movies

I know! And it still pisses me off! Worst remake ever.

My poor boyfriend has had to listen to me vent about this a couple of times when I am reminded of this shitty movie. The entire point of the movie's title is tied to its ending and its so clever and horrifying in concept. Never had the pleasure of watching the original movie.

I just really like the message of the original because it makes you think!

The Will Smith version is just a movie you see once and then you see the poster 20 years later and go: oh yeah. That thing. Forgot I saw it lawl.

Aka, money is more important than challenging people to think, so, pander to morons and make more money.

My favorite part about this is the 1964 film The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price avoided using the same name as I Am Legend because they felt they were taking too many liberties with the story, when it is hundreds of times closer than anything since.

It's such a weird heel-turn when Will Smith slaps the zombie and tells it not to talk about his wife.

The second to last paragraph of article is the most important. The mythos of the alternate ending has grown so much in the 19 years since the movie has been released that people ignore its flaws.

The Alternate ending doesn’t fit the movie at all and the folks that claim the theatrical ending is so different from the book make me laugh.

Everything in the movie is different from the book. The only thing that the I Am Legend movie has in common with the book is the title and the name of Smith’s Character.

Every other aspect is different right down to where it all takes place.

The mythos of the alternate ending has allowed people ignore the idiocy of the alternate ending. Why would Smith be allowed to live? If me and a bunch of my buds had a monster who had been terrorizing us for years captured in his torture chamber basement, the torture chamber basement that had dozens and dozens of pictures of my friends that the monster had tortured to death, I would tear him to shreds. I sure as hell would not allow him to live happily ever after.

Test audiences kills authenticity and memorability

The ending to the book is one of the best reveals I've read/watched. The movie discarding it was such a huge disservice.

(Smith) claimed “it was the only movie I’ve ever had that the audience booed.”

Somehow Wild Wild West escaped booing.

I just remember watching the movie, then finding the alternative ending (only the last couple minutes) and realizing the polar opposite naritives.

One is where he becomes martyred fighting the enemy, the other is realizing even when others are different, we are still able to relate and find peace.

So yeah, whoever made that decision ruined the entire movie.

Test audiences also ruined the ending to Scott Pilgrim, if the sources can be trusted. I don't have a lot of faith in Will Smith, not that he is a bad person.

Probably something to do with the majority of the country having an IQ below 50

IMO you cannot make a focus group for art. I Am Legend had a choice; try to be art or try to be mindless entertainment. By making the focus group dictate the movie they decided to back down from their artistic vision in order to please mindless drones who didn't want to be challenged.

Sure, I would probably also be upset watching that twist for the first time, but it would have got me thinking. I'm more of an exception that I don't rate movies on the first go, but for most people that's what they'd do. The focus group only gets one chance to share their feelings and it's one of challenging their core beliefs resulting in being upset, a negative feeling. Hence a negative rating.

But all movies aren't supposed to be feel-good movies. The absolute best movies in history makes us think. Have you ever seen Wes Anderson or Robert De Niro or the like change their vision bases on focus group feedback? No, because they know the first impression and thus first feeling might not be a positive one and thus inadvertently translate to a negative rating.

There's a balance though, sometimes an auteur needs a reality check, take Coppola's Megalopolis for example. I haven't seen it yet, but from what I heard he kinda went off the rails on that one. We have yet to see if it makes us think down the road, but maybe he needed someone to say, "you know, this doesn't work." But not from hundreds of random movie enjoyers. From experienced film creators who know to look deeper. Writers, cinematographers, gaffers, sound mixers. People who know their craft and can say "this has been tried before and didn't work." Or if you're feeling adventurous: "we've never tried this before. Let's see if it'll stick."

Test audiences are we have slops that try to appease everyone but end up disappointing everyone but still have broad enough viewership to make millions.