'I am Legend' movie discussion thread (Spoilers inside) - Blu-ray Forum

BaronVH · 03-20-2008, 02:20 PM

Big time spoilers

A lot has been made about how bad the digital effects were and how the ending was terrible, but improved by the new ending. I have to disagree. I did not find the special effects to be so bad as to detract from my enjoyment. Sure, I thought it was silly that the monsters had jaws that could open up like a villian on Scooby Doo, but it really did not detract from the movie at all for me.

As for all these people that said the alternate version was better: they are smoking crack. The original ending completely followed the main character's struggle to solve the crisis (albiet irrationally) whatever the risk. His dog was the last connection with his family and life. When that ended he had nothing left to lose but his research. His sacrifice at the end shows that all that was left of his life was his research, which was actually somewhat consistent with how he interected with the new characters introduced at the end. And the upbeat Disney ending in the alternate version was awful. So we are to believe that the "leader" of the monsters could care less about the hundreds killed just so long as he could keep what we are to presume to be his wife as a monster? Also, why is this leader any different from the others?

Certainly this was not an A movie, but it was a solid B with very good acting by Will Smith. There were certain things I did not like, like how it dated itself as to when the events happened; they could have kept it vague to make his isolation more difficult, and, yes, they could have used real actors to play the monsters, but I liked the theatrical version, and I thoroughly hated the alternative ending.

DC_Street · 03-20-2008, 02:26 PM

I didn't like the alternate ending either, just saw for the first time last night and I liked it and the original ending was much better and actually made him a Legend vs the alternate kind of made him a ordinary scientist still trying to find a cure and to see if there are any immune survivors left.

Josh · 03-20-2008, 02:56 PM

I thought the alternative ending was completely rediculous. I just sat their laughing thinking how it must be a joke. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

The movie itself was disappointing. I would have rather seen him atleast try to cure as many of those bastards as possible instead of just blowing up all his work.

SDon1969 · 03-20-2008, 03:04 PM

I have a comment and a question for debate.

1) Comment - I didn't really care for every non-human being rendered in CGI (except for the dog, Sam). The lions and elk, the rats, zombie dogs, and bad guys all looked pretty darn fake/CGI. But then again, it didn't toally spoil the movie for me, just a bit distracting.

2) Query for debate - How did Fred the manequin get moved, and who set up the lariat trap that our hero gets caught in? Was this a ploy by the creatures? Or did Will's character move the manequin, set up the trap and then forget about them due to his semi-craziness? I am opting for the latter, but remain unsure.

cnowels · 03-20-2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDon1969

I have a comment and a question for debate.

1) Comment - I didn't really care for every non-human being rendered in CGI (except for the dog, Sam). The lions and elk, the rats, zombie dogs, and bad guys all looked pretty darn fake/CGI. But then again, it didn't toally spoil the movie for me, just a bit distracting.

2) Query for debate - How did Fred the manequin get moved, and who set up the lariat trap that our hero gets caught in? Was this a ploy by the creatures? Or did Will's character move the manequin, set up the trap and then forget about them due to his semi-craziness? I am opting for the latter, but remain unsure.

I'm pretty sure it's the former. The zombie leader did it to catch Will since he did the same to them earlier. But that was one of my big "logic" problem with the movie. Will had just got done recording that they have completely de-evolved at that point and had no human responses anymore. They were pure animals. And yet, when one of them "learned" and set up this elaborate trap, there was no surprise. He didn't seem to notice.

Josh · 03-20-2008, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnowels

I'm pretty sure it's the former. The zombie leader did it to catch Will since he did the same to them earlier. But that was one of my big "logic" problem with the movie. Will had just got done recording that they have completely de-evolved at that point and had no human responses anymore. They were pure animals. And yet, when one of them "learned" and set up this elaborate trap, there was no surprise. He didn't seem to notice.

