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Spawn of Sephiroth
12-16-2007, 01:40 AM
So, anyone on here go and watch this? What were your thoughts of the movie. Me personally, I thought it was ok but it was not as good as it seemed in the commercials and I thought it was going to be a total kick ass movie but was really dissappointed. It still had several good parts, but overall I don't think it was as good as it seemed in the commercials.

CimminyCricket
12-16-2007, 01:40 AM
I hope it is better than the book. The book sucked. Really bad.

IronOcean
12-16-2007, 04:11 AM
Do you think you had too high of expectations going in.

CimminyCricket
12-16-2007, 04:18 AM
Probably, I read a lot of books.

LunarWeaver
12-16-2007, 04:20 AM
I've never read the book. I'm excited for the movie, though. Reactions seem a bit on the mixed, but that won't hold back my fervor.

CimminyCricket
12-16-2007, 04:23 AM
I've already tied your fervor up and hid him in my closet.

El Bandito
12-16-2007, 07:09 AM
I hope it is better than the book. The book sucked. Really bad.

Really? It was one of the books kids who took a Sci Fi Writing class my senior year had to read and everyone told me it's awesome. In fact, they hated this movie just because it wasn't true at all to the novel.

As for me (haven't read the book), I'd agree that it was alright. It seemed that if I took the core of it, it would basically be 28 Days/Weeks Later, but less well done. Will Smith does a good job with what he has, but the script is pretty bad.

Breine
12-16-2007, 11:25 AM
The trailer looks good, but the whole plot has just been seen before (e.g. 28 Days Later). "The Darjeeling Limited" is coming out on the same day as "I Am Legend" over here, and I'd much rather see that. I looks really good, while "I Am Legend" just looks more and more like a generic blockbuster/action flick.

Rinoa Heartilly
12-16-2007, 05:41 PM
The trailer looks promising...But I don't really want to see it since his one and only friend is a dog. In movies, save those meant for children, this usually does not bode well for the dog (although there are exceptions). And I hate movies where animals get killed for drama. Yes, hurt the puppy, it'll make the audience cry but they'll still believe the character going on to find happiness without being *too* depressed about the loss of his/her puppy. Grrr.
But my friend wants to see it so I'll probably have to see it anyway. *mumbles*

CimminyCricket
12-16-2007, 06:00 PM
It just didn't live up to my expectations is all.

Laddy
12-16-2007, 06:41 PM
I saw it, good movie, very sad. I was really angry when Sam, the dog, died, I tried to not bawl in the theater.

Spawn of Sephiroth
12-16-2007, 10:25 PM
It just didn't live up to my expectations is all.

Yeah, thats exactly what I thought.

Rase
12-17-2007, 01:07 PM
I thought it was a pretty great movie, but than again I have fairly loose standards for movies. Got decently intense at part, and had quite a few good moments. I'd say it's good enough to warrant a matinée showing like I did, or just wait until DVD

Sephex
12-17-2007, 05:52 PM
I liked it, but I didn't think it was mindblowing. I looked up the genreal plot of the original book, and that seemed very interesting. I might have to check that out sometime. Anyway, I probably liked it most than more people because I have a morbid fascination with an isolation/deserted theme. This is probably why I liked "Castaway" a lot and am obsessed with the Solitary Island sequence in FFVI. Stuff like that depresses the hell out of me, but I can't help but watch it.

Araciel
12-21-2007, 01:01 PM
It was what I expected, a good movie, but it seemed short :S

Spawn of Sephiroth
12-23-2007, 11:49 PM
I hope it is better than the book. The book sucked. Really bad.


I actually bought the book and read it yesterday and finished it today and I thought it was rather good. Short, but pretty good. The book was better than the movie. The movie should have followed the book alot more and the movie would have been better I think.

Rase
12-24-2007, 03:58 AM
Did anyone else want him to just yell "I... am... LEGEND!" really loud at the end? It would have been terribly corny and hilariously awful, so I really wish they had done it. :(

Boney King
12-24-2007, 08:01 AM
Did anyone else want him to just yell "I... am... LEGEND!" really loud at the end? It would have been terribly corny and hilariously awful, so I really wish they had done it. :(

"I... Am... BEOWULF!"

Rase
12-25-2007, 06:25 AM
Exactly! It'd go great with that and "This... is... SPARTA!"

It's the year of yelling three words in movies.

