A solid film that gets a lot of unwarranted hate

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2018)

After watching both The Last Man On Earth and The Omega Man I needed to throw on I Am Legend to complete the trifecta of films based on the book. Despite all the times I've viewed these three films I've never sat down and watched them in close proximity before. I wanted to see if my opinions on any of them changed by doing so, or if they would stay about the same.
This film seems to get a lot of hate from people. I think a lot of that's unwarranted. While it isn't anywhere near as brilliant as The Last Man On Earth, or as fun as The Omega Man, it does have some good moments. I thought Will Smith did a solid job as Robert Neville. The portrayal of despair and mental taxation from his time of isolation is well done. Some of that mirrors Vincent Price's performance in The Last Man on Earth. While I don't think it's as dominant as Price's performance it's solid. I also liked the addition of his canine companion Sam. As the story unfolds you see why Sam is so important to him, more so than just companionship.
The thing that really brings this down is the shoddy CGI. While at times it looks okay, more often than not it isn't good. It looks very cartoonish and cheap. It's bad enough to be painfully distracting at points. Truthfully, if that had been better, it would have pushed this film up a few notches. As I've said time and time again, I will take okay practical effects over cheap-cartoonish looking CGI effects any day of the week.
When it's all said and done. This film is enjoyable. There are a few genuinely emotional moments and it's an engaging enough story. I've watched it about seven or eight times now and each time I've enjoyed it. Watching it close to the other films did make me appreciate things more from those adaptions, as well as the other way around. In The end, I Am Legend manages to be a blend of both earlier movies, not really taking on the full persona of either, which at times makes it feel a little unbalanced. This time around I watched the original theatrical ending because I hadn't seen it in awhile. I'll be honest, I prefer the alternate ending. I think it's a change of pace from the other films and changes the overall tone for the better.
I think each of the three films has their own good and bad points. While I have never read the book, I've heard people say none of them have really nailed it. Too often that's the case with adaptions anyway. They never quite capture the same spirit of the printed word. Two separate mediums that are often hard to translate into the other. Casting that aside, I enjoy all three films for various reasons. My rating for this one has stayed just about where it always has. So for me, viewing them close together really didn't change my opinion on it either way.
My Rating: 6.5/10