Movie: I Am Legend

Posted by in Film & DVD on Jun 17th, 2007 | 3 comments

Hmmmm, this looks interesting. I’ve always been a fan of post-apocalyptic movies — for some reason they appeal to me. Combine that with the talents of Will Smith, and we might have a formula which gets my attention come December 2007.

Based on the 1954, Richard Matheson book of the same title, ‘I Am Legend‘ has been adapted to the big screen twice before. The most memorable of those projects has to be the 1971, Charlton Heston classic, ‘Omega Man‘ — an edge of your seat action/thriller about the last man alive, or so he thought. ‘Omega Man’ has to be the grandfather of all modern post-apocalyptic movies and though it was acceptable (for it’s time), there have been some thoroughly enjoyable renditions spanning the same material. Most hardly qualify as epics, but I enjoyed ‘Postman‘ (Kevin Costner’s second and more successful foray into the genre) and also ‘The Day After Tomorrow.’ Add to that a host of zombie movies (pretty much the only horror flicks I get into) and we’ve arrived.

If you’re interested in catching some details on ‘I Am Legend,’ surf on over to Apple Trailers and watch the most current trailer in HD. Worth the download of Quicktime.



3 Responses to “ “Movie: I Am Legend”

  1. David says:
    Friday, June 22, 2007 at 10:07 am

    I dunno… The director is best known for music videos. Will Smith is just not credibly “serious” enough for a post-apocalyptic film. I have this sinking feeling that it will be Smith starring in yet another parody of a classic SF story (I, Robot??? Blech – Asimov must be doing triple-backflips in his grave over that one…).

    I would have been happier if they cast an unknown.

    I honestly can’t see how this is going to be as good as Omega Man.

    I will wait patiently to see how badly it gets torn apart by the critics, then I might go see it. I suspect massive disappointment though.

  2. Max says:
    Friday, June 22, 2007 at 1:44 pm

    Hmmmm, you have some interesting points. I like Clive Owen for the role. But, hey, there’s no doubt ‘I, Robot’ wasn’t true to the prose, but name a movie that has been. ‘I, Robot’ — as an action, thriller, was pretty darn good — considering.

  3. David says:
    Monday, June 25, 2007 at 4:41 am

    Clive Owen would be an interesting choice, certainly more so than Will Smith. I LIKE Will Smith, but casting him screams “SUMMER MOVIE!!”, lots of gunfights with vampires a few choice explosions, and a daring car chase to get home before dark (not that Omega Man was free of these things…).

    I’ve read the book, I know that they’ll mess it up, miss the primary theme in favor of a mindless summer blockbuster.

    Movies that have lived up to the prose? Lord of the Rings? The Harry Potter movies? Obviously, they left stuff out of both sets of movies, but the remained true to the spirit of the book (my dad is STILL pissed they left out Tom Bombadil, but whatever).

    Sadly, I think that the first of the Chronicles of Narnia missed the mark, mainly because they consciously decided to ignore the biblical allegory the series was steeped in. It was a disappointment, although a mild one.

    All that said, I still can’t think of a better casting for I Am Legend, I’m just convinced that Will Smith ain’t it.

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