I agree with this. I think it was to show that since de-evolving to pure instinct, they started re-evolving much the same as early human. It was a pretty steep learning curve that they managed over the course of a day or two. That was pushing it, IMHO.

BaronVH · 03-20-2008, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDon1969

I have a comment and a question for debate.

1) Comment - I didn't really care for every non-human being rendered in CGI (except for the dog, Sam). The lions and elk, the rats, zombie dogs, and bad guys all looked pretty darn fake/CGI. But then again, it didn't toally spoil the movie for me, just a bit distracting.

2) Query for debate - How did Fred the manequin get moved, and who set up the lariat trap that our hero gets caught in? Was this a ploy by the creatures? Or did Will's character move the manequin, set up the trap and then forget about them due to his semi-craziness? I am opting for the latter, but remain unsure.

I actually was not bothered by the animal CG at all. I wished the humans were real actors, but it really did not bother me.

I think the manequin was moved by the monsters. It seemed to me that they were developing intelligence (kind of like Bub in Day of the Dead), although the movie really did not do a very good job showing you how this was happening. Or maybe they always were much smarter than he realized, just the more basic survival functions overpowers anything else. My reasoning is that if they can domesticate the monster dogs, then they can copy a trap. The monster dog thing seemed more out of line than the trap to me. I never read the book, but I thought it was about vampires or something, which would have made more sense with the light and such and completely jettisoning science for supernatural.

jsteinhauer · 03-20-2008, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDon1969

I have a comment and a question for debate.

1) Comment - I didn't really care for every non-human being rendered in CGI (except for the dog, Sam). The lions and elk, the rats, zombie dogs, and bad guys all looked pretty darn fake/CGI. But then again, it didn't toally spoil the movie for me, just a bit distracting.

It was not just the creatures, but the vehicles as well. In the driving scenes, the cars often seemed to be floating above the level of the street. This was a disappointment.

cnowels · 03-20-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

It was not just the creatures, but the vehicles as well. In the driving scenes, the cars often seemed to be floating above the level of the street. This was a disappointment.

I saw that once as well! Thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Crème Blu-ray · 03-20-2008, 03:59 PM

I liked the theatrical ending much better too. I've read other opinions that the alternate version is better because it expands on the implication that the zombie race is developing higher thought. But it uses that throughline as a deus ex machina to save the protagonists. Treating that subject matter properly would require actually giving the zombies character arcs, extending the movie perhaps 15 minutes or more.

Plus the alternate version shows our heros driving over a bridge!

The theatrical version at least lets us rationalize that they got off the island by boat or ferry.

jsteinhauer · 03-20-2008, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crème Blu-ray

I liked the theatrical ending much better too. I've read other opinions that the alternate version is better because it expands on the implication that the zombie race is developing higher thought. But it uses that throughline as a deus ex machina to save the protagonists. Treating that subject matter properly would require actually giving the zombies character arcs, extending the movie perhaps 15 minutes or more.

Plus the alternate version shows our heros driving over a bridge!

The theatrical version at least lets us rationalize that they got off the island by boat or ferry.

The theatrical ending was better, I agree, but we have to remember that these are not a zombie race, but they are infected humans, and there is no objective evidence discovered anywhere in the movie that suggests they have lost ALL capacity for emotional and logical thought. He calls his experiments human trials, so he needs to convince HIMSELF as an ETHICAL scientist that he does not need to get informed consent for these trials. At least that's my take.

Did anyone have the experience that if you selected the alternate version, the soundtrack was superior than if you selected the theatrical version?

Crème Blu-ray · 03-20-2008, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

The theatrical ending was better, I agree, but we have to remember that these are not a zombie race, ...

Yes, that's true. I use the word "zombie" since there hasn't been a compact, more fitting term thrown out there.

krazeyeyez · 03-21-2008, 01:00 AM

honestly i thought the cgi could have been polished a little more but i still thought it was better then having some actors in cheesy makeup! plus it kind of reinforced the fact that will smith and the dog were the only ones left. i only watched the theatrical version so far, and after reading about the alt. ending i probably won't bother. this movie grabbed me from the beginning, kept me in suspense, had me care for the dude and his dog, and then had what i considered to be an unexpected and well done ending. i think it really showed how messed up the character was and that his ONLY reason for pressing on the way he did was to find a cure.

