# I Am Legend - AKA 28 Days Later with a Budget **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502 "2007-10-29T21:54:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/41 "2007-10-31T20:08:16Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] I thought I am Legend is a remake of The Stand which is a remake of Resident Evil? šŸ˜ƒ Ahh who cares. I just want to see Will Smith fighting something other than aliens and irobots. [/QUOTE] and Sonny Liston. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/42 "2007-10-31T20:38:40Z")
[QUOTE=psiekier] Iā€™ve been thinking about this a lot, and Iā€™ve come up with one way. Itā€™s also the main reason I find _28 Days Later_ very interesting: [spoiler]Jim, the bike messenger who is the central character of the movie, never kills any of the Infected! \ Jim _never_ kills any zombies.[/spoiler] [/QUOTE] Uhā€¦ I think you missed an important plot point because youā€™re wrong. [spoiler]Jim kills an infected little boy with a baseball bat. Itā€™s the first person he kills. It happened when they stopped to get gas. He stupidly walks alone into the diner, the little boy comes at him, and he bashed him. Then he comes walking out, wiping the blood off the bat with a rag. The others ask him ā€œIs there anything in there?ā€ He answered ā€œNo.ā€ utterly emotionless and dehumanized by what he has done. Thatā€™s why there was the line later on that was so weighty: When the soldier says they have all had to kill _someone_ in order to be alive. ā€œWho did you kill?ā€ and Jim looks away.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/43 "2007-10-31T20:55:05Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] Uhā€¦ I think you missed an important plot point because youā€™re wrong. [spoiler]Jim kills an infected little boy with a baseball bat. Itā€™s the first person he kills. It happened when they stopped to get gas. He stupidly walks alone into the diner, the little boy comes at him, and he bashed him. Then he comes walking out, wiping the blood off the bat with a rag. The others ask him ā€œIs there anything in there?ā€ He answered ā€œNo.ā€ utterly emotionless and dehumanized by what he has done. Thatā€™s why there was the line later on that was so weighty: When the soldier says they have all had to kill _someone_ in order to be alive. ā€œWho did you kill?ā€ and Jim looks away.[/spoiler] [/QUOTE] Originally posted by **psiekier** : I waffled back and forth about whether the boy at the gas station was infected, but we know by listening to the army commanderā€™s soliloquy that the Infected are unable to speak intelligibly, so the boy must have somehow avoided being infected and thus attacked Jim purely of his own malice and/or desperation! I donā€™t agree with that myself, mostly because it depends too much on what the soldiers say, and the soldiers are incompetent idiots, but he didnā€™t miss that plot point, he just interpreted it differently. ---
**Author:** ![WilhelmGefallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9f8e36/32.png) [@WilhelmGefallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilhelmGefallen)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/44 "2007-11-01T01:48:55Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] After watching the trailer Iā€™m probably going to put off seeing the movie until I find out what happens to the dog. It looks like the dog gets killed. I hate that. [/QUOTE] Spoiler for the book and possibly the movie: If they follow the book, the dog will die but you wont see it happen IIRC. The dog just stops coming around one day as I recall it. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/45 "2007-11-01T02:20:31Z")
[QUOTE=WilhelmGefallen] Spoiler for the book and possibly the movie: If they follow the book, the dog will die but you wont see it happen IIRC. The dog just stops coming around one day as I recall it. [/QUOTE] in the trailer you can see Will Smith carrying a dogā€™s limp body, so Iā€™m figuring the dog doesnā€™t make a miraculous recovery then. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/46 "2007-11-01T03:01:12Z")
Wow, my personal ignorance has been fought in this thread, and I now find myself severely disappointed. Unlike the OP I knew this was based in an old book, but I havenā€™t read it. I am legend is what a demon thatā€™d possessed a person was ā€œsupposedā€ to have once said, so I always assumed that the book was about demons. Itā€™s just the basis for The Last Man on Earth and so on? I kind of like The Last Man on Earth, but I had no idea that it was connected to the book. And now I have no interest in seeing this new movie. Why arenā€™t there any good demon movies? ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/47 "2007-11-01T03:52:41Z")
