Rented I Am Legend tonight from iTunes, and I was very pleasantly surprised. From what I’d heard when it opened in theaters, I was expecting a pretty terrible movie, but it was actually really good. Definitely an interesting twist on the typical zombie virus story.
Then again, I hear that about the only thing it shares with the book is the premise, so perhaps that’s why people were disappointed. The ending is, granted, a bit of deus ex machina and the “dark seeker” CGI was at times rather over-the-top, but what the hell. Last movie I rented was Beowulf; I can handle some CGI oddness and slightly wonked out storytelling.
If you like horror/zombie movies, I’d recommend I Am Legend. It is, at the very least, worth a rental.
I liked it as well. A lot. But….
The book is better. A lot better. I would strongly suggest taking a run through the book (it’s pretty short). The movie people took a number of liberties that many folks-who’ve-read-the-book don’t like, but I think the movie stayed true to some of the more important aspects of the book.
The vamp CG was annoying though. The “abandoned New York” CG was hands-down the best effects work I’ve ever seen, the vamp-rats were incredible, and even the vamp-dogs were very, very well-done. But the vamp-people just didn’t cut it. The movie would’ve been *far* better if filmed humans were used… or at the very least, keep the CG characters constrained to what’s humanly possible. The VFX Show folks chatted about this movie too (http://thevfxshow.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=298572), for those who’re interested in such things.
But I second your last. It’s definitely worth seeing.
Posted 1:20 AM on Apr. 27, 2008 ↑
I’ve been thinking about giving the book a try. Normally I’m not very into the horror-type books, but the moving was certainly intriguing.
Posted 9:05 AM on Apr. 27, 2008 ↑
I enjoyed the movie, mainly because of Will Smith’s acting and the stunning CG depicting the deserted NY city, however I do have complaints about the story. I never read the book, but I still feel the story is a bit weak and some parts did not even make sense.
Posted 1:37 PM on May. 7, 2008 ↑