MatrixS2000 · 03-21-2008, 03:56 AM

Not sure if this is the right thread to discuss this, but did anyone else think this movie was soft?

When compared to NCFOM or LFDH, it was a disappointment in PQ I thought.

AquaticGoat · 03-21-2008, 04:18 AM

IAL was a great B movie. Not as good a B movie as Independence day or I,robot, but it's an enjoyable popcorn flick all the same.I didn't notice any bad CGI, i'll have to rewatch it .

Sylin · 03-21-2008, 04:52 AM

I preferred the theatrical ending. My wife and I watched this movie for the first time the other night, and then immediately watched the other version ending (is it just the ending that's different?). Between the two, the original is best, IMHO.

As to who set the trap for Will, my take was that the monsters set it, after observing Will set a trap for them. I think it's important to realize that a theme throughout the movie is that his character is frequently WRONG about the epidemic, most likely because he is too absorbed in his own grief and isolation. He talks about how they've de-evolved, which isn't true. He is on a quest to save them, yet cares little for how many he kills in experiments or overtly with his vehicle. He believes Ground Zero is the best place to be, but it proves to be his undoing. And he also claims there are no survivors, but he is wrong about that. This is obviously an intentional parallel drawn by the writer to show Will's fallibility as a human, a husband/father, and a scientist. He is supposed to be the "logical" thinker, yet his logic offers no hope. Anna is driven by a desire to live, and by faith in the existence of a colony, and we see her faith/hope affirmed.

Just my $0.02. I really enjoyed this movie.

EDIT: Anna refers to the monsters as "dark seekers", but the subtitles calls them "heliocytes" (or something along those lines... I'm going by memory here).

drb124 · 03-21-2008, 05:32 AM

I understand that a PG-13 movie is going to make way more than an R rated one, but I really would have preferred a much darker take on the story that was more faithful to the book. I felt that this could have been a great movie if it had been done right. They added a backstory to make Neville seem more important by making him a scientist that was looking for a cure from the outset of the outbreak, when it was not necessary. He was the last man on earth, I'd say that makes him pretty important. I also think the thing with the dog was not needed. He is supposed to be alone, not almost alone. I enjoyed the movie just for Will Smith's performance, but I am disappointed by what could have been.

Skywalker · 03-21-2008, 12:37 PM

The only thing that really annoyed me was the way the infected "dark seekers" moved i.e. the robots in I Robot.

jasoncarmony · 03-21-2008, 03:28 PM

I too just watched the movie for the first time Tuesday night. I had some issues with the CGI of the "zombies". Not enough to distract me from the movie, but evertime I saw them I wondered why they looked and moved the way they did.
The original ending was better than the alternate in my opinion, but I the original could have been better too. "Dude, why don't you throw the grenade?"

My biggest question is this. Why or how can the "zombies" climb buildings like spiderman and how many times would it take to crack your skull open if you were to bang it against some pretty thick glass?
Seriously, these things were decimated and deformed humans. Did the virus make there skeletal structure thicker?

cnowels · 03-21-2008, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasoncarmony

I too just watched the movie for the first time Tuesday night. I had some issues with the CGI of the "zombies". Not enough to distract me from the movie, but evertime I saw them I wondered why they looked and moved the way they did.
The original ending was better than the alternate in my opinion, but I the original could have been better too. "Dude, why don't you throw the grenade?"

My biggest question is this. Why or how can the "zombies" climb buildings like spiderman and how many times would it take to crack your skull open if you were to bang it against some pretty thick glass?
Seriously, these things were decimated and deformed humans. Did the virus make there skeletal structure thicker?

