The movie I Am Legend starring Will Smith is based on the short classic novel of the same name by Richard Matheson which I happened to read just last year. Kim and I took in the movie Monday evening as we had a 2 for 1 coupon and it was expiring soon.
The movie was good. Not great, but as a stand alone flick it was watchable. The tension build up in one scene in particular was quite well done but failed to re-materialize fully during the rest of the movie. I wasn't fond of the last third of the movie, it was a little too pat and simplistic for me.
The movie's resemblance to the novel is passing at best. By far the novel is superior in character and ending, I'd recommend reading it before watching the Hollywood version.
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On a related note, when I read someone earlier review of the movie they commented how Will Smith's character was another "angry atheist", the only kind of atheist that explicitly gets shown in movies it seems.
An "angry atheist" is one who has some sort of personal tragedy that makes them come to think that God doesn't exist; in other words, if bad things happen to other people its just the mysterious ways of God but if it happens to them, they take their belief and stomp away like a petulant child. For reference, Mel Gibson in Signs, Hillary Swank in The Reaping, John Cusack in 1408, and now Will Smith in I Am Legend.
Of course, the odds are stacked against these former believers as they are in movies that represent reality where God does indeed exist and events unfold that convince them that their unbelief is wrong, either subtly as in Signs and I Am Legend or very explicitly as in The Reaping and 1408.
It would be nice if there was a movie that portrayed someone who was an atheist who came to not believe through careful consideration and thought but unless the movie is supernatural to begin with, exploring character's religious beliefs or lack thereof is typically not a priority to the story. So if one got all their information from movies or TV you could be under the impression that all atheists are "angry atheists" and that are no true atheists as some religious leaders claim.
2 comments:
I thought I Am Legend was a pretty good movie myself. The scene at the beginning where he is tracking the deer only to have it snatched away from him by a lion had the wife and I literally jumping off our seats.
As for most of the movie, it was like a study of insanity from loneliness slowly creeping in. Did he see people or didn't he? Then to lose the dog just about pushed him over the edge. Like I said, I thought it was pretty good.
I enjoyed the movie too...but then again, I didn't read the book first so I didn't compare it to anything like you did.
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