I Am Legend [spoilers]

[JDJblatherings]

Was it the dark-seekers who set the trap or was it one of Robert's and he was so delusional he didn't realize it? And, if it was one a dark-seeker trap [maybe mimicking Robert's traps?], why did they have enough intelligence to set a trap and, later, they abandon intelligence for madness when they assault the house?

While I liked most of the movie [the overgrown and deserted New York was cool], the part that really annoyed me was when alpha dark-seeker guy smashes into the bullet proof glass. Really? No amount of adrenaline could negate the physics involved. His skull should have caved in :\

Why do people have difficulty grasping it was the mutants/dark-seekers who set the trap? It was pretty darned obvious to me, the head baddie was standing in the darkenss holding the leashes of 3 dark-dogs and released them when he could. He saw what robert had done in capturing the female mutant.

The hero himself freaked out because the manikin had moved accross town by itself...as far as he knew the mutants were incapable of such behavior. The truth of the situation woudl be awful to consider as well..the mutants weren't just horribly dangerous beasts, they were now horribly dangerous people (of a sort) out for revenge.

The mutants don't abandon all intelligence when they assault the house either, one makes for the top and makes a hole in the roof so others can enter...a very wise move.


As for the head smashing, who says the mutants can't take that sort of punishement. The virus that was enginered to fight cancer ended up totally rewritting their DNA and could very well have given them the ability to tolerate such abuse.

 

[S'mon]

Why is Smith an inappropriate casting?

The protagonist in the book is a tough, indomitable guy like Charlton Heston in Omega Man, or Kris Kristofferson 20 years ago would have been perfect. There's not many current movie stars who could pull off the tough-but-haunted nature of the character; Bruce Willis might give a halfway-decent facsimile. Will Smith is basically a lovable comedian (IMO rather bland), and wholly inappropriate. Remember this character becomes The Legend - and not in a good way... Charlton Heston had the gravitas, pity he had a bad script.

Anyway since they don't even keep the book ending, the inappropriate casting is irrelevant.

Edit: I can actually see Tom Hanks pulling it off, he's a very good face/eyes/expression actor, important when there's almost no talking, and can do indomitable very well, though he doesn't have the craggy grandeur of the Legend in my mind's eye, I can see it working with him. I had a thought whether there were any black stars who could do it - plenty from the '70s and earlier, but few current. Samuel L Jackson is too cold - he makes a good hitman, though. Maybe Denzel Washington.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Will Smith is basically a lovable comedian (IMO rather bland)...

I thought he did a good job.

 

[Mean Eyed Cat]

Why do people have difficulty grasping it was the mutants/dark-seekers who set the trap? It was pretty darned obvious to me, the head baddie was standing in the darkenss holding the leashes of 3 dark-dogs and released them when he could. He saw what robert had done in capturing the female mutant.

The hero himself freaked out because the manikin had moved accross town by itself...as far as he knew the mutants were incapable of such behavior. The truth of the situation woudl be awful to consider as well..the mutants weren't just horribly dangerous beasts, they were now horribly dangerous people (of a sort) out for revenge.

The mutants don't abandon all intelligence when they assault the house either, one makes for the top and makes a hole in the roof so others can enter...a very wise move.

I was just postulating and really could go either way. Maybe it was the dark seekers who set the trap or maybe it was one of Roberts. I've heard people argue that it was Roberts who set the trap because he was losing his mind e.g. setting up manicans, speaking to them, having no one else to interact with. The trap he got caught in could have been the result of his mind breaking up.

As for the head smashing, who says the mutants can't take that sort of punishement. The virus that was enginered to fight cancer ended up totally rewritting their DNA and could very well have given them the ability to tolerate such abuse.

Again, I will fall back on physics. Unless his DNA rewrote itself into a shotgun slug, I doubt it could break through the bullet resistant glass.

 

[Storm Raven]

Again, I will fall back on physics. Unless his DNA rewrote itself into a shotgun slug, I doubt it could break through the bullet resistant glass.

Bullet resistant glass is surprisingly damagable, unless it is really thick. I worked at an Embassy where one of the Marine security guards tripped and hit his head against the bullet resistant glass at the entryway, and cracked it. He didn't feel good, it almost knocked him out, but a couple whacks with a crowbar or hammer probably would have finished the job fairly well.

 

[Mean Eyed Cat]

Bullet resistant glass is surprisingly damagable, unless it is really thick. I worked at an Embassy where one of the Marine security guards tripped and hit his head against the bullet resistant glass at the entryway, and cracked it. He didn't feel good, it almost knocked him out, but a couple whacks with a crowbar or hammer probably would have finished the job fairly well.

Right, I'm not disputing the fact that it can't be broken. It's more about what does one's head look like after said glass is all broken. In the movie, alpha mutant's head is not damaged in the least. With all that banging, it should have been a pulpy mass stumped up on his shoulders.

But maybe I'm wrong. I'm not an expert in this area. Let's just say it was hard for my "Suspension of Disbelief" to kick in at that point.

 

[JDJblatherings]

I was just postulating and really could go either way. Maybe it was the dark seekers who set the trap or maybe it was one of Roberts. I've heard people argue that it was Roberts who set the trap because he was losing his mind e.g. setting up manicans, speaking to them, having no one else to interact with. The trap he got caught in could have been the result of his mind breaking up.

The mutants just happened to be waiting there, during the day time with attack dogs, when they don't/can't travel in daylight? They set the trap. There is clearly a gleam of comprehension in alpha mutants eye when his gal is stolen away by the hero.

 

[Arnwyn]

Just saw it. I thought it was okay - but I loves me my post-apocalyptic movies, so that's where my irrationality kicks in.

But, whew! There were certainly some noticeable flaws (for me). Much of the criticism here is warranted. For example, I rolled my eyes at:
- Bad CGI. Bad, bad CGI. Those zombie dudes were not only not scary, but boring and kind of laughable. Yeah, howl one more time, losers.
- Bashing your head against the plexiglass? Multiple times? Without coming out as a squashed mess? Not buying it.
- And such wasted opportunity! When I saw the trap thingy, and then the zombie holding back the dogs, I thought - hey, here's an intelligent one! Where are they going to go with this? It should be interesting... went nowhere. Bleh.

But, regardless: Post-apocalyptic FTW, for me. 7/10

 

[Mean Eyed Cat]

The mutants just happened to be waiting there, during the day time with attack dogs, when they don't/can't travel in daylight? They set the trap. There is clearly a gleam of comprehension in alpha mutants eye when his gal is stolen away by the hero.

Again, it really doesn't matter to me who set the trap and its not worth arguing about. If you want, go over to imdb.com and jump on the message board. There's about a thousand threads with people arguing over who set the trap

 

[Thanee]

When he's not filming, he gets to spend eight hours plus a day in the gym.

Like he shows off in the movie, too.


Got to see it tonight and definitely liked it. Never read the book, so nothing to compare it to.

Anyone else thought, that this would make for an awesome single player RPG campaign?

Bye
Thanee