My question about their climbing ability - how is that human colony at the end thinking their wall is going to stop them if they are found? It looked to me like I could scamper over it easily myself.

03-20-2008, 02:20 PM	#1
BaronVH Power Member Member since:Oct 2007	'I am Legend' movie discussion thread (Spoilers inside) Big time spoilers A lot has been made about how bad the digital effects were and how the ending was terrible, but improved by the new ending. I have to disagree. I did not find the special effects to be so bad as to detract from my enjoyment. Sure, I thought it was silly that the monsters had jaws that could open up like a villian on Scooby Doo, but it really did not detract from the movie at all for me. As for all these people that said the alternate version was better: they are smoking crack. The original ending completely followed the main character's struggle to solve the crisis (albiet irrationally) whatever the risk. His dog was the last connection with his family and life. When that ended he had nothing left to lose but his research. His sacrifice at the end shows that all that was left of his life was his research, which was actually somewhat consistent with how he interected with the new characters introduced at the end. And the upbeat Disney ending in the alternate version was awful. So we are to believe that the "leader" of the monsters could care less about the hundreds killed just so long as he could keep what we are to presume to be his wife as a monster? Also, why is this leader any different from the others? Certainly this was not an A movie, but it was a solid B with very good acting by Will Smith. There were certain things I did not like, like how it dated itself as to when the events happened; they could have kept it vague to make his isolation more difficult, and, yes, they could have used real actors to play the monsters, but I liked the theatrical version, and I thoroughly hated the alternative ending.

03-21-2008, 04:52 AM	#16
Sylin Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Nashville Blu-ray collection:1 Trading Score:159	I preferred the theatrical ending. My wife and I watched this movie for the first time the other night, and then immediately watched the other version ending (is it just the ending that's different?). Between the two, the original is best, IMHO. As to who set the trap for Will, my take was that the monsters set it, after observing Will set a trap for them. I think it's important to realize that a theme throughout the movie is that his character is frequently WRONG about the epidemic, most likely because he is too absorbed in his own grief and isolation. He talks about how they've de-evolved, which isn't true. He is on a quest to save them, yet cares little for how many he kills in experiments or overtly with his vehicle. He believes Ground Zero is the best place to be, but it proves to be his undoing. And he also claims there are no survivors, but he is wrong about that. This is obviously an intentional parallel drawn by the writer to show Will's fallibility as a human, a husband/father, and a scientist. He is supposed to be the "logical" thinker, yet his logic offers no hope. Anna is driven by a desire to live, and by faith in the existence of a colony, and we see her faith/hope affirmed. Just my $0.02. I really enjoyed this movie. EDIT: Anna refers to the monsters as "dark seekers", but the subtitles calls them "heliocytes" (or something along those lines... I'm going by memory here). Last edited by Sylin; 03-21-2008 at 05:11 AM.

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03-20-2008, 02:26 PM	#2
DC_Street Power Member Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Denver, CO Blu-ray collection:142 Trading Score:43	I didn't like the alternate ending either, just saw for the first time last night and I liked it and the original ending was much better and actually made him a Legend vs the alternate kind of made him a ordinary scientist still trying to find a cure and to see if there are any immune survivors left.

03-20-2008, 02:56 PM	#3
Josh Super Moderator Top contributor Member since:Sep 2006 Home Theater Gallery:50 4K collection:37 Blu-ray collection:407 Digital collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 15 Trading Score:34	I thought the alternative ending was completely rediculous. I just sat their laughing thinking how it must be a joke. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The movie itself was disappointing. I would have rather seen him atleast try to cure as many of those bastards as possible instead of just blowing up all his work.