Yamaneko
12-26-2007, 06:54 AM
Saw it. First half was entertaining; explored some interesting ideas. Second half was pure blockbuster-type mayhem with some decent acting from Will Smith when he interacts with Anna and the kid. Ending was totally lame. There was also a big disconnect from the book and why the movie suffers; Robert Neville as a character is supposed to be a mythical creature to the vampires just like vampires were once mythical creatures to humans. In the new world those immune are legends among the vampire community. Unless I'm missing something big, this idea was not communicated in the movie, rather Robert Neville is a legend for the new group of people restarting the human race. Entertaining, but flawed.

Heath
12-26-2007, 03:59 PM
I've not read the book nor have I seen the film. I've skimmed over a few posts trying to avoid plot details just to get a feel for the film and it sounds like it was pretty disappointing. Still want to go see it, but to be honest, I wasn't expecting anything spectacular anyway. Is the book any good? I have to confess that I'd never heard of it until I saw the film trailer.

Quindiana Jones
12-26-2007, 04:56 PM
Bloody fantastic book. Gonna watch the film, though I have no doubt it will be very different from the book (like I, Robot).

But, c'mon....it's Will Smith.

Miriel
12-26-2007, 08:06 PM
Definitely above average for an action film.

I liked all the scenes with Will Smith hunting around for food, running around in a desolate city, interacting with his dog, etc. That stuff was great. Plus, I thought Smith did a really great job of going back and forth between determined survival attitude to despair, paranoia and madness. The scene with Fred was pretty great. Oh and his face when he had to kill his doggy was so... ;_;

The action sequences were alright. But I kept waiting around the whole movie for the "still living" folks to turn up. I think they would have added so much to the movie since they would have been enemies that were more than rabid zombie like creatures. Why did they take it out? Did they think that audiences couldn't handle anything more complex than man vs. rabid humans? Pfft. I think if that had added that dimension, the movie might have been a lot better.

Having the bad guys in the movie be plain ol' crazy monsters made it pretty lame. They weren't even all that scary. The part where they tricked him and tied him up was promising because it indicated that the monsters were smart and knew that Neville was a threat. But it didn't go beyond that and it really should have.

Also, I can never watch a movie with Will Smith without thinking that I'm watching Will Smith. Like, his acting is great and everything but he never becomes the character for me. It's Will Smith washing the dog, Will Smith reciting Shrek, etc.

Fuzakeru
12-26-2007, 08:34 PM
I cried during this movie a lot. I think the desolation created on screen was brilliant. New York looked amazing in the film and that kind of atompshere they so wonderfully created really pulled me in to the film.

I was disappointed it didn't follow the book closer but the first scene where Sam runs off in to the shadowed building and you see them sleeping in a huddle really scared the hell out of me.

Everything up to that point of the film I really liked. Toward the end I got kinda bored with it cause the conclusion just felt so rushed. I don't know, the last thirty minutes or so were paced really weird I think.

I have never cried harder over an animal's death than Sam's. I WAS impressed with Will Smith's acting during that scene. A lady beside me had to give me a tissue cause I was weeping so hard.

Overall, I didn't expect this to be a wannabe horror film. I knew there'd be creepy parts but I hated all the quiet quiet quiet quiet noise scratching quiet quiet quiet close up on Will Smith's face quiet quiet..... OMG SO LOUD YOUR EARS ARE BLEEDING JESUS CHRIST IT HURTS! OH GOD THE CAMERA AnGLes AND ThE shaKING! AM I STILL WATCHING THIS MOVIE OR AM I HAVING A SEIZURE?!

It was worth going to see but I'm not gonna buy it. If anything, it was worth it to catch the new preview for Cloverfield and Dark Knight. =D

Araciel
12-27-2007, 02:22 AM
Epic spoiler - he's his father.

Also, spam.

Also, I liked it...I already said that but yeah.

Spiffing Cheese
12-29-2007, 02:09 AM
The CGI was almost embarrassing at times. And the end was beyond lame. Typical American happy stupid church God ending. Yeurgh.

I did think Will Smith was awesome at times and the Fred thing with the car and the trapwas awesome. And Emma Thompson as smug bitch who destroyed the human race was very satisfying. ;D

The dog's death was devastating and I was so scared I had my head inside my bag for a good half of it. xD

Madame Adequate
12-30-2007, 12:11 AM
I just saw this, and I liked it a good deal. The weird thing is, it's not AAA material but at the same time, it has some golden moments and it's kind of hard to see how to improve it without changing some very fundamental things.

