B.W. At The Movies: Fixing 'I Am Legend'

So this is how the recent film I Am Legend was supposed to end, not with Will Smith's character blowing away the "bad guys" but with a moment of understanding:



According to Cracked.com's "5 Awesome Movies Ruined by Last-Minute Changes," this ending didn't play well with test audiences, so they replaced it with the scene in which Smith suicide-bombs his lab, killing himself and all of the attackers after packing his companions away in a place where the flames won't reach them. As Cracked points out:

This brings up the other problem, which is that all of the little hints that had been inserted along the way indicating the creatures had intelligence (the complex traps they set, the same creature reappearing in some kind of leadership role) are completely ignored. In the new ending, the vampires are mindless savages with no other purpose but general horror movie mayhem.

Perhaps the saddest thing about all this is that it shows that no one involved really believed in the message of the final product. They didn't produce a film in order to convey any kind message, they just strung together a bunch of cool scenes and called it a movie.

The original ending has its own set of problems. I'd probably be happier with a line or two where Smith's character explains his new understanding — I'm not sure it would be that clear to someone not familiar with the story. But it certainly makes more sense than the final product.

To me, the released version of I Am Legend is one of the most senseless disappointments in movie history. But who am I to argue with the makers of a film that has grossed $256 million and currently stands at #41 on the all-time chart? "If you dumb it down, they will come?" Since the original ending wasn't given a shot, we'll never know.