I AM LEGEND

I watched I AM LEGEND (2007) yesterday, yet another DVD I acquired in a trade with one of my collector buddies.

The history of I AM LEGEND is long. The original novel I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson was written and published in the 1950s. The material was first filmed in Italy as THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964) starring Vincent Price. The second iteration was THE OMEGA MAN (1971) starring Charlton Heston. The 2007 version, starring Will Smith, restores the original title but is in reality, more of a remake of OMEGA than a faithful adaptation of Matheson's novel.

If you've seen OMEGA MAN, you're familiar with the basic story. No major changes in LEGEND except that the location is now an abandoned New York City and our hero, Robert Neville has a very smart and loyal dog companion. The special effects are infinitely more elaborate and realistic than what was feasible in the 1970s and make LEGEND a visually interesting film. The action scenes are also ramped up and the "dark seekers", humans who have become vampires, are much stronger and faster than those seen before. There's also a lot more of them and they have vampire dogs as well.

I enjoyed the film even though there are no narrative surprises. Practically everything that happens in OMEGA MAN happens here just on a much bigger scale. It's a good movie but the definitive version of Matheson's novel remains to be made.