I Am Legend: Book vs Movie

When one hears the title I Am Legend being mentioned, they usually associate it with Will Smith and the terrific job he did in portraying the protagonist of the story Robert Neville. However, what they typically leave out is the equally terrific job done by author Richard Matheson coming up with the storyline and writing the original book version. While Richard Matheson’s post-apocalyptic science fiction book, I Am Legend, and Francis Lawrence’s post-apocalyptic science fiction movie, I Am Legend, both have similarities and differences, in the end, the original book version prevails mainly because the movie version alters the original storyline too much. In the movie, Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague, the infected, lurk in the shadows...watching Neville's every move...waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered...and quickly running out of time (Warner Bros. Pictures). In the book, Robert Neville is living in a world full of nightmares. He is the only surviving human in a population that has been turned into vampires. He has managed to fortify his home against his predators and spends his nights locked away. His life is a lonely one. Everyone that he knew was either killed by the vampires or became one. During the day, he seeks out and kills the vampires. He tries to fix what they have broken. His life is a constant battle to survive against extremely harsh odds. Richard Matheson writes about a man of

Cited: "Book to Movie: I Am Legend." Less Than Original. 15 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. I Am Legend. Dir. Francis Lawrence. Prod. Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, David Heyman, and Neal H. Moritz. By Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich. Perf. Will Smith, Alice Braga, and Dash Mihok. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007. "I Am Legend." I Am Legend. Ed. John D. Scoleri. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. "I Am Legend." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. "I Am Legend Summary and Study Guides." I Am Legend Summary and Cliff Notes. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. New York: ORB, 1995. Print. Miller, Gerri. "Inside 'I Am Legend '" HowStuffWorks. Web. 23 Mar. 2012.