Following Sam into the dark building was insanely tense. The trap with Fred was brilliant in every way. The movie did the whole lonely, paranoid thing fantastically well, it's honestly one of the best such examples I've ever seen.

Well worth seeing, in my opinion.

Spawn of Sephiroth
12-30-2007, 12:18 AM
And Emma Thompson as smug bitch who destroyed the human race was very satisfying. ;D

Maybe Professor Umbridge was right bout her not being able to predict things...........Gosh, and only to think....... :)

Jess
12-30-2007, 09:40 PM
Will Smith is just such a good actor and that made the film for me. It wasn't the best film I've ever seen but I would watch it again.

Burtsplurt
01-01-2008, 11:39 AM
I really didn't know what to make of it. On the plus side, the early part of the film was interesting - tense and un-nerving. And Will Smith is always good. However, there was no plot - or what there was didn't really make sense. How did Anna arrive in the night - the messages said he'd be there at noon, and how did she cross the bridges anyhow? Did the infected do the mannekin trap? And, if so, why wasn't their humanisation explored?

Oh, and the ending was a total cop out. I guess the $150m budget must have just ran out and so the director had to fashion an ending in about 43 seconds.

I think it really suffers from being a very similar film to 28 Days Later. Essentially, it's nowhere near as good. Maybe if 28 Days Later hadn't been released, it would have been more satisfying.

Madame Adequate
01-01-2008, 03:02 PM
How did Anna arrive in the night - the messages said he'd be there at noon, and how did she cross the bridges anyhow? Did the infected do the mannekin trap? And, if so, why wasn't their humanisation explored?

A) She said she waited from noon but nobody showed up. Why she hadn't left by the time Neville was there I don't know, but maybe she'd sought somewhere safe and the hubris attracted her attention.

B) I thought it was pretty clear that they did. I would have also liked their society to be explored, but at the same time, I thought it was really interesting how Neville misinterpreted the leader's actions in exposing himself to sunlight, and our failure to get more into it seems to be a parallel to his errors here. There were still strong hints of the book's original premise (ie that Neville has become a legendary monster to those infected who retain intelligence and social structure, a factor which in the movie seemed a little more combined into a single being.) dotted throughout, which I personally found very well done. I don't mind that the movie doesn't follow the book perfectly, but I thought it paid appropriate respect.

James Leopold
01-02-2008, 06:46 PM
I just came back from seeing this film and I've got to say that this is one of the best that I've seen released in 2007.

The acting was superb, the atmosphere perfect and the story great.

Will Smith IS a legend and one of my favourite actors. He created a believable character and there were moments in the film that moved me.

Absolutely brilliant, I recommend it for everyone.

Heath
01-02-2008, 09:52 PM
Having seen the film myself, I suppose I can actually comment now! Stylistically I thought it was above average. I thought it was predictable during certain sequences (for instance, that there was going to be one of the infected upstairs that would attack Neville as he looked for Anna or how the infected woman Neville was experimenting on in his lab was going to revive and try and attack him or something), but the film managed to suspend the action to a significant enough extent that I began to doubt whether or not I wasn't giving the film enough credit by thinking it predictable, only to be proven right and surprised by it. Really well done. I'm not sure if anybody else experienced that like I did but it was something that happened at least twice during the film.

The film was downright depressing (as it should be) during some scenes as we're shown not only the background to Neville being the last man in New York but also how he copes with this. The death of Sam, the mannequins in the video shop and how he'd watch old news broadcasts amongst other things were quite poignant to me as it really allowed us to see what happens to a man in such dreadful isolation, driven by two single instincts (survival and looking for a cure).

I think perhaps I expected less than I got and that's why I enjoyed the film. It's never going to become my favourite film or even one of my ten favourite films, but it was definitely an enjoyable film to watch.

Big D
01-02-2008, 11:06 PM
I haven't read the book, or seen the original movie, but I'm going to see it tonight with a friend. All I've seen so far are the trailers, which give me a sense that it might be a little different to the generic zombie apocalypse flick.

Rostum
01-02-2008, 11:39 PM
I liked it, but the ending was mediocre.

Rengori
01-03-2008, 02:43 AM
I ending sucked, but other than that it was a great movie.

Venom
01-03-2008, 02:46 AM
My friends all tell me its the greatest movie ever so I'm going to go see it next week, I already know a little bit of what its about because I read a little bit of the book.

Big D
01-03-2008, 11:26 AM
Wow.