[QUOTE=WilhelmGefallen] Spoiler for the book and possibly the movie: If they follow the book, the dog will die but you wont see it happen IIRC. The dog just stops coming around one day as I recall it. [/QUOTE] Actually [spoiler] The Dog isnā€™t Robertā€™s. Itā€™s a stray. He finally persuades it to come inside and he is overjoyed to have a companion. Only a few days later, it dies. He doesnā€™t have MUCH of a connection with the dog or not nearly what we see in the movie, but it serves to remind him of just how lonely he is and helps push him over the edge [/spoiler] When I saw this trailer originally, I immediately went home and found the e-book. I read it in about 2 days and have since been waiting to see this movie. If you ask me, I think they are following the story in spirit (if certainly not by the letter. For instance, he wasnā€™t a doctor in the book. I believe he worked security in town) and it LOOKS GREAT! I know Iā€™ll be there opening night. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/48 "2007-11-01T04:59:46Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Wow, my personal ignorance has been fought in this thread, and I now find myself severely disappointed. Unlike the OP I knew this was based in an old book, but I havenā€™t read it. I am legend is what a demon thatā€™d possessed a person was ā€œsupposedā€ to have once said, so I always assumed that the book was about demons. Itā€™s just the basis for The Last Man on Earth and so on? I kind of like The Last Man on Earth, but I had no idea that it was connected to the book. And now I have no interest in seeing this new movie. Why arenā€™t there any good demon movies? [/QUOTE] I think you have it confused with ā€œI am legion.ā€ That is what the demon said. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/49 "2007-11-01T09:34:46Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] I am legend is what a demon thatā€™d possessed a person was ā€œsupposedā€ to have once saidā€¦ [/QUOTE] What **Loach** said: ā€œMy name is Legion: for we are many.ā€ {Matthew Ch. 4, v. 5}. One of the great horror lines. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/50 "2007-11-01T12:18:11Z")
[QUOTE=kingpengvin] I donā€™t think Will Smith is good for the part. I really do not think he has teh gravitas or skill to pull off the lonely first part. I donā€™t want to see him smirking and joking when he is supposed to be a man barely holding onto his last bit of sanity and using routine to keep himself going. [/QUOTE] Thereā€™s no reason you would see that. Check out _Ali_ and _The Pursuit of Happyness_, and go back and watch _Six Degrees of Separation_. The guyā€™s a good actor. Lots of actors have made some stupid movies. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/51 "2007-11-01T20:14:35Z")
I dunno. Itā€™s hard for me to watch Smith in a serious role. I keep expecting him to break out with a wisecrack. Iā€™d have much rather seen someone else in the role. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/52 "2007-11-01T20:48:48Z")
This will be a movie that tests Smithā€™s acting and popularity. It is VERY difficult to be the only actor on screen for a long period of time. When Hanks took castaway to 200 million+ by making the audience care about a damned volleyball, you knew America loved the guy. Does Smith have the same magic? Oh, and Atheist vampires are terrified by the selected readings of Noam Chomsky. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/53 "2007-11-01T21:18:54Z")
All these doubts about Will Smith will vanish once his ā€œI am Legendā€ rap video is released. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/54 "2007-11-01T21:24:59Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] All these doubts about Will Smith will vanish once his ā€œI am Legendā€ rap video is released. [/QUOTE] _Gotta get Zombie With it!_ ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/55 "2007-11-01T21:29:00Z")
Heh heh. In spite of all that, I have faith in Smith. I used to think of him as no more than an action hero type guy, but I think heā€™ll pull this offā€“if heā€™s given the right direction. Itā€™s a heavy subject material, and if the director recognizes it as such, I think Will Smith will do a good job. If they see it as ā€œ28 Days Laterā€ lite, then maybe not. I canā€™t wait to see what they do with it, though. I read Mathesonā€™s book years ago, and never saw any of the movie versions. But Iā€™ll go out of my way to watch this. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502/56 "2007-11-02T02:18:55Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] I think you have it confused with ā€œI am legion.ā€ That is what the demon said. [/QUOTE] :smack: Iā€™m still disappointed, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-legend-aka-28-days-later-with-a-budget/424502.md?page=2)