COOL STUFF

I will grant that that was better than the original ending. However, I still do not think it is the best it could have been. I think sticking closer to the overall theme of the book would have made the movie stronger. You still lose the fact that Neville IS the last man on earth, and you're left with hope that there are other survivors. So even with this ending, you lose some of the magic of the story. But yes, far less "screw the people who read the book"-y.

i loved the alternate ending, and i would have preferred it in theaters, i think it is more complete to me for some reason. either way, i loved i am legend, and i loved it in IMAX, cant wait for DVD

The alternate ending is definitely better, and felt true to the story. Warners really messed up with the version they put in theaters. It ruined the whole movie for me. Seeing the alternate ending makes the movie feal more complete to me now. Thanks Alex!!!!!

If I would have seen this, that bitter taste in my mouth would not have occurred.

Am I the only one who liked the theatrical ending better????

To be honest, I think the the theatrical ending is a lot more somber and better overall. I mean Will Smith's character dies in the theatrical ending .... I just think it's a bolder choice. This one just sort of ... ends with the happy "family" driving off.

This was excellent, and added more tone for the audience to feel after watching the movie... DIDN'T THEY BLOW UP THE BRIDGE THOUGH?!?!

This is awesome. I can't tell you how much better this made the movie. I never read the book, but hearing from people who had, and knowing the original premise really made me feel they butchered it. Especially after they claimed they made the first movie adaptation that stuck by the book. The person commenting above me (#23) missed the point. That ending they created changes the story so much, and even pertaining to the title of the movie, that it becomes a different story all together. That moment where he realizes he is the monster and not the hunted, is the ah-ha moment this movie needed. Thanks again for posting this

This ending was much better. I hated the ending in theaters with the whole community of survivers and stuff. This ending showed some hope but was still very open. Why do studios always have to fuck things up?

this ending was so full of win that i'm even more pissed about ending we ere subject to. I wish they would make a real i am ledgend movie that is based directly off the book, or even off the leaked orriginal screenplay (leaving on the tugboat and having an undergrownd sewer city with the creatures in it etc.). I want a DVD copy of the movie with the alternate ending being used as the actual ending so I don't have to go to special features to watch it.

This ending is quite amazing. It totally captures the same feel as the ending from the book and at the same time is updated and fits with the rest of the movie. The only reason I can think of that this wasn't used is because they felt they had to dumb the movie down for the masses. Once again the sheeple have ruined a perfectly good movie.

While I think this ending would have been an improvement over the one that they actually used, I can honestly say I still wouldn't have liked the movie. I'm not going to claim any reason other than the book has been one of my favorites since I was young and the movie was just wrong. Will Smith himself did amazingly well. I didn't realize he was that talented an actor, but he is drug down by the fact that everything he's in has to be such a big blockbuster and have lots of CG and a huge budget. I actually stopped liking the movie as soon as the vampires showed up. They were just wrong. IF you've seen 30 Days of Night (not a spectacular movie in itself really, but... ), the vampires in it, with a tiny bit of tweaking were much closer to what the vampires in this film should have been. I do not and never will understand why they would use all CG to create monsters that are basically sick human beings. It makes no sense and it ruins what little chance this movie had of really sucking you in. And when the woman showed up, it just got even worse. Neville coped entirely to well and too quickly..... okay. I'm going to stop or I could go on and on. Basically, why take an amazing book and change it so much it barely resembles itself? Hollywood does it over and over and over. It's incredibly frustrating.

I would have much prefered that ending to the movie.

Yes, the movie was AMAZING. Like many have already mentioned, however, this ending is much, much more fitting. They hinted at the unknown advancement of the "vampires" earlier in the movie, and this ending brings that fulfills that idea. This is way more satisfying. Warner Brothers screwed up.

Just the same bull. And you should read the book again. Neville is legend because he is an relict of a former society that doesn‘t exist anymore. He commited suicide.

A much, much better ending. It was never really explained how or why the vampires (though they weren't really vampires) were so clever in setting traps etc to then just want to tear Neville apart. Showing the Alpha male doing everything he did just to get his woman back shows that they are evolving or that they still have human characteristics. It shows that Neville was the one out of place not the vamps. He was the last remnant of the past and the world had moved on. Had it been played better, with this ending and the girl not turning up it could have been an awesome twist at the end (just like the book was) Having such a thoughtful and considered ending makes the clumsy appearance of the woman and them heading off to the safe haven too good. So I know I want everything but in a perfect world it would have had this ending and maybe even Neville just shuffling off to do his own thing, wiser to the fact that life is still going but just fundamentally changed. What a shame that WB's didn't have the bottle to run with this.

