Book vs Movie: I am legend
I know the movie is more than a year old- but its on HBO- and I have JUST seen it. Here are my notes on the subject:
Please note- there WILL be spoilers!
I am Legend by Richard Matheson
I am Legend starring Will Smith
Book Vs Movie
1)Differences: Whole premise was changed from the book.
In the book: A strange new plague is turning humans into vampires. Dr. Robert Neville is the only survivor. By day he hunts the vampires down and stakes them. At night he hides in his fortified house while the vampires come out and endlessly taunt him in an attempt to drive him mad.
Driven insane by lonelinss and fear he tries first to befriend a starving stray dog- which dies. Then a miracle happens- he finds a woman survivor- who he takes home and tries to talk to. However- it is a trick she is one of the new breed of vampires- ex-humans who have learned to adapt to vampirism with drugs- and they are going to rebuild a new vampiric society. She betrays Dr. Neville to this vampire society- where he is imprisoned and executed for killing so many vampires. To them - HE is the bogeyman- the Vampire killing legend who MUST die- for his
crimes to the new vampire society. He is their legend of TERROR. Hence the title of the book!
In the movie: A mutuated viral cancer cure mutates 99% of the human race into darkseekers (vampires). Dr. Robert Neville is immune and bases his operations in New York City where he survives day to day by looting the ruined city, hunting for food and THEN tries to find a cure at night in his heavilly fortified Brownstone. His only compainion is the family dog. His family was killed trying to escape NYC while he remained behind. He's more than little crazy - endlessly listening to Bob Marley records and watching Shrek the movie.
Neville traps the Darkseekers occasionally and takes them back to his lab to use as experiments in a cure. But the Darkseekers don't know where he lives until- they kill his dog. Then he goes crazy and tries to kill hundreds of dark seekers in a failed ambush- but is rescued at the last second by another human survivor-a woman named Anna and her son named Ethan. They take him back to his Brownstone and bandage him up, but they are followed by the Darkseekers who tear the place apart.
Taking refuge in the lab- they have a standoff with the Darkseekers. During the attack, a miracle occurs when Dr. Neville discovers his experiments have worked and he has a cure, But he decides to kill himself and the attacking Darkseekers to allow Anna and her son escape with the cure and give it to band of survivors who are living in the mountains of Vermont. As the movie credits roll as we hear Anna say "He is our legend- he saved humanity."
There's a BIG *fucking* DIFFERENCE in the plot and concept of the two versions of the story.
2)Vampires!
IAL:The book is explicit in explaining the plague reanimates the dead-so the vampires there are true vampires- repelled by garlic, killed by stakes, etc and the humans who survive the plague-
who didn't die- are still vampires- but NOT undead ones. They actually destroy the animated corpses themselves- but hate Dr. Neville for his indescriminate killing of any vampire- dead or alive.
IAL:The movie doesn't even call them vampires. They are GCI monsters -naked all looking the same - no hair on their heads, fangs and fond of running around with only thier pants on. They are scarcely intelligent and incapable of speech. They also have CGI vampire dogs- one of them bites Nevilles dog and he has to kill it- making him even crazier.
BFD in the depiction of the vampires!
3)Background and lifestyles:
IAL:the Book: The location is never stated- it could be anywhere. Neville works out a strict daily routine of restocking food supplies, gas and other nessecities. And a routine of making more stakes and collecting more garlic. He also spends part of each day systmatically going house to house in the unnamed city staking vampires.
IAL:Movie: CGI rules the day in Neville's deserted NYC. Grass and trees are overgrowing the streets. Escaped zoo animals like antelope and lions roam the streets. Neville tries to hunt them from his sports car with a machine gun.
He has no routine- except for the beeping of his watch 20 minutes before sundown- so he can drive back to home before dark. Once home- he hides and listens to Bob Marly and talks endlessy to his dog. No one bothers him at night- and he is free to go roaming once more. He occasionally snares a Darkseeker to inject it with drugs in his lab to find a cure.
BFD in depiction of lifestyles of Dr. Neville!
Bottomline:
The movie is no where near the book version. It twists the concept into just another doomsday movie. It is not as well thought out- depends too much on CGI, misses key elements of the plot and had me dozing off at points with Neville's boring life style. An utter failure as an adaptation of the book- which has been adapted brillantly twice before- once with Vincent Price (The last Man on Earth) and once with Charlton Heston (The Omega Man). Either of these movies is a better version. Watch them instead of this boring piece of pop culture trash.
Last Nagging Question:
WTF does Shrek the Movie and Bob Marley have to do with Matheson's book?
Um- er- NOTHING? Did these screenwriters even READ the novel at all?
