Went to see this last night. Now before I get started I've not read the book and therefore went into this one having no preconceptions or expectaions. Plus while I'm not a Will Smith fan per se I don't dislike him and quite enjoyed his efforts in Ali and In Pursuit of Happyness. Unfortunately I have to say that once again Hollywood dropped the ball on this one.

They had a great story to work from and the film actually started off very well in my opinon. Smith puts in a good one man show and as the film progresses they start to show the strains that solitude has brought upon him, climaxing in a scene where it seems that he's finally beginning to lose the plot. However this being hollywood and the film studios once again not giving the audience any credit for having the smallest scrap of intelligence they procede to give us a typical "hollywood" ending. I won't go into too much detail as I obviously don't want to ruin it but put it this way, the moment the final credits came up some broad in the cinema said blatanly loud enough for everyone to hear "Well...that was shite wasn't it?" and people weren't rushing to argue.

Another thing that annoyed me greatly was the way they set up what was potentially a good way to go with the story, leading you to believe it might get really interest with a development with one of the vampire/zombie/mutants only to bail and give us a ending weaker than Macdonalds tea.

I don't want to be totally negative tho as it wasn't a total turkey. There are a few tense moments in there when he's in the dark looking for his dog and with the vamps lurking, and his solitude is done pretty well, Smith does a decent job on both of these points.

To sum up. The first two thirds are pretty god and set it up for a good finish but then they balls it up with a pony ending. For those that have read the book I strongly advise you not to bother seeing it or you may come out of the cinema looking to kill somebody. For everyone else I'd say wait till it's out on DVD.

Yeh i didnt think this film was anything special and agree that the ending was poop.

anyone read the book ?

when my mate said that the dog was in it for 3/4 of the film, I thought not a chance I am seeing it.

The book is probably the best book I have ever read

I'll lend it to you Tee J if you want, gotta get it back off my sister first though

Cheers for the offer fella but my missus got a copy for xmas so I'm gonna stea...er I mean borrow her copy later today.

The dog does play a fairly big part in the film for say the first half but I could have let that slide if they had taken the story in the drection that I thought they were gonna go. In theend they use the mutt as a vehicle to steer the film towards (as I said) the tpical hollywood ending which was a big shame as it could have been so much better.

ive not read the book but i did see 28 Days Later which i believe this film was a yankie version of so i guess its the same but with bigger explosions, cornier lines and they've ruined the ending
that's what normally happens isnt it?

Actually you may not be too far off there. Surprised I didn't see the comparison before!

ive not read the book but i did see 28 Days Later which i believe this film was a yankie version of so i guess its the same but with bigger explosions, cornier lines and they've ruined the ending
that's what normally happens isnt it?

thats a good point, my mate metioned that the other day. When I sat down though, with him, and discussed the book and the film with him (he had seen the film, I had read the book), some of the stuff he was telling me was truly awful and a total bastardisation of the book.

Timo, go read it, you need it in your life.

I'm getting the feeling that I will hate the film even more after reading the book.

The dog is a very important part of the book as it represents the only tangible representation of " life " after the virus, apart from Neville himself, and thus his only true companion!!

Enjoy the book Jason. You will be riveted!

I agree about the scenes in the dark, these were done really well. Reminded me abit of the atmosphere of the Blair Witch Project. You could certainly feel the tension.

And yes, I agree about the ending. I was left thinking 'wtf?'.

I just dont feel they needed to do it that way. I really liked the character (never read the book) and to do what he did just stinked of Triple XXX.

Can someone confirm without any spoilers, does he do what he does at the end of the film, in the book ?

The dog is a very important part of the book as it represents the only tangible representation of " life " after the virus, apart from Neville himself, and thus his only true companion!!

yeah totally agree, my point though is that the dog is in the book for a chapter, this wasn't reflected in the film

Can someone confirm without any spoilers, does he do what he does at the end of the film, in the book ?

trying to remember what my mate said about the end.

From what he said, I think the book and the ending of the film are entirely different.

I haven't seen the film, yet, but i can imagine that Hollywood did a Viking on it and raped/pillaged the ending!!

TJ, totally agree with you, your review is pretty much spot on. I was massively dissapointed with the ending, in fact john and i found the whole last 45mins or so completely infuriating; after such a good start it really went downhill - I think the film turns a corner when they introduce the mother and her son, they change the whole dynamic of the film up untill that point. I haven't read the book either, but i've yet to watch a film that matches up to its written original (although Trainspotting didn't do a bad job) i'd quite like to read this one now just to see if the ending is any better!

No more zombie films please, they've been done to death now.

*possible spoiler?*
The book is so beautifully written, totally conveying his solitude. The part with the dog is written so well. The dog doesn't start of with the main character like it does in the film and when he dies I was crying reading it unlike the film, where I just though "oh well".
The questioning of why vampires are repelled by certain substances/objects was a wonderful exploration which was omitted from the film. Also absent I thought was atmosphere. I was thinking all along well he isn't exactly the last man on earth is he?
It was ok but if you have read the book you will be throughly disappointed. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had called it by another title- I am legend it definitley wasn't.
The idea that I did like (for a film with another title!) was that mankinds mission to cure cancer resulted in something so evil. Today often we act now and think later and I think this was quite telling of the times we live in.
i'd quite like to read this one now just to see if the ending is any better!

....so much better!

Can someone confirm without any spoilers, does he do what he does at the end of the film, in the book ?

Not sure how to do it without any spoilers, I can say that he ends up the same way in the book as he does in the film (although it doesn't happen the same way) I only know because I looked it up on Wikipedia so go there if you don't mind spoiling the book or if you aren't gonna bother reading it.

From what he said, I think the book and the ending of the film are entirely different.

Like I say it's the same outcome but done differently (definitely not done better than the book though)

I think the film turns a corner when they introduce the mother and her son, they change the whole dynamic of the film up untill that point.

Very true. The thing that pissed me off more than anything was the way they hinted heavily that something more was gonna come of zombies but then did nothing with other than give us a generic Zombie film. I can't really go into it more without spoiling it but those that have seen it will know what I mean.

mother and son ?

Eh ? Thats not in the book either, did they even look at the book before they did the film.

On the cover of the version of the book I have got, Stephen King is quoted as saying that this book was the reason he got into writing horror and it inspired him.

Can't see that happening with the film, well I hope it doesn't other wise in 20 years time, you will have a bunch of directors/producers making similar shite.

I was thinking all along well he isn't exactly the last man on earth is he?

it should of been called, One of the last people in new york and he a bit of a legend. :)

One of the last people in new york and he's a bit of a let down.