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Here you will find older scratches, musings and other detritus that once were located on the front pages, but have now faded.

Filed away here to collect dust and cobwwwebs in perpetuity, links may break, facts may change and data may corrupt.

On occasion I may come down here to tidy, but for the most, I prefer to leave the past where it lies.

 

I Am Legend

When I first read I am Legend, I was suitably impressed by it. It has everything I consider good in a book - plot, believability character development, plot turns and perhaps most importantly a decent ending (read non-sucky and/or plot twist). Twice before the book has been made into movies, first in the 1964 film Last Man on Earth and again in 1974's The Omega Man, neither of which follow the book overly, with the latter making a radical divergence. I know that movies are different mediums and as such some things work better in a book than they perhaps do on screen. Tweaks for this reason I can appreciate, so long as they stay true to the story.

I am Legend, is very much Will Smith. His portrayl of a compulsive man losing his sanity is spot on, and although its probably not an Oscar candidate, is right for the movie. Saying that given the main competition is an alsation and some not overly convincing CGI'd monsters, he is pretty much the central figure the movie is hung on. Compared to the monsters, the citiscape and general visualisation is pretty stunning and is testament to developments in computer graphics, and over the first 2/3rds of the movie this helps add to the growing atmosphere and installs a believable post apocalyptic feel. However, as the tension begins to ramp up, you do feel that the good work done before is overshadowed as it loses direction. Much like Sunshine, you get the feeling that rather than continue down the path started, more tickboxes are needed so it needs to radically change course. To be fair, its not as a radical change as Sunshine, and I suspect I only notice it because its at this point the book majorly diverges. Admittedly by now, certain elements have been omitted which would make it difficult to follow the course of the book, but not impossible. I guess it comes when people to try and adapt something, incorporating disjunct items into it.

The final sequence however completely perverts the original meaning of the title, and rather than completing the dark moodyness with a suitably ironic/tragic ending, we are left we a nice slice of saccarine Hollywood heroism. Comparisons with 28 Days / Weeks can and will be made, and whilst these films are sporadically interjected with, excuse the pun, rage throughout, the endings IMHO seem more believable, and certainly within the mood of the rest of the film.

Despite stunning visuals, it is still a B-movie adaptation. A Directors Cut would be possible, and I believe appreciated.

1 Jan 2008 17:08 | (2) comments | Movies

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