Wow, ya, this was waaaaay better of an ending than the theatrical release. This followed closer to the book, compared to the theater release which was a big disappointment for me when I saw the last 10 minutes! I would LOVE to see this put on the dvd as an alternate ending and shoot, even if they were to consider a re-release of sorts! I'm not a huge fan of franchise movies but I think this could have had a continuation in the story if they had wanted to. Will Smith did an excellent job!

While I was watching the movie in theaters, I thought Will Smith's character would give back the vampire's woman seeing as how I thought it was obvious to the audience that was the driving force behind the attacks. Having him sacrifice himself help the others escape seemed to break the continuity of the story. Now that I have seen the alternate ending, I am more at ease that I was correct in that feeling.

I am so sick and tired of going to see movies which work perfectly well up until the end, when you can almost smell the men in suites walk into the cinema and spray their idea of what they think people want all over the place like a wolf marking its territory. I think Frank Zappa called such a phenomena as a 'Cocaine Decision'. Thank you so much for letting me get a chance to see this otherwise brilliant movie, in the way it was meant to be seen - or at least in the way that actually makes more sense of the entire rest of the plot.

I read the book before seeing the movie and loved the book. I enjoyed the movie interpretation on some levels as well. I can see why Hollywood went with the alternate ending of Neville going out in a blaze of glory. This made him so much more the hero. Completely self-sacrificing. And, as someone noted previously, could average joe movie goer have figured out the I Am Legend twist that Neville is a legend to the vampires as a legendary killer? I would hope the answer would be yes, but possibly not. He would might have had to actually state somehow that to the vampires he is a legend for some people to get it. One thing I didn't like about the alternate ending, was whatsername giving the final broadcast. If Neville is still alive, why wouldn't he do the last one? Why is she suddenly the focus? It was HIS story all along, with either ending. Her speaking the epilogue doesn't make sense to me if he's alive. I do think having him die makes so much more of a statement. I didn't like the original endings twist on the 'legend' aspect because of how COOL the book ending was. I liked the alternate a bit more, but there was less bittersweet triumph with it since every one is alive and unharmed. Meh. Like the interaction with the head vampire, and the tenderness between him and the female. Really drove home the fact that even though they were very animalistic in nature, they did retain some human nature after all. Or maybe were starting to regain some humanity. That was great. So, all in all, neither ending was perfect. If I could have mixed and matched a bit, then it would have been perfect, but I was also very spoiled by reading Matheson's original story.

WB made a horrible mistake! This ending would have made the movie much better. Like most people here I felt the end just left you hanging and I hadn't read the book when I saw the movie. I expected this type of ending and was disappointed when it didn't happen. It just makes more sense why things played out the way they did….

FIRST - as for the guy who ripped your opinion about this being one of the best movies of 2007 and called it one of the worst - Get A Grip! I love the personal feel to this website and everything about it. Alex didn't ask for opinions about him, it was about the ending. To refer to Alex as an a _______ is out of line. As for this ending, I preferred this alternate ending to one used in the theaters. It does show that the remaining people do still have a SOUL, unlike real vampires, and not just blood thirsty killers (at least some of them) The ending in the move was OK, but like others said, very FINITE. As for the ending in the book, I am maybe one of the few (and do know others who feel the same) that the book ending was screwed up. Why get him all the way through that only to have a new race (execute him for what he did). If the infected still had a soul in the book, then they would have realized the Neville was doing the same thing they would have done if they all believed that the vampires/infected were only out to kill him. Maybe keep him imprisoned, but not kill him in the book and study why he was never infected. As for the movie, they could have easily incorporated the vampire/infected becoming the regular race, Neville giving the girl vampire/infected back. AND THEN drive out of the city .... THUS leading to a sequel where he could have been captured on his way to Vermont, leading to interrogations and imprisonment and then taken it from there.

Great ending, one question, how did they rebuild the bridges so quickly?

I think the reason for her doing the epilogue is to trick you for a moment into thinking he died. Then it gives you the shot of him smiling and she mentions his name. Besides he recorded the previous message that was broadcast. It was her turn.

