Years ago (and I do mean years ago) I read Richard Matheson’s ‘I Am Legend’. Shortly after that I saw the movie ‘The Omega Man’ (1971 starring Charlton Heston) based on that book. I also understand that there was an earlier movie ‘The Last Man on Earth’ (1964 starring Vincent Price) based on the book as well. This all begs the question: Can a story be so good that it deserves to be remade over and over? For me, the answer is a resounding yes!Now I’m a big fan of ‘The Omega Man’ so I thought it only deserving to compare it with the current remake ‘I Am Legend’. First I want to note the main differences between the movies:1. In ‘The Omega Man’, Charlton is immune to the plague thanks to an experimental vaccine he takes right before succumbing to the disease. In ‘I Am Legend’, Will Smith just happens to be one of the million or so survivors who happen to be immune. Now the scenario with Will Smith is probably more realistic, but I have to say that I like the idea of only one man actually being immune the best. I think this gives the character of Robert Neville that much more isolation. After all, in my mind, these movies really aren’t so much about vampires or albino half-deads as they are about how one man deals with the psychological and physical strain of being the last of his kind.
2. Mr. Heston has a bronze bust as a companion where as Will Smith has a German Shepard. No comparison here. The German Shepard in ‘I Am Legend’ wins hands-down. It’s not so much that the dutiful dog plays her role perfectly and compliments Will’s acting – it’s more because of what the dog represents. In ‘I Am Legend’ the dog represents Will’s last tie to the family he so tragically lost. It’s the physical bond to the life he once had. When the dog dies (in an emotional scene that is a real tribute to Will Smith’s acting ability) so too does Robert Neville’s will to live.
3. Vampires versus albino half-deads. I’m probably in the minority here, but I like the albinos better than the vampires. Why does a plague have to turn people into something they’re not? Why can’t it simply kill them? Why would it give them superhuman strength and make them hard-as-a-dickens to kill?
Now that you have the basic differences between the movies, here’s what I think of ‘I Am Legend’. I love the premise behind the story. It’s a great idea and truly worthy of being made over and over again. With all credit to Charlton Heston (who made several great movies over his career), Will Smith was the perfect actor for this role. He brings a level of emotion and isolation that was lacking in ‘The Omega Man’. The dog served as a powerful and constant reminder of Robert Neville’s anguish. The flashbacks to how all this came to be were effective and placed perfectly into the flow of the movie.
I really only noted a few weak points in the movie. The first was that the director Francis Lawrence, did nothing with some of the traits exhibited by the vampires. Robert Neville stated that the vampires had lost all human social traits. Yet I felt that the main reason the head vampire kept coming for Neville was because Neville had trapped the head vampire’s female companion. The head vampire also exhibited cunning in setting a snare trap for Neville and in the way he attacked Neville’s stronghold. Secondly, I didn’t quite buy why Neville felt so compelled to bare the entire burden for finding a cure for the plague. After all, in this version, millions of others were also immune to the disease. I felt that Mr. Lawrence tried to tie it back to Neville’s last promise to his family – but even that was weak because we never know if they would have fell victim to the disease or not. Third was the bit about Neville’s wife initially testing positive for the plague and then showing negative. I don’t know if this was meant to show the flaws in our technology or just a mechanism to create tension in the audience – but I thought it could have been left out.
My conclusion…. ‘I Am Legend’ is a really good movie – thanks in large part to the wonderful acting of Will Smith and a great story. If you like Will Smith then this is a must see – for me it was his best acting. The special effects were perhaps a little cheesy – but not to the point that they detracted from the movie. On my scale of 1-5 with 5 being a great movie, I’d give ‘I Am Legend’ a solid 4. It’s definitely one of the better horror / apocalyptic movies to come out in quite some time.
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In a future post I’ll compare the movie to the great Richard Matheson book. Until next time, don’t venture into the dark. J/W