I just got back from it, and it is a fantastic film.
Serious, emotional, intelligent - everything you would not expect from a 'zombie apocalypse movie'.

If you want non-stop action, exploding corpses and screaming innocents having their brains torn from their skulls and devoured, then don't see this film. It's not like that at all. I Am Legend manages to be sensitive, perceptive, beautiful and terrifying throughout.

I went in with mixed expectations, having seen the trailers and read the responses in this thread. The result was beyond anything I would have hoped for.

Most of the criticisms of this film seem to be due to the misplaced expectations, or simple ignorance, of the audience.
Children spoiled by CGI who can't appreciate the remarkable imagery of New York City reduced to an inhuman wilderness.
Mainstream horror junkies who think 'frightening' means only images of violence and gore, and fountains of blood.
Fans of typical Hollywood junk action who expect that a 'hero' can only be a fearless superhuman who ultimately triumphs in a hail of slow-motion machine-gun fire.

The story's fantastically told, avoiding lame cliches like having a convenient voiceover commentary or single introductory flashback that explains everything that's happened. Virtually all that the film shows is what Neville sees, which makes some of the horror moments all the more tense, since there's no convenient objective perspective to show what's going on. Neville's survival, trials, and battle to both continue his work and hold insanity at bay is what the film's about, and Will Smith does a fine job of it.

Don't like the ending? Too bad.
If you want a climactic showdown where the hero demolishes his enemies in an epic slow-motion machine-gun BATTOL!!!, then there's already a slew of movies that'll satisfy you. If you want a feelgood ending where the day is saved and everything has magically returned to normal, and all is right in the world, then Disney would be a good place to look. What I Am Legend offers instead is a more realistic, believable ending - years of suffering aren't undone in a flash; one brave act doesn't instantly make everything all right. But hope continues, with the promise that things might eventually begin to recover.

For gratuitous exploding zombies and implausible action, style over substance and cheap escapism, then the Resident Evil movies should suffice. For gory horror that doesn't take itself too seriously and revels in the clichés of the genre, try The Night of the Creeps or Black Sheep.

I Am Legend is just too different from the typical mainstream film. It's not an action movie, yet at times it's heart-pounding; it's not strictly horror, though it has moments of tension and terror. It tells a story, and tells it well, and in a way that you would not likely expect.


...Well, I got a little carried away there perhaps; but that's my honest assessment of the movie, and how a lot of people have been reacting to it.

Calliope
01-04-2008, 07:09 AM
Blahblahblah, Dave I'm skipping your post as this is the third time I have seen it somewhere, and I still have to reply to your entry anyway :)

Hannah: I didn't think that the darkseekers set it up, I thought it was just another case of the good doctor temporarily losing his mind, which just makes the consequences of the incident far more traumatic.

Bad acting + good CGI = good movie (Titanic)
Bad acting + bad CGI = bad movie (I, Robot)
Fantastic acting + bad CGI = Fantastic movie (I Am Legend)

I hadn't read the book before, but I will probably check it out. I read The Pursuit Of Happyness, but that's largely irrelevant because it was mostly ghosted anyway, and a completely different genre of bookishness.

I thought the movie was very tense, surreal and that Will drew on aspects of Robinson Crusoe et, al. to create a very compelling and believable portrayal of how people have flaws, and that there is more to surviving than simply having adequate food and shelter. All of the routines and ways of trying to keep his mind active outside of research were brilliant, and yet I still wanted him to GET IN THE DAMN CHIMNEY.

Big D
01-04-2008, 01:33 PM
Hannah: I didn't think that the darkseekers set it up, I thought it was just another case of the good doctor temporarily losing his mind, which just makes the consequences of the incident far more traumatic.I reckon the plague victims did arrange it. Their head honcho did, at least - the biggest, most commanding of the hive. He watched Neville use it against one of his friends, then did the same in response... I suppose we'll never actually know, but I feel that Neville's behaviour was too irrational for it to be just another of his lapses. He certainly seemed aware that the dummy wasn't where it should be: he was wary of the distinctive hole leading into the building directly behind it, and his decision to spray the dummy - and the surrounding buildings - with gunfire shows that he was suspicious of the situation, beyond simply play-acting like he usually did with the dummies.

That one 'leader' of the plague victims always seemed more calculating, even while he was more ferocious than the others. Dehumanised in behaviour and society, but not completely bereft of mental capacity.

