UPDATED!! The Original Ending To I AM LEGEND is online - and is vastly superior to the theatrical ending...
Published at: March 5, 2008, 5:40 p.m. CST by merrick
Hey folks, Harry here... Over in my DVD PICKS & PEEKS - in talking about a DVD release of C.H.U.D. - I was speaking hypothetically about the idea of a remake of C.H.U.D. and how cool it could be, but how it could just end up funky like I AM LEGEND. This seemed to indicate to people that I HATE "I AM LEGEND". That's not really the case.
I accept the narrative changes from Matheson's original work... I begrudgingly accept the changes from Mark Protosevich's original script. I love Will Smith's work - and I feel the first half is near brilliant. That said - there's only one thing I have a problem with - and that's the choice of going CG with the non-humans. At no point... looking at those things - do I ever feel that they were us. I never believe they occupy the space, light and shadows of the world around Will's character. I hate the look of them - and the entire time - I just think of how much better it would have been to use Human Beings with make-up ... and CG enhancements.. subtle ones... would have been. But everytime one of those weightless, boneless... funky cg creatures moves - it sets off every feeling of... CARTOON - that I can think of. And I hate that. The movie was too good for that. Will's performance was too on target for sub-par creature work.
For example... Over at FirstShowing.Net - they've gotten their hands on the original ending of I AM LEGEND. It is spectacular. It isn't at all the ending of the novel, but it works, it has weight. I liked it a lot. And even though the animation is pretty damn great.... It's still exactly that... it's animation, and I want in a scene constructed like that to BELIEVE in what I'm seeing. This make sense to anyone?
The video link above ain't working...but here's an embedded video of the same material!