Horror-101

‘I Am Legend’ Roundtable Discussion by H101 Brotherhood

The following roundtable discussion is about I Am Legend, the latest adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel of the same name. It hit theaters last week and even broke some records. As of right now these discussions are only myself (Alex) and Armando, but we hope to add others in the future. Be sure to read my review of the film as well. Be forewarned that the following conversation contains spoilers from both the film and novel.

Armando: I Am Legend. I will start by saying that I liked it! I’d give it an 84 out of 101.
Alex: I always try to go into a film with no expectations, with varying results, but this was one time I really had no idea what I was getting into. I mean, it’s an adaptation of my favorite book, which is scary. I think it turned out pretty good, but not as good as it could have been. I gave it a 69.
Armando: I think this is one film that will be perceived very different depending on how familiar you’re with the book, written by Richard Matheson. That’s where the crux of this film’s perception will lie.
Alex: Right. It was advertised as another post-apocalyptic thriller, not a horror flick. From the trailer and TV spots, no one would know that it had vampires, who were quite different in the film.
Armando: I have very little memories of The Omega Man with Charlton Heston, a previous adaptation of the book, and I believe there’s also an adaptation starring Vincent Price. So, for me, this was a fresh moviegoing experience.
Alex: Yeah, The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price is pretty slow paced, but it’s probably my favorite of the three. There’s also a couple others lesser known adaptations, but I haven’t seen those.
Armando: There’s something so enduring about a good horror tale, and this one seems to come back again and again. You’ve got a man, left alone in a world left in ruins and besieged by vampires. How awesome is that premise? No wonder it keeps getting remade.
Alex: No doubt. I just hope for one to truly capture the mood and many undertones of the novel eventually comes.
Armando: So we’ve got Will Smith as Richard Neville. In this version, he’s a virologist after the only hope for a cure for cancer goes extremely bad, and he’s left alone in a decaying New York City. And I have to admit that there’s something so likable about Will Smith that even though I should hate his movies, I usually don’t.
Alex: I wasn’t sure how Smith would preform. Sure, I loved him when I was younger — and who didn’t with credits like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Independent Day, and Men in Black — but I didn’t know how he’d perform in such a demanding role. Thankfully he really carried the film.
Armando: He certainly did. Smith has developed acting muscles in movies like Ali and The Pursuit Of Happiness. He also has the advantage of having the looks of an action hero.
Alex: Right, he’s become a really impressive actor rather than just a funny guy. I was happy to see that they didn’t succumb to the temptation of making him the cliche antihero.
Armando: The challenge here for Smith is to make us believe that he’s truly the last man in the planet and that he’s been alone for over three years, and he did it. There’s that scene where he recites the dialogue in Shrek by heart. It works because it perfectly sets up a man who has lost his family. Neville’s character must’ve watched Shrek countless times with his daughter and therefore he knows the dialogue by heart. Kids watch movies constantly again and again. I believe that Nevill and his daughter watched it to the point Neville memorized the dialogue.
Alex: Exactly. We get to see the how his sanity has depleted to cope with his situation — the interaction with the mannequins, his lack of social skills when he find other survivors, and yes, that Shrek scene An interesting side note: Marley, Neville’s daughter, was played by Smith’s real life daughter.
Armando: Yes, his kids have begun acting already. His son played alongside him in last year’s Pursuit Of Happiness.
Alex: I guess talent runs in the family.
Armando: Smith really sells it here. He’s alone, truly alone, and lacking human companionship and stimulation. He starts to go batshit crazy because of the isolation. Good acting. I just can’t know the man.
Alex: And how about his only companion, Sam, his dog?
Armando: A very nice dog, and a nice choice of breed even. I liked Sam.
Alex: I thought it was a very well-trained animal, and it was a heartbreaking moment when it died
Armando: To a certain extent, Smith’s challenge here was similar to Tom Hanks in Castaway. It’s very hard to act all by yourself. Sam was sort of like the Wilson of this film. It was indeed heartbreaking when she died. Smith conveys all that emotion with a close up to his face. Very well done. How about the setting? I thought it was fascinating to see New York City all abandoned.
Alex: It was very well done. The novel (and previous adaptations) use Los Angeles, which is fitting, but I thought New York was even better because of the familiarity. Even those who have never been can recognize Times Square. And how about that little glimpse we got of a Superman Vs Batman poster?
