I Am Legend

When a movie is remade usually the audience is expecting an updated story and, if needed, more modern special effects. With this story, being the third time its been made for film, you’d want a more accurate tale that’s more faithful to the original book. This time around, Will Smith is in the role of Robert Neville that was originally portrayed by Vincent Price in 1964, and then by Charlton Heston in 1971. Using the same reasoning that they used in ‘71, making The Omega Man, that it would be easier to set the story in New York city rather than Los Angeles because it’s easily isolated from the surrounding area.
Dr. Robert Neville is the last surviving man on the planet after a devastating disease wipes out the population, but he’s not the only being inhabiting New York City. Even with the updated graphics, this story is still an amazing piece of work, though the changes from the original Richard Matherson book are quite apparent. With the more modern story setting the screen writers were able to expand the tale and still keep the basic plot intact. Smith shows again how much of a consummate actor he truly is, where ¾ of the movie is him acting with nothing but a dog and a green screen.
This is a worthy addition to the I Am Legend catalogue, but with the original ending not the alternate ending offered on the DVD. And now the powers that be have decided that this film deserves a sequel based on the alternate ending not the original that most people saw in the theaters. It’s so ridicules to continue a story that is wrapped around Neville’s life and ends with his death, my suggestion to all of you is to read the original book and then see the three films. You’ll be thoroughly satisfied and happy with the entertainment that this marvelous story brings, but you’ll also see how Matherson wanted this apocalyptic tale to truly work and ultimately end.