**SPOILER ALERT!! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN "I AM LEGEND" YOU MAY WANT TO STOP READING NOW**
The big selling point for Warner Bros.' DVD release of "I Am Legend" (in stores today) is that the 2-disc special edition comes with the theatrical release that just about everyone saw...as well as alternate version of the movie.
Now, I'm one of those guys who loves the extras on a DVD. I may not get around to watching them all in this lifetime, but I like knowing there are 18 hours of deleted scenes, commentaries & making-of stuff on my DVDs.
And there is no extra I love more than an alternate ending. Along with deleted scenes, it gives you a sense of how the director assembled the film in the editing room.
When I saw "I Am Legend" for the first time in December, I remember that after I got over my shock at how good Will Smith was, I thought that his incredible performance actually masked some of the movie's flaws.
Rarely do I say this, but that was a movie that cried for a longer running time (it was only 100 minutes). I wanted to see more of the panic during the evacuation we see in brief flashbacks. I wanted to see more of the early days when Smith's character Robert Neville was still adjusting to being The Last Man on Earth with Sam, his faithful German Shepherd.
I also thought the ending of the film was a bit ...slapped on. Like a last-minute rewrite or something.
**SPOILER ALERT**
I didn't necessarily think Smith's character had to die to make the movie. Was it shocking that he did? Of course. It's always a shock when a Hollywood A-lister dies in a blockbuster. But it felt like it was an ending just to shock people. I thought he could have survived and the story would still have worked.
Well, turns out they did shoot an alternate ending, and yes, Smith does live in this version. But you know what? I was wrong. The movie works better the original way. Robert Neville makes a greater impact as a martyr than as a survivor.
The alt. version shows the Dark Seekers (those are the kill-by-night vampires) still have some tiny bit of humanity left in them. Neville basically appeals to that tiny part of their soul not completely corrupted when they chase him down to his lab, and strikes up a tentative truce when he shows them he may have a cure for the virus.
Then he drives off, presumably to a happier time for humanity. Eh.
Just didn't do it for me. The film lost a lot of its impact with the different ending. The filmmakers did the right thing going with the other ending, IMHO. But you be the judge. Get the DVD and decide for yourself.
[Photos: Warner Bros.]
Comments
I thought the alternate ending was just as weak as the original one.
The story I Am Legend is based off of a short novel, but I agree that the movie could have used some more scenes/exposition. They could have at least made 3 things clearer:
1. They give no explanation as to why the "monsters" (also unclear that they are vampires, like in the book) want Neville so badly. It just felt so contrived, especially the attack on his home.
2. Will Smith doesn't spend enough time in isolation; He's got the dog, and when she dies, then he's got a lady and some kid (whom he doesn't seem surprised to see at all, after thinking he was the last person alive for 3 years)
3. Where does the title come from? In the book, he could be seen as the "villain", maybe he has become the monster that hunts you, he has become Legend. I don't know what the film was thinking with either of those endings.
Oh, and the DVD gives no reasonable explanation for why they didn't just use real actors for the vampires. I think a person can slam his head on a wall just as good as some fake CG beast