Armando: I was gonna say… that Superman Vs Batman poster was awesome. I hope that’s a sign that the film will be made.
Alex: I thought that was a nice little inclusion, as was the sky high gas price.
Armando: I’ve been to New York City twice this year, so I was just compelled by seeing all those sites just rundown and abandoned. It’s one the reasons to see the movie. They obviously did it with digital trickery, but it was very well done. There’s overgrowth in the streets, huge buildings just covered in canvases, cars piled up everywhere, gathering dust. Just very haunting. I also liked how the movie doesn’t rush the story. You don’t see the dark seekers for about a half hour.
Alex: The first reveal was very well done.
Armando: Yes, that’s a freaky reveal. You see them huddled in the dark, just breathing in a group. They’re basically vampires. I’ve seen reviews saying that this is a zombie film, but it’s not. Get it straight!
Alex: Yeah, there’s some confusion as to what they are because they are very much secondary in the film, as opposed to the book where they are nearly as important as Neville himself. They are vampires, although they don’t follow all of the typical ‘rules.’
Armando: This was directed by Francis Lawrence, who also did Constantine, and he did a good job here.
Alex: Much better than Constantine
Armando: I had problems with Constantine, but that’s because I have problems with Keanu Reeves, but in here, Lawrence was commendable. There is one thing about this movie that I had some reservations about: the CGI effects. The dark seekers just didn’t quite come to life for me.
Alex: That’s the one place Lawrence didn’t succeed. They were originally performed by people in prosthetics, but he didn’t like the way they looked and opted for CGI, which of course cost more, made post-production longer, and disappointed many.
Armando: CGI effects just haven’t been perfected yet, and this is the perfect example. It’s got a big budget but the CGI still doesn’t look quite right.
Alex: I thought the animals, although obviously computer-generated, came off as relatively life like. I think it’s because those were merely animals we rarely see in person, but the dark seekers were supposed to be human, but that quality is lost in the process.
Armando: Right on. To be honest, the dark seekers were no different than the robots Smith fought in I, Robot.
Alex: Yeah, I actually read a review that called the film I, Robot with vampires instead of robots.
Armando: If you don’t have a compelling villainous force in a film like this, the thing just seems weakened, and I thought that by the film’s end its weakness was showing. This leads us to its ending, and you will hear endless bitching and moaning about it.
Alex: I was disappointed by the very end, which reminded me of an M. Night Shyamalan picture, but I was glad that they didn’t opt for the happy ending of making Neville live.
Armando: Well, the ending of this version is sad yet hopeful. Neville dies but before manages to find a cure for the virus before doing so. I’ve been hearing people online say that they wanted the book ending so badly. In the book, he dies and there’s no cure. Humanity just dies with him. Man, talk about fucking depressing. That would be worse than the ending of The Mist.
Alex: Indeed it would, but the book carries that somber tone throughout it, while the movie is more hopeful. I guess in that respect Neville dying with no cure would have been a bit out of place.
Armando: I think the issue is when you’re making a huge blockbuster film starring Will Smith and with a budget of over $100 million you can’t have such dreadful endings. Sadly, this is the way Hollywood works.
Alex: That is true.
Armando: You can philosophize about down endings, but most mainstream audiences won’t feel they got their money’s worth if they see a film that ends in tragedy. This is one of the big flaws of big budget filmmaking. The economics of it make unfeasible for you to break the audience’s heart when you want to make sure you get $300 million dollars in return domestically at the box office
Alex: And boy, did this do well at the box office.
Armando: No kidding! $76.5 million, the biggest December opening ever. Great for Smith, Lawrence, and company.
Alex: And biggest opening of Smith’s career, which is equally impressive considering his stature in the industry. I just hope that they don’t try to ruin it with a sequel or something lame like that.
Armando: No, it definitely doesn’t need a sequel. Leave it be. I hate it how everything nowadays has to be sequelized needlessly. Did we really need Evan Almighty? I rest my case. As much as I woe big budget filmmaking, this isn’t a terrible film. I did like it, and I think it’s worth seeing on the big screen.
Alex: It was definitely a good one to see on the big screen.
Armando: In closing, I Am Legend is a satisfactory, if flawed, big budget, post-apocalyptic film featuring a strong performance by Will Smith. I say go watch.
Alex: I say proceed with caution. It was an enjoyable film, great for popcorn and a date, but it still doesn’t live up the potential of the novel.

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