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This is how "I am Legend" was supposed to end. (Really!) If you are like me, you might have thought this movie was pretty cool for the first hour, then a bit worse when the woman shows up and finally totally lame at the exact point where this clip starts. Turns out, this ending was the entire point of the story on which the film is based AND explains the title of the film. The point is that Will Smith realizes that he is the monster described in the legends of the "zombies" as he hunts them down one by one for his evil experiments. There are several clues about this earlier in the film. But apparently this ending didn't test well, so we all had to suffer with the nonsensical crap you might have seen already. We can't have our preconceptions about "evil doers" shown to be inaccurate, right?
The movie, other than the basic premise and the main character's name, was completely made up and fabricated for this movie. It wasn't a bad movie if you have no idea how Richard Matheson originally told the story, but the Omega Man with Charlton Heston was a more accurate movie that this thing and even that was way off the mark.
For anyone who saw this movie, check out the book, then imagine what could have been. Enough to make you cry over the wasted potential.
This isn't how it was supposed to end AT ALL...
I didn't mean to say that this clip shows how the story ended, but that it highlights a main theme of the original story, which was then lost when the scene was removed from the film adaptation (where this scene would have appeared at the end). But alas, your suspicions are correct--I haven't actually read the original story. Thanks for the recommendation (Lithic too), I'll try to check it out.
It pretty much goes without saying that movie adaptations are almost always weak compared to the originals. Even one of my favorites, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", is a movie that I like basically as much as the book, but still does not replace the book. The book, for example, is told from the point of view of the mute Indian--a pretty central concept that the movie dispenses of entirely.
Anybody else have a favorite screen adaptation? (poor adaptions are simply too numerous to name...)
PS- Using CGI zombies was a last minute decision that sank this movie. I worked with the special effects and makeup department that were let go from this production right before shooting began and believe me the stuff they can do is amazing.
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It's been a while since I've seen the movie, and I don't mind saying that I don't understand this ending. What was evil about what he was doing? Wasn't he searching for a cure?
Yeah, but to the zombies he would have seemed evil because he was constantly kidnapping and experimenting on them. He explicitly justifies this by claiming that they have no minds or human emotions at all, even though they end up setting sophisticated traps for him and the "leader" here is obviously upset about the kidnapping of the one specific girl. The signs are there, but he refuses to recognize them. The point is that the situation is more morally ambiguous that it seems at first.
See also the synopsis of the original story here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_am_legend
Pretty sure this is a Dupe: http://www.videosift.com/video/I-am-Legend-Alternative-Ending
Except that embed stopped working.
Yeah, that must be the same clip, but since it's dead I guess I'll keep this one up for now(?)
meh to hollywood
The new ending totally defeats the premise of the book, but... really.. this ain't the book. If you like a book, and it's being turned into a movie.. expect them to literally destroy everything you loved about the book.. and you won't be disappointed
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also..
"Another good example of how Hollywood ruins good books"
The book is still intact
Yeah, but to the zombies he would have seemed evil because he was constantly kidnapping and experimenting on them. He explicitly justifies this by claiming that they have no minds or human emotions at all, even though they end up setting sophisticated traps for him and the "leader" here is obviously upset about the kidnapping of the one specific girl. The signs are there, but he refuses to recognize them. The point is that the situation is more morally ambiguous that it seems at first.
I'm way late in responding to this, but thank you for the explanation. Personally, I don't see it as being morally ambiguous. I don't see the zombies as some new life form who have human rights, and there's obviously a lot at stake, so I have no problem with him experimenting on the zombies to try and find a cure. If they're intelligent and have emotions, don't care. Restoring the human race is much more important.