03-20-2008, 03:04 PM	#4
SDon1969 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Massachusetts Home Theater Gallery:32 Blu-ray collection:745 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:1	I have a comment and a question for debate. 1) Comment - I didn't really care for every non-human being rendered in CGI (except for the dog, Sam). The lions and elk, the rats, zombie dogs, and bad guys all looked pretty darn fake/CGI. But then again, it didn't toally spoil the movie for me, just a bit distracting. 2) Query for debate - How did Fred the manequin get moved, and who set up the lariat trap that our hero gets caught in? Was this a ploy by the creatures? Or did Will's character move the manequin, set up the trap and then forget about them due to his semi-craziness? I am opting for the latter, but remain unsure.

03-20-2008, 03:59 PM	#10
Crème Blu-ray Expert Member Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Silicon Valley Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:323 Blu-ray reviews: 11 Trading Score:3	I liked the theatrical ending much better too. I've read other opinions that the alternate version is better because it expands on the implication that the zombie race is developing higher thought. But it uses that throughline as a deus ex machina to save the protagonists. Treating that subject matter properly would require actually giving the zombies character arcs, extending the movie perhaps 15 minutes or more. Plus the alternate version shows our heros driving over a bridge! The theatrical version at least lets us rationalize that they got off the island by boat or ferry.

03-21-2008, 01:00 AM	#13
krazeyeyez Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Dec 2007 Location:the guy on the couch Home Theater Gallery:18 Blu-ray collection:287 Blu-ray reviews:4	honestly i thought the cgi could have been polished a little more but i still thought it was better then having some actors in cheesy makeup! plus it kind of reinforced the fact that will smith and the dog were the only ones left. i only watched the theatrical version so far, and after reading about the alt. ending i probably won't bother. this movie grabbed me from the beginning, kept me in suspense, had me care for the dude and his dog, and then had what i considered to be an unexpected and well done ending. i think it really showed how messed up the character was and that his ONLY reason for pressing on the way he did was to find a cure.

03-21-2008, 03:56 AM	#14
MatrixS2000 Power Member Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Toronto, Canada 4K collection:48 Blu-ray collection:305 Trading Score:6	Not sure if this is the right thread to discuss this, but did anyone else think this movie was soft? When compared to NCFOM or LFDH, it was a disappointment in PQ I thought.

03-21-2008, 04:18 AM	#15
AquaticGoat Member Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Alaska Blu-ray reviews:3	IAL was a great B movie. Not as good a B movie as Independence day or I,robot, but it's an enjoyable popcorn flick all the same.I didn't notice any bad CGI, i'll have to rewatch it .

03-21-2008, 05:32 AM	#17
drb124 Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Apr 2007 Location:US Home Theater Gallery:3 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Digital collection:- Prime collection:- Blu-ray reviews: 4 Trading Score:402	I understand that a PG-13 movie is going to make way more than an R rated one, but I really would have preferred a much darker take on the story that was more faithful to the book. I felt that this could have been a great movie if it had been done right. They added a backstory to make Neville seem more important by making him a scientist that was looking for a cure from the outset of the outbreak, when it was not necessary. He was the last man on earth, I'd say that makes him pretty important. I also think the thing with the dog was not needed. He is supposed to be alone, not almost alone. I enjoyed the movie just for Will Smith's performance, but I am disappointed by what could have been.

03-21-2008, 12:37 PM	#18
Skywalker Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Baton Rouge, LA. Blu-ray collection:23	The only thing that really annoyed me was the way the infected "dark seekers" moved i.e. the robots in I Robot.

03-21-2008, 03:28 PM	#19
jasoncarmony Active Member Member since:Aug 2007 4K collection:33 Blu-ray collection:245 Trading Score:2	I too just watched the movie for the first time Tuesday night. I had some issues with the CGI of the "zombies". Not enough to distract me from the movie, but evertime I saw them I wondered why they looked and moved the way they did. The original ending was better than the alternate in my opinion, but I the original could have been better too. "Dude, why don't you throw the grenade?" My biggest question is this. Why or how can the "zombies" climb buildings like spiderman and how many times would it take to crack your skull open if you were to bang it against some pretty thick glass? Seriously, these things were decimated and deformed humans. Did the virus make there skeletal structure thicker?

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