************
Look for more movie book reviews as I write them! Just don't expect them to be up to date!
Please note- there WILL be spoilers!
I am Legend by Richard Matheson
I am Legend starring Will Smith
Book Vs Movie
1)Differences: Whole premise was changed from the book.
In the book: A strange new plague is turning humans into vampires. Dr. Robert Neville is the only survivor. By day he hunts the vampires down and stakes them. At night he hides in his fortified house while the vampires come out and endlessly taunt him in an attempt to drive him mad.
Driven insane by lonelinss and fear he tries first to befriend a starving stray dog- which dies. Then a miracle happens- he finds a woman survivor- who he takes home and tries to talk to. However- it is a trick she is one of the new breed of vampires- ex-humans who have learned to adapt to vampirism with drugs- and they are going to rebuild a new vampiric society. She betrays Dr. Neville to this vampire society- where he is imprisoned and executed for killing so many vampires. To them - HE is the bogeyman- the Vampire killing legend who MUST die- for his
crimes to the new vampire society. He is their legend of TERROR. Hence the title of the book!
In the movie: A mutuated viral cancer cure mutates 99% of the human race into darkseekers (vampires). Dr. Robert Neville is immune and bases his operations in New York City where he survives day to day by looting the ruined city, hunting for food and THEN tries to find a cure at night in his heavilly fortified Brownstone. His only compainion is the family dog. His family was killed trying to escape NYC while he remained behind. He's more than little crazy - endlessly listening to Bob Marley records and watching Shrek the movie.
Neville traps the Darkseekers occasionally and takes them back to his lab to use as experiments in a cure. But the Darkseekers don't know where he lives until- they kill his dog. Then he goes crazy and tries to kill hundreds of dark seekers in a failed ambush- but is rescued at the last second by another human survivor-a woman named Anna and her son named Ethan. They take him back to his Brownstone and bandage him up, but they are followed by the Darkseekers who tear the place apart.
Taking refuge in the lab- they have a standoff with the Darkseekers. During the attack, a miracle occurs when Dr. Neville discovers his experiments have worked and he has a cure, But he decides to kill himself and the attacking Darkseekers to allow Anna and her son escape with the cure and give it to band of survivors who are living in the mountains of Vermont. As the movie credits roll as we hear Anna say "He is our legend- he saved humanity."
There's a BIG *fucking* DIFFERENCE in the plot and concept of the two versions of the story.
2)Vampires!
IAL:The book is explicit in explaining the plague reanimates the dead-so the vampires there are true vampires- repelled by garlic, killed by stakes, etc and the humans who survive the plague-
who didn't die- are still vampires- but NOT undead ones. They actually destroy the animated corpses themselves- but hate Dr. Neville for his indescriminate killing of any vampire- dead or alive.
IAL:The movie doesn't even call them vampires. They are GCI monsters -naked all looking the same - no hair on their heads, fangs and fond of running around with only thier pants on. They are scarcely intelligent and incapable of speech. They also have CGI vampire dogs- one of them bites Nevilles dog and he has to kill it- making him even crazier.
BFD in the depiction of the vampires!
3)Background and lifestyles:
IAL:the Book: The location is never stated- it could be anywhere. Neville works out a strict daily routine of restocking food supplies, gas and other nessecities. And a routine of making more stakes and collecting more garlic. He also spends part of each day systmatically going house to house in the unnamed city staking vampires.
IAL:Movie: CGI rules the day in Neville's deserted NYC. Grass and trees are overgrowing the streets. Escaped zoo animals like antelope and lions roam the streets. Neville tries to hunt them from his sports car with a machine gun.
He has no routine- except for the beeping of his watch 20 minutes before sundown- so he can drive back to home before dark. Once home- he hides and listens to Bob Marly and talks endlessy to his dog. No one bothers him at night- and he is free to go roaming once more. He occasionally snares a Darkseeker to inject it with drugs in his lab to find a cure.
BFD in depiction of lifestyles of Dr. Neville!
Bottomline:
The movie is no where near the book version. It twists the concept into just another doomsday movie. It is not as well thought out- depends too much on CGI, misses key elements of the plot and had me dozing off at points with Neville's boring life style. An utter failure as an adaptation of the book- which has been adapted brillantly twice before- once with Vincent Price (The last Man on Earth) and once with Charlton Heston (The Omega Man). Either of these movies is a better version. Watch them instead of this boring piece of pop culture trash.
Last Nagging Question:
WTF does Shrek the Movie and Bob Marley have to do with Matheson's book?
Um- er- NOTHING? Did these screenwriters even READ the novel at all?
************
Look for more movie book reviews as I write them! Just don't expect them to be up to date!