How It Should Have Ended: I Am Legend

Spoiler Alert: The following article contains detailed plot description which can and will spoil your viewing experience if you haven't already seen the film before. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville alongside his faithful companion Sam
Image courtesy of slashfilm.com

Frances Lawrence's adaptation of the novel of the same name is a good film, I'm sure any one who sees it will happily agree, but it is of course not without it's flaws. It's the third film conversion of the book, alongside The Last Man on Earth (1964) and Omega Man (1971) which are both worth a watch too if the idea of a post-apocalyptic world is your bag.

The film follows Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville, a man immune to a virus that has wiped out civilisation and it follows his lonely battle to survive and find a cure, it looks at how he deals with the trials and tribulations that are associated with being the apparent last man on earth. Smith's performance is powerful and emotional, the story is tense and exciting and the premise is quite interesting too. I won't go into too much detail, but after some very intense chase scenes and the saddening loss of his companion German Shepherd 'Sam', amongst some very artistic and beautiful cinematography, the film reaches a climax where Doctor Robert is confronted with the infected people he has been eluding all this time (also known as 'Darkseekers') and has to make some snap last minute decisions to determine the fate of the other surivivors he has met, and in turn that of the world.

This is all well and good, and the scene itself is fantastic. It climaxes with Smith's character extracting an effective serum from a woman that was used for experimenting on as the Alpha Male Darkseeker (below) is smashing the plexiglass window separating them from ending their lasting hunt for him, he hands the vial of blood to Anna and Ethan, his fellow survivors and buys them the time they need to escape by pulling the pin on a grenade, taking his own life and those of the Darkseekers in the building with him. Perfect. An example of legendary martyrdom in favour of humanity. Silence, fade to white. This is where the credits should have rolled and where I always hit the stop button on my DVD. But the credits don't come yet.

The Alpha Male Darkseeker
Image courtesy of Screenviewer.blogspot.com

What follows is an unnecessary additional scene, showing Anna and Ethan arriving at a very suburban survival colony, laden with American flags and soldiers. I don't mean to seem nationalist, but I have a major dislike for these 'God Bless America' type endings that come with certain films. I didn't feel nearly half as much empathy for the survival of Anna and Ethan as I did for Dr. Robert, and I feel that the film should have ended with his death, closing his legend. The image of someone continuing what he started straight afterwards felt unnecessary and was actually a bit of an anti-climax after his heroic death, and being force-fed this idea of survival was uncomfortable. I would have preferred it to be left to the imagination whether he managed to save the world or not, I really don't think the film needed a drastically short extra addition and a 'happily ever after' scene. 28 Days Later got right what I Am Legend did not, and unfortunately the alternate ending doesn't live up to much either, injecting the wild and feral Darkseekers with emotions and humanity was the same mistake that ruined Land of the Dead for me too. Call me a depressive but sometimes I don't want to see happily ever after, life isn't always that easy so films shouldn't have to be to compensate!

Do you have any suggestions or thoughts on the ending of this movie? Don't hesitate to comment with your opinions. And be sure to look out for our next 'How It Should Have Ended' coming soon!