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I Am Legend (official movie thread)

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We did a double feature of this one and No Country for Old Men on Saturday. Two really good movies. I thought Smith did a great job, but I went in with no knowledge of earlier movies or the novel. Definitely worth the tix.
 
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SanAntonioBuck;1029095; said:
It was a good ending, but it was kind of abrupt. It could have been stretched out some like him taking the mother and child to Vermont. They even had a whole other subplot with the zombie that showed intelligence in trapping him, but never addressed it. I thought and kept me entertained. I love apocalyptic end of world type stuff though.
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That's why I thought this movie just... wasn't that good. Sure wish... something... was explained. I REALLY loved the Great Wall of China-esque base built in Vermont... where'd the survivors find the time to build that? What was with the alpha male vampire-zombie thing? It was directed well, and Will Smith managed to stay out of the character he plays for about 80% of the movies he does... which made me happy. Between this and The Pursuit of Happyness, he's giving me hope for his acting career.

My moviegoing experience was not enhanced by the myriad assholes around me. People on their blackberries, nonstop talking, multiple calls being answered during the movie... I hate opening weekend.
 
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For those who haven't read the original story...

The story takes place over a period of time between 1976 and 1978 in Southern California. The novel opens with the monotony and horror of the daily life of the protagonist, Robert Neville. Neville is apparently the only survivor of an apocalypse caused by a pandemic of bacteria, the symptoms of which are very similar to vampirism. Every day he makes repairs to his house, boarding up windows, stringing and hanging garlic, disposing of vampires' corpses on his lawn and going out to gather any additional supplies needed for hunting and killing more vampires.

Neville's psychological disposition is a significant element in the novel, and his struggles with despair imbue the character with intensity and gravitas. The author emphasizes that he is an ordinary, flawed man trying to deal with an extraordinary catastrophe. It also explores the loneliness of being by himself, excitement and hope of finding others, and disappointment over still finding himself alone. During the evenings, Neville drinks whiskey and listens to records. The records referenced by name sometimes reflect what is happening in the story, while at other times they simply reflect Neville's mood.

Much of the story is devoted to Neville's struggles to understand the plague that has infected everyone around him, and the novel details the progress of his discoveries. Instead of asking the reader to accept a supernatural explanation for vampire phenomena, the author strives to offer scientific basis for such symptoms as aversion to garlic, craving of fresh blood, and resistance to bullets but vulnerability to stakes and sunlight. The aversion to mirrors and crosses is classified as psychological. This represents one of the first attempts in popular culture to explain vampirism scientifically, something that has become more common in vampire stories since. Neville hypothesizes that he is immune to the bacteria because he was bitten by a vampire bat when he was stationed in Panama.

One day, a dog appears in the neighborhood. Neville spends weeks trying to win its trust and domesticate it. He eventually traps the terrified dog and wins it over, but it dies from the vampire infection a week later.
As the story progresses, it is revealed that some infected people have discovered a means to hold the disease at bay. However, the "still living" people appear no different from the true vampire during the day while both are immobilized in sleep. Thus, along with the vampires, Neville kills the still living people. He becomes a source of terror to the still living, since he can go around in daylight (which they can only do for a short length of time) and kill them while they sleep.

The still living send a girl named Ruth to spy on Neville, and they cleverly replicate Neville's relationship to the dog. Ruth pretends to be terrified of Neville at first sight, and rather than spend weeks trying to win her over, he attacks her and drags her back to his house. Though Neville is suspicious of her true nature and much of their interaction focuses on Neville's internal struggle between his deep seated paranoia and his hope, it is clear by his seizure of Ruth that the scales have tipped in favor of the irrational. Eventually Neville performs a blood test on her, revealing her true nature to him before she knocks him out. Ruth leaves a note telling him about the group of people like her, explaining that she was sent to spy and how monstrous he appears to them. Months later, the still living people attack, shooting Neville but taking him alive so that he can be executed in front of everyone in the new society.

Before he can be executed, Ruth provides him with an envelope of pills. Neville takes the pills so he will feel no pain when the still living execute him. He finally realizes why the new society of the living infected regards him as a monster: just as vampires were regarded as legendary monsters that preyed on the vulnerable humans in their beds, Neville has become a mythical figure that kills both vampires and the infected living while they are sleeping. He becomes a legend as the vampires once were, hence the title.
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The bolded text being what makes the story important within the genre.
 
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souL;1032570; said:
That's why I thought this movie just... wasn't that good. Sure wish... something... was explained. I REALLY loved the Great Wall of China-esque base built in Vermont... where'd the survivors find the time to build that? What was with the alpha male vampire-zombie thing? It was directed well, and Will Smith managed to stay out of the character he plays for about 80% of the movies he does... which made me happy. Between this and The Pursuit of Happyness, he's giving me hope for his acting career.

My moviegoing experience was not enhanced by the myriad assholes around me. People on their blackberries, nonstop talking, multiple calls being answered during the movie... I hate opening weekend.
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Yeah - I'm actually a Will Smith fan (please, no jokes) from Bad Boys I & II... so Im not as bothered as some for Will Smith playing Will Smith like he always does and I agree with souL that he did a good job of getting into character in this movie... this movie was really cool looking, but I think they over developed some things (we get it, he's really really alone) and underdeveloped alot of other things (good post souL).

Pro: very, very cool looking movie that sucks you into the action.

Con: not a great screenplay, doesn't really tell the story that well - abrupt plot additions at the end

I certainly don't regret seeing the movie, but I wouldn't add it to my best of the year list.
 
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OK saw it tonight...

Good lord what a mess. :(

If you can turn your brain off it's ok...otherwise, pass.


BTW The best part of the movie was the Superman & Batman - 2010 movie billboard in Times Square. :biggrin:
 
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Very good movie that could've been great.. hopefully a director's cut is released and some plot holes are filled. Every once in a while a good movie turns great with an extended DVD release (Kingdom of Heaven comes to mind).

Definitely worth seeing. Catch a late show during the week if possible (less people).
 
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SanAntonioBuck;1029095; said:
It was a good ending, but it was kind of abrupt. It could have been stretched out some like him taking the mother and child to Vermont. They even had a whole other subplot with the zombie that showed intelligence in trapping him, but never addressed it. I thought and kept me entertained. I love apocalyptic end of world type stuff though.
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Just saw it and you pretty much summed up my feelings. I also thought the CGI mutants were almost cheesy. They looked so fake that it really took me out of the movie. They should've just gone with make-up on real humans like the old zombie flicks. This was a 3 hour movie that was cut down to one and a half hours.
 
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I thought it was an awesome movie.


Definitely the kind of movie you want to go see in the theatres, because of the intensity that it brings and a lot of the action scenes. Overall, it's a very fun movie to go see, and I think that the story is very interesting and definitely worth seeing again.
 
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