional or not.

 

[Mr._Kong]

I thought the movie was incredibly awesome.
nuff said.

 

[SiFi]

What rubbed you the wrong way, polygon? Other than the CG mutants?

Warning, some spoilers.

I agree with Mr Kong; it was awesome, and I recommend that people see it. I've only got two quibbles with it; there's a faint, almost unconscious anti-science tone, in that it's a viral cure for cancer that goes wrong. To me it was a "don't mess with nature" type message, though again, very faint.

Secondly, Anna seemed too much of a starry eyed member of the faithful in the couple scenes where it was important. Everywhere else she was exactly on key as a survivor.

Both minor issues, not even enough for me to not recommend the movie.

I though all the acting was extremely good, especially how will smith was portraying the breakdown of his sanity after three years of isolation.

End spoilers.



Can anyone who's read the book give me a synopsis of it as contrasted with the movies? I'm curious about it.

 

[LogisticEarth]

A Boy and His Dog is definitely good stuff (well.. if it wasn't for the ending, it wouldn't be nearly as good).. but IMO, it's still in the same category as movies like Cherry 2000 and (not as much) Tank Girl. Post-Apocy but semi humorous.. intentional or not.

Oh a Boy and his Dog was definitely intended to be humorous. I was surprised to see people mention that film on here, ha.

Based off some works by Harlan Ellison. He has written a good number of other post-apocolyptic stuff, as well as a huge amount of sci-fi and "modern" fantasy. That is, fantasy that doesn't involve elves and such but rather just modern settings with fantastical events.

See also: I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream.

Also check out his screenplay for "I, Robot". God that was amazing, and it's a travesty it was never actually turned into a film. Instead we ended up with that piece of crap they put out a few years ago, ha.

Ok done derailing the thread.

 

[Polygon]

What rubbed you the wrong way, polygon? Other than the CG mutants?

Warning, some spoilers.

I agree with Mr Kong; it was awesome, and I recommend that people see it. I've only got two quibbles with it; there's a faint, almost unconscious anti-science tone, in that it's a viral cure for cancer that goes wrong. To me it was a "don't mess with nature" type message, though again, very faint.

Secondly, Anna seemed too much of a starry eyed member of the faithful in the couple scenes where it was important. Everywhere else she was exactly on key as a survivor.

Both minor issues, not even enough for me to not recommend the movie.

I though all the acting was extremely good, especially how will smith was portraying the breakdown of his sanity after three years of isolation.

End spoilers.



Can anyone who's read the book give me a synopsis of it as contrasted with the movies? I'm curious about it.

Well, my main gripe is the CG mutants, and the fact that they are all well, CG. I love movies like Jurassic Park I where you had an excellent combination of animatronic/CG to produce an incredibly naturalistic appearance. The creatures in I am Legend looked too CG, and moved too CG. They were like organic versions of the robots Smith battled against in I, Robot, especially in terms of the way they crawled up objects.

Granted, CG cuts costs in terms of having to work up some fancy machines and applying complicated special effects make-up to actors, but the results show for themselves. With too much computer generated imagery, you run the risk of an unrealistic and unsatisfying experience.

Now, moving past the CG and looking at the plot, I felt that there was some kind of generic quality to the story. Will Smith becomes a martyr for his cause, fighting against all odds and eventually finding a cure to save the world. The trailers seemed to evoke something more mysterious that wasn't eventually captured in the movie. It's difficult to explain precisely, but the taste I was left with was: so it's Will Smith fighting mutants and a gushy back story about his family involved in this nightmare scenario?

 

[Oldih]

Except that it's not.

Well what I mean is, that it is not exactly a great combination to read RO forums early in the morning and notice that some chap named "Polygon" had made a thread called "I am Legend" - so you can guess the rest

As for the movie itself I haven't seen it, but it sounds neat.

 

[Jokerman]

Lemme understand, IML and The Omega Man are based on the same book? Which one is it, then.

I watched TOM when I was 12 and thought it was the awesomest movie ever.

 

[LogisticEarth]

Lemme understand, IML and The Omega Man are based on the same book? Which one is it, then.

I watched TOM when I was 12 and thought it was the awesomest movie ever.

The book is actually called I Am Legend, like the new movie. There's also an old Vincent Price movie called "The Last Man on Earth" or something.

 

[Jokerman]

The book is actually called I Am Legend, like the new movie. There's also an old Vincent Price movie called "The Last Man on Earth" or something.

K, thnx. Googled some images for The Last Man on Earth- though made in the 60' it has Bela Lugosi 30' horror flick looks. Hommage?

 

[Aeneas2020]

i read the book years ago and loved it, as far as i'm concerened this movie has about as much to do with the book as chocolate has to do with dieting...i can't bring myself to go see it at the cinema...i mean from what i've seen they removed all the humanity from the vampires...yes thats right their supposed to be bloody vampires not dalk stalkers/zombies/mutants whatever the hell they've become. The whole point about the book was everything retained its humanity except ironically the last human on earth who became the monster or boogey man to the monsters he thought he was destroying. The cure etc is a secondary issue in the book but it seems to be a primary issue in the film. I guess i'll go see it and reserve my judgement until then but i wish they wouldn't take the title of a book and make a completely different bloody film with the same name.