After the end of the world as we know it Robert Neville lives in New York. All alone apart from his dog, Sam, he drives around hunting deer, chatting to mannequins and going through the stock of a local video store. He also makes sure to be home and locked away by the time night comes. Because at night the rest of the survivors come out. And they aren’t so friendly.
Parts of this film I really liked. Watching Robert cope with having no company, seeing him interact with the dog, lots of cute moments there. And the zombie-thingies were creepy. But overall I just wasn’t that impressed with this film. Of course there were the wow moments. But the positives of the first half were washed away by the problems I had with the second half. There is nothing that I can really put my finger on. Sure, there were the usual cinematic coincidences that covered up plotholes and the like, but you expect that, this is a Hollywood blockbuster after all.
I guess I had a huge problem with the cgi. From the moment I say that lion in the trailer I groaned[1] because it was so obviously fake. But if that had been all there was I probably could have gotten over it. But the zombie dudes looked fairly cgi-full as well.
Overall it is a watchable, enjoyable film. But it isn’t anything special, and there are better films out at the moment. And the whole god aspect annoyed me. I must read the short story and see if that is in it as well or if they just forced it into the film.
IMDb ; Metacritic ; Living Digitally ;
- mentally, I was in the cinema and didnt want to annoy other viewers ↩
I read somewhere that the short story is written from the perspective of the mutants, as they battle against this lone stranger who keeps taking them for experimentation. Now THAT would have been a good movie IMHO.
The book is great (I wouldn't call it a short story – or even a novella tbh) Like, really great. Apparently they changed the ending for the film??? I haven't seen it and won't be either. I don't remember any religious / God stuff in the book.
I've just downloaded the book, all I have to do now is read it :)
"I've just downloaded the book"? Shudder.
The film wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. It was a bit silly to shoe-horn all the real drama into the last twenty minutes.
I think the anti-dialogue tendencies in modern cinema reached (almost) their logical end in this film, in the first part at least.
Also, I thought the television interview at the very beginning was ridiculous, where the scientist is asked, "Have you cured cancer?", and answers simply, "Yes". NO scientist would be that straightforward. And if they were that confident, it would merit a lot more than a short interview.
Why are you shuddering Malcatraz?
Even though I read far less than most people I know– because of my painfully slow reading speed– I have a sentimental attachment to the old codex format of books. I don't like the idea of e-books!
The lion bugged me too – I'm sure it would have been cheaper to get a real lion to do the part, rather than cgi it… But apart from the rather hurried ending, I quite enjoyed it, thought the zombies were suitably creepy.
Ohhhhhh. I don't think there's any chance of e-books replacing books in the near future but I'm completely besotted with the idea of the Sony Reader or the Amazon Kindle (tho tis very ugly). Maybe because I'm a fast reader and sometimes used to have to carry two books with me on my daily commute because of the sheer pain-in-the-assiness of finishing my book without having another one to start. And if I decided to go on a holiday for longer than a week, I'd lose half my suitcase to all the books I'd have to pack, so an ebook reader would be much more suitable. Besides, as a long-term Trekkie, I get all weak at the knees at the idea of having my own PADD. :-D
Still, since I have frequently bought more than one copy of the same book so that a series can look all pretty and matchy on the shelf :-) , I get why you hate the idea of no longer having books available in physical form!
What do you mean, long term Trekkie? As in trekking on buses or Star Trek? Because I've been watching the first series of the Next Generation all this week, on DVD. I used to watch it yeeeeeaaars ago and I'm only remembering how good it is. I never liked any of the other series, except for DS9 a little bit.
How silly of me! I've remembered that they have paper and leather books in TNG, in the 24th series. So there's nothing to worry about. Whew….
I've tried the odd e-book and can't see it replacing a good old fashioned book – well not for me anyway. Hurts my eyes if I want to put in some solid hours of reading.
Plus how can you snuggle under the duvet with an e-book, not even my lap top is that mobile!
But if you have a Sony Reader, it's about the size of a paperback, it weighs less than most books and isn't backlit so none of the eyestrain issues – plus you can adjust the size of the text so perfect for tired eyes or people with vision problems. I want one so so so badly!