Speaking of disappointment is an understatement regarding this new adaptation of the novel founder Richard Matheson. If the term of disgust may seem extreme, it is closer to the felt on leaving the room. It is true that the expectation was high, not so much the choice of director Francis Lawrence (Constantine's escaped like me), but when in doubt, you could leave a chance to this young director from the pub and music video. No, what was believed in this project was the first choice of title, returning to that of the original novel, unlike the two previous adaptations and suggesting a greater fidelity. Then, the technological potential of the cinema today on which one could reasonably expect to do better than The Last Man On Earth (1964) and The Omega Man (1971). Importantly, the finding was incredibly fair and terrible Matheson stood a humanity decimated, reduced to the status of the undead, and a private citizen named Robert Neville spends his days eradicate mechanically. The man is isolated, and must defend itself against attacks from his former best friend turned vampire, while trying to understand what happened. If the allegory was relevant in 1954, the date of publication of I Am Legend, it is equally so in 2008, when the human race is given more and more ways to destroy itself slowly. Adapting the novel today was the opportunity to hold up a mirror to contemporary society and remind him that the human race is not eternal.
was also the perfect opportunity to deconstruct the myth of the vampire, looking for rational explanations of phenomena that modern science has the potential to explain within a fantastic work.
If the film is illusion in its first hour, especially through the very detailed description of a New York Apocalypse, he completely loses its consistency thereafter to conclude on a happy ending unlikely. The choice of New York, while the share was originally in the Los Angeles area, suggests the impact of the events of 2001, and the weight that these traumatic images are still weighing on the American psyche. The evacuation scene on the port followed by the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge at a cost to herself five million dollars for six consecutive nights of shooting. If it does not add much to the development of the narrative, apart from providing an alibi for a scene of tearful separation subsidiary (which is seen twice), there is evidence that these scenes of panic and chaos still fascinate and if the reality has caught up with fiction in 2001, Hollywood always finds new ways to present these images cathartic.
The novel did not hesitate either to use the collective memory, in this case that of the Holocaust, in scenes of mass destruction very disturbing. But these are all annoying aspects of the book (the sexual attraction felt by Neville for women vampires, his character definitely common, the depressive phases leading to alcohol and insanity, the arbitrariness of the murder) that were erased to make room for a hero, albeit one with his dog, but still Scientific and soldier (and why not holy?). The choice of an African-American actor was well seen, but all efforts by Will Smith are not enough. To make matters worse, there are rumors of last minute changes imposed on the director, which we can not believe he had the final cut.
A longer version on DVD will she change our opinion? Response within four months. Meanwhile
and even favor a film adaptations, go take a look at the first, the one with the great Vincent Price, in Black: The Last Man On Earth. If the copy has some defects and is no subtitles, the film is shown free of charge. The wealthy will find the DVD , coupled with another great film about the Apocalypse, Panic In Year Zero (1962).
The Last Man On Earth has the merit of respecting the spirit of the book, even if he does not follow to the letter. After all, one wonders what is the point of adapting a novel, if not to keep the great ideas. This is the case with this American-Italian version, made with a small budget but a passion visible in each shot. Ultimately, I Am Legend is a great novel about human loneliness and isolation. And that, nothing better for the experience that a reading necessarily lonely, face to face with oneself.
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