I have to admit, I didn’t dislike I am Legend nearly as much as I thought I would going into it. There are some honestly great parts to that film… and some equally horrible parts. I didn’t read the book… which is a GOOD thing because that allowed me to just watch the movie for what it was… but even without knowing the book had an entirely different ending, I still didn’t like the way this movie ended.
Having said that, Movie Blog reader Jarred sent me the heads up on this alternate ending to I Am Legend. Good grief… I may not have liked the theatrical ending…. but crap this one is 10x worse. Good decision on their part not to use it. Check it out.
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Both endings were excellent. For starters the alternate ending is excellent for the reasons stated earlier about neville being the evill in their world killing off others. the alternate ending opened kneville to the world of darkseekers that he did not see.
But more importantly, the theatrical ending was outstanding in that it showed the world of neville through what he saw. Also, the ending is synonymous to the apocalypse whcih adds a touch of religion. It makes kneville be in a world of hell and he finally understands that the future is for the beleivers that have hope and been blessed with immunity, and that he was given the gift and oppurtunity to find a cure. Sacrificing himself for humanity makes for the title “I am legend” perfectly.
IMHO I disagree John-
1. This ending answers why the creatures have so much more motivation for this specific one.
2. It gives some sort of resolution to the “the are getting smarter/disobeying survival instincts” thing.
3. Slightly more poetic than him just blowing himself up.
4. Closer to the actual text
I would have actually liked I am Legend if it had this ending in theaters. It would have been less of a cop out and more of an actual ending.
From this screenwriter’s point of view: if you want to know why there are so many ‘bad’ films being made, if you want to know why there are so many ‘near-misses’ being made, if you’re wondering why remakes are put into production, so many sequels, yadda, yadda, yadda…don’t look to the scripts. Look to who’s making the decisions. There’s a reason why there’s so much more stable, so much more vibrant a tradition in storytelling (and let’s face it, that’s what this discussion is about, *storytelling*, not special effects, not star-power, not a director’s abilities) in novels than in film…because we’re talking about a singular vision being executed. (I’m not dismissing the collaborative aspect of film; I’d be a moron to deny that, and as my tattoo explains, ‘I may be dumb…but I’m not stupid.’) Films get made as business ventures. To make money. But until Hollywood adopts a tradition of genuinely appreciating the role of the writer…with more respect being proffered the act of creation on the part of the initial creator…then we’re going to continually see the same results on the screen…and you guys are going to be carping about them in just the same ways.
I think they’d have been better of not making the film at all seeing as they just fucked it all up.
reading these comments on here brings a whole new meaning to the film, a film I watched at the cinema and thought was very simple and straight forward now has some meaning.
I should have got that ‘meaning’ from watching film, not reading about it.
I must admit that I hated the original ending. However, this ending is exceeding worse. The voice over in the theatrical ending irked me. I felt it was Smith’s movie and he should have carried it home. But the voice over teamed with this weak ending (looking stupid while driving) is just too terrible. Yuck. ;-)
Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. I like this alternative ending better. The theatrical ending felt too disjointed from the rest of the film. The original ending damn near ruined what had been up until then a great movie.
I did read the novella only after having seen the movie, and I can see where this alternative ending gives a nod to it.
It’s not that bad of an ending, but I still profer the theatrical ending better.
I prefer it to the theatrical, it would’ve been better if Neville did the VO at the end though.
As a post-apocalyptic movie it’s a good one, as an adaptation of I Am Legend, well it’s better than The Omega Man.
Yeah, the supposed heaviness is immediately shit on in the next shot of him riding out of the city with a shit-eating grin on his face.
both sucked. Dunno the book ending exactly. This ending made a little more logic with Smith’s character being “Legend” and basically going around murdering the vampires thinking they are just mindless animals.
Woulda been better if they mauled him at the end tho instead of letting him live.
Well, kudos to Atomic Punk for spoiling the book for me…
I agree this ending is still unsatisfying but it is more akin to the book. That’s not much of an answer, howeve,r since the movie bore almost no resemblance to the book and the themes presented there.
In the book, as in the movie, Neville treated the creatures as expendable; they are soulless and evil. He kills them at his whim and treats them as guinea pigs. They are dead to him.
In the book, however, this idea diverges as he realizes that some have begun to develop human tendencies again such as planning and strategic thinking. More poignantly, they also recover their ability to feel affection and care for one another.
The woman who is sent to Neville is, herself, an infected vampire sent to reconnoiter him (not just a lady with a kid). Although Neville killed her husband, she learns he is trying to help them and develops a feeling like love for him.
After Neville learns she is a vampire, she is forced to knock him out and make her escape. Before she does, however, she leaves him a note saying that she “has loved him” and begging him to escape. Perhaps because of his feelings of guilt, he makes no attempt to do so. He is captured by the creatures, who ultimately put him to death.
This missing fact explains Smith-Neville’s behavior in this clip. Too late, Neville realizes that, although they are changed and savage, he is the killer. This is why Smith-Neville puts himself in their grasp and why, after they leave, he gazes at the photos on the wall. How many of these creatures has he carelessly killed?