Blarg, rambling again. Sorry you had to read my review/rant so many times, but it was easier than writing something new in each location:D

I didn't feel the movie's CGI was that bad, personally. Nothing that stood out as glaringly unrealistic, at any rate.

James Leopold
01-05-2008, 12:19 AM
With the whole Head-honcho dark seeker. Me and my friends believe that he was probably the father of the one that Neville captured. His paternal instict is probably the reason why he was always the main one chasing Neville throughout the remainder of the film.

Cleansation
01-05-2008, 03:42 AM
The only thing that really made this movie above average was the acting - the cgi was horrible - the story was dull and the ending was cliched, predictable and moronic.

Calliope
01-05-2008, 08:48 AM
How was the story dull? O_o;;;

scrumpleberry
01-05-2008, 12:16 PM
Ending was a bit rubbish, but it's really the only way to end a movie like that. Aside from that I loved it. I also thought the female he captured would be cured earlier on and become a character.

Rocket Edge
01-05-2008, 02:36 PM
Great movie, with fantastic acting from Will Smith. I didn't expect the movie to be what it was at all, probably something that worked in favour for my viewing in the end. I think thats even how the advertising mean't to go about anyway.

It's also a movie that makes me think about it alot even after seeing it. Freaky as hell too.

chionos
01-06-2008, 12:25 AM
I loved the movie, and I especially loved Will Smith in it. It wasn't at all what I expected, and for that I love it. The last 20-30 minutes were somewhat disappointing, especially the ending, but as others have said, there's not much else really that they could have done without taking away from the rest of the movie.

New York was amazing. There were a number of subtleties that I briefly glimpsed and couldn't quite grasp. I loved the ragged posters "God still loves us, but do we love God" or something like that. And did anyone else notice the billboard with the batman logo superimposed over a superman logo? There's the butterfly of course which, while I love to see symbolism drawn out like this, its implications kind of bothered me, that all the happenings were simply matters of fate, that Neville was pre-destined to do these things which I didn't feel matched the story, and which certainly took away from Neville's overall character.

I do agree that the cg was bad, well not bad, but unrealistic, well not unrealistic but it just wasn't done well enough to match the super-realistic surroundings. The lions at the beginning of the movie in particular kinda bothered me. But CG animals always do really. The 'zombies' were actually quite well done at some points, namely in the dark, in the scenes where Neville follows Sam into the warehouse. The faces, especially that of the head zombie, were unrealistic of course, but I've yet to see convincing CG faces from any source. No matter how well done CG is, we still know it's CG, and therefore we're looking at nothing at all essentially(as compared to puppetry and makeup, which while often unrealistic, has a physical presence that doesn't offend as much as CG can.)

The story really was fantastic, it almost had the feel of an indie film, but with all the money of a truly Hollywood film. I think the only reason a person wouldn't be able to appreciate it is if they've been spoiled by Hollywood, in which case the movie's bound to be a disappointment, but that's not a fault in the film. The film's not for an impatient immature audience. Unfortunately, I think the way the trailers were edited allows too easily for misinterpretation, and that's why there are so many disappointed people.

Rianoa
01-06-2008, 01:12 AM
hehehe i saw nightmare before christmas 3d it was awsome:love: ne who i am legend looks awsome im of to see it on monday :love:

Xander
01-06-2008, 08:04 PM
I really have no complaints with this film except that it made me very sad, but I like that it touched me like that. And the other thing - would have liked it to have been longer just to have been able to explore more stuff and find out more about everything, from my point of view. Other than that I loved it, it kept me hooked, agree with Huxley about the tension esp in the scene when Sam ran off and pretty much agree with what Big D and Calliope said.

Project G
01-07-2008, 11:35 PM
Did anyone have the feeling of failed suicide after watching this film or was it just me?

Mr Cactuar
01-16-2008, 02:11 PM
I just watched this movie and... Wow. This movie is now one of my faveourite movies ever.

The acting was superb, the story was fantastic and the CGI was fine, I have no idea why people are complaining about it. It isn't meant to be a horror film, or a survival film. I think it's more about Robert's development as a character and how the events affect him. With Will Smith's brilliant acting, it just made it all that much more better.

It also brought a tear to my eye every now and again, a generally difficult feat for a movie to do.

Sarc the Swordsman
01-17-2008, 12:06 AM
I liked it, but the movie trailers made it seem more action packed and exciting than it actually was. I just wish more of the 'pre-outbreak drama' was added in, not just a couple of scenes about it.