Protosevich's screenplay has been one of Hollywood's Greatest Unfilmed
Movies, and has been attached to such illustrious names as Ridley Scott
and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's just never been made, although concept
artwork has been drawn and rumours continue to surface continuously.
John Logan's 1997 rewrite was obviously an attempt to streamline the
concept down to something more marketable, focused, and interesting. I
Am Legend then had the likes of Will Smith and Michael Bay (Armageddon)
circling. But it still remains unmade six years later...
Perhaps the pre-millennial tension has dissipated in audiences - who are
far more concerned with current problems than high-concept apocryphal
science-fiction? Maybe filmmakers are concerned the premise (despite its
remake status) will simply come across as old-fashioned and unoriginal?
Whatever the reason, there's no denying that I Am Legend would, in my
opinion, make a great movie.
The story concerns Robert Neville, the last man alive on Earth (or is
he?) following the worldwide extinction of humanity after a blood
contagion. Unfortunately for Neville, some of those infected transformed
into unnaturally agile vampire-like predators dressed in robes, who
stalk the world feasting on fresh blood.
Logan's screenplay studies the loneliness and isolation Neville feels,
living alone inside a high-tech fortress by night having French
conversations with pre-recorded tapes, and scavenging the ruined city of
Los Angeles by day. His life is struggle for survival, interspersed with
grieving over the death of his wife Virginia and hope that a looped
radio transmission will alert other survivors to his existence.
Of course, being a sci-fi action film at heart, a great deal of the
screenplay features an assortment of attacks by the bloodthirsty
Hemocyte creatures, led by their leader - the "Cacique". What's
wonderful about almost any screenplay dealing with a post-apocalyptic
suburbia is the description of the dystopian world; burnt-out cars,
apocryphal graffiti, overgrown gardens, rotting food, stray dogs, wild
horses, etc.
The descriptive passages in Logan's I Am Legend are excellent, and the
assuredly clipped style of Logan's prose lends an immediacy and visual
punch that ensures the movie literally "plays in your mind". There's
hardly any dialogue, amazingly, and tension is built and delivered with
some fraught chase and fight sequences.
While Protosevich's screenplay tended to focus on Neville's compound far
too much, deflecting wave after wave of attack, Logan opens the movie
out to allow for a number of L.A-based set-pieces that make the story
seem much more expansive and less claustrophobic to read.
Interestingly, Logan decides against giving Neville a dog companion
(further isolating him) although personally I missed the dog's
involvement. Also, Protosevich's screenplay wasn't as entertaining to
read, but it did have a more hardcore approach to the violence, which
Logan tends not to copy - instead going for more a stylish and agile
approach to the attacks.
In an ideal world I'd keep Logan's screenplay, but add Neville's dog
back in, add more of Petrosovich's scientific explanations for the
disease (which Logan almost ignores entirely), and then rewrite
Protosevich's finale. While both screenplays falter towards the end, I
think Protosevich's is more satisfying and scary than Logan's - which
really just amounts to a climactic one-on-one punchup.
Overall, John Logan has successfully breathed fluid life into
Protosevich's bogged-down script and successfully translated Matheson's
novel for modern audience. With some creative combining of both plots, I
think I Am Legend has the potential to be one of the best apocryphal
movies. I really hope Ridley Scott directs Arnold Schwarzenneger in
this, as Arnie is perfect for the role and it doesn't really require him
at his physical peak.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
One of actor Charlton Heston's most famous movies is The Omega Man, one
of his three big science-fiction hits (the others being Soylent Green
and Planet Of The Apes). The Omega Man was based on the novel by
celebrated author Richard Matheson, and told the story of the last man
left alive on Earth after a devastating plague kills the entire
population.