The movie ends here but the book does not. Before being put to death, Neville realizes “I am legend.” Legend because he is the last of a dead species. Legend because he has murdered thousands. And legend because, at their heart, these creatures may have resurrected some part of their humanity but they remain cold-blooded, flesh-eating killers. He’s a legend (something that no longer exists), he’s notorious (the greatest serial killer on the planet), and a very real Legend (the best at what he does). He is legend.
Little of these ideas are conveyed in the movie. Although a few elements suggest some level of thought — the trap set by the creature, the creature’s howl when his girl is abducted — they are overshadowed by the mindless, jaw-elongating, superhuman aspects of these creatures.
As a result, this ending — although more meaningful to some — is ridiculous to most.
The long and short is they fucked this movie up and no “alternate ending” could have bailed it out. I liked the movie for the suspense (the scene with the dog in the warehouse was excruciatingly scary), and the effects were very cool, but the message was ignored.
I think they used the films ending because it was more religious and Americans are in general subscribe to some form of religion. But this one shows that she wasn’t right per say and is closers to the book. But I agree with Probitionate that books and movies are different formats. I think you should stay true the point of the material even if you change the ending.
give me the cinema ending anytime. this book ending was shit. at lest he died for something in the cinema.
They should of had zombie babies
I could never understand why Will Smith’s character never connected the dots when it came to the female subject he’d ‘kidnapped’ and his nemesis’ reaction to her being taken. (Or at least I could never understand why he wasn’t shown connecting the dots.) I saw the movie with my elderly mother, and remember explaining that whole aspect of the film, how it effectively ‘humanized’ the nemesis’ attacks and…well, his ‘enmity’ towards Smith at the end of the film.
I’ve never read the book, and in any case, whatever’s held there is moot; it’s like discussing a draft of a script that gets tossed early on. The only thing that matters is assessing what’s on the screen. The crapitude of the ‘vampires’ aside, this ending is far more intelligent than the theatrical release’s, and, to take Mykrantz’s lead, is consistent with Smith’s tour de force performance. It doesn’t change the fact that the movie should have, could have been so much more…but to these eyes, it’s an improvement.
I agree with Mykrantz both endings sucked ass. But of the two I think the “original” (the one from the movie) is better than this.
I wish they had filmed the book’s ending.
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Both endings have big problems with them.
I don’t like either of them.
much better.
changes the whole movie.
gives it that extra meaning.
Are you fucking KIDDING?! Bwhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!
Both Endings sucked, but I would have been a little less disappointed by the alternative ending.
Even before I knew the book ending, I thought the theatrical ending RUINED the whole movie. You took Will Smith’s AMAZING performance for the first hour and 20 minutes and flushed it down the toilet with either of these endings.
After hearing the book ending, I think the alternate ending would have been a better choice, but they should have just filmed the book’s ending…
for those that missed the chance to view it through youtube, you can still find it here:
http://forums.gametrailers.com/showthread.php?t=329096
Better hurry though before it gets taken off this site as well.
its gone now.
Throw me in the “This ending was better” camp.
While maybe not making it a great film(horrible CGI vampires anyone?) or ending on the same depressing note that the book did, it does at least keep the meaning of the title the same as the one in the book and shows Robert realizing that he had been in the wrong the whole time. I definitely would have been happier when walking out of the theater if this had been the ending used.
I like this one much more, than the theatrical one, and this is why: 1. Neville gets to realise, that the “zombies” have some kind of social life, which the viewer – at least me – notices before, but he doesn’t (remember, when he said it, after catching the zombie woman?) and 2. because they have a social life, he is doing wrong, when experimenting and eventually killing the zombies, in order to find the cure. And I think, he realises, which gives the whole thing a little twist, rather than blowing everybody up and keeping them as “just (badly animated) zombies worth to be killed”.
And after killing them all and becoming the tragical hero, there comes the jolly-jolly world behind walls, with hundreds or thousands of suvivors…wtf?! I haven’t read the book either, so I don’t know, how it should have ended, but that was – as you said before – a crappy ending.
Excuse any mistakes – I am from Germany. Keep up the good work and try saying less “having said that/this” (Not really, but you use it pretty often, I noticed.). ;-)
This ending is so much better. It may not be “commercial” enough to satisfy everyone but it fit the story and actually follows the book closer. The movie set up the “sophistication” of the beasts in so many places and then just throws it all away with the original ending. This one follows it much better and actually gives resolution to the points brought up in the film.
The “beasts” do not need a cure, they are no longer “human” but they are a new species entirely and are not dumb brutes. Robert is a Legend among them (thus the name) as the last human who has been hunting them (although he isn’t alone in the end of the movie). This ending demonstrates that and is a much better ending.
From what I read on other forums and message boards is that people who read the book liked this alternate ending better. Because the whole point of the book is described in the title “I am Legend”. In our world the vampires are myths and stuff of legend, but in the movie the roles are switched. Will Smith, the human, is the legend while the vampires are the norm. Will Smith will go out day after day killing the vampires, and in this ending he realized that he must be perceived as a serial killer to the vampires.
Thought they both sucked…
i didn’t mind the theatrical ending at all….this however is terrible. so glad they changed it
This is almost a joke bad ending… think about how many millions of dollars they would have lost if this ending would have shown… make me wonder what other movies out there were ruined because of endings that could have been changed…
Has any other movie had as many shit endings as i Am Legend?