The bridges thing is a good question. Also...In the book i can totally see why they would want him dead. He was killing them off. He was a serial killer. Don't we execute our serial killers? Oh also....test audiences are often not the people that would normally go see the type of movie they are viewing. They are often just told that it is a movie with a certain actor and maybe what genre it is. So they arent the best judges of the films....its a flawed way of testing.

The theatrical ending was better. People need to realize this was this was the ORIGINAL ending, so "the evil suits" only decided to change it after several complaints received at test showings. Movies aren't made for geeks, a lot of things done in the book would've looked retarded on the big screen. What works inside your mind/imagination, doesn't translate that well in film... take for instance, the way everyone keeps saying "they should've done it just like in the book" - uh, no. You would turn what was a flick almost everyone enjoyed, into a real cartoon fest.

Here's the mistake I think people are making with this ending: it only really works if you've read the book. Otherwise, it doesn't make a lick of sense. You have to infer so much just based on glances and gestures that you end up scratching your head. Why would Neville apologize to these ruthless monsters? I get the reasoning based on what the book is about, but that's not the story the movie was telling. The filmmakers figured this out, thankfully, in time. For me, the theatrical ending is so much more powerful. You end up with this science vs. religion thing that was in the movie the whole time, but only very subtly so. And when it fully emerges...I remember thinking to myself, "THAT'S what this movie's about." It becomes about this marriage of science of faith where the legend in "I Am Legend" is the legend of Robert Neville's sacrifice for humanity (making him a Christ figure) and his salvation of it through his work in the lab. I thought it was brilliant and was completely shocked to find out that the novel was otherwise when it seemed so perfect in the story the film presented.

I liked this ending, however i feel that nevel still should die at the end for his crimes. not out of principal, but to lend the story a more tragic feel. After the vampires kill him ,(if they must keep the woman and the boy in the film and go with the whole survivor storyline to leave room for sequels), they could walk away and leave the woman and boy alone, continuing on with the second ending of driving over the bridge but not finding other people just yet. and for gods sake cut out the over the top voice over.

WOW. I was so disappointed with the ending they chose for the theatrical release, but I finally feel like I was vindicated from that with this alternative ending. It explains why that lead vampire (that, to me oddly enough, looks like John Malcovic) went to such extreme lengths to get back his love. That kind of dedication reminds me of What Dreams May Come with Robin Williams. I absolutely loved the book, and I feel the movie ran as far as it did because it used the name "I Am Legend" as a vehicle to propel it. Finally, with this ending, I'm satisfied with where it led. PS: Thank you so much for showing me this.

Well, bottom line is it totally saves the film. I had a hard time with the "Scooby Do" monsters....this eased the pain a little. Still really did not enjoy it that much. I really wanted to as well. Still the Batman/Superman logo ad was still one of my favorite segments. But thank you for this, I will pass it on.

Love the alt ending. The release ending left me disappointed and feeling the movie was uncomplete. Thanks for showing us the "true" ending.

Wow, this ending was awesome. I was a fan of the movie overall. I understood why they took the movie in the direction that they did in order to make it appeal to a broader audience. But I think that they could and should have kept this original ending to the film. The ending to the theatrical version was the one slightly disappointing part of the film. I am glad that I got to see this version, as it is much better.

This was the right way to end this movie. I won't buy a DVD of it unless there is a version with this one restored, not just as an 'option' to watch separately.

I just don't understand why it would have been that hard to follow Matheson's concept. Braga's character is in on it. She has evolved further than first generation vampires. She becomes the narrative voice explaining why Neville had to be executed at the end. This is the kind of stuff that drives me crazy about science fiction getting translated into films by major studios. Matheson wraps the vampire convention in a plausible life-science scenario of genetic mutation and species evolution. It's a big idea kind of book. And it builds and it builds and it builds and you have no idea where it is going until wham! You are on the last page and there is the big reveal and it is over and there you sit - astounded by what Matheson has pulled off. Something you never see coming. Just like the ending of The Sixth Sense. Imagine if the movie studio heads determined in the end that audiences weren't smart enough to understand what M. Night Shamalayan was doing in The Sixth Sense and told him to erase the part about Bruce Willis's character being dead - scratch that part. Let him solve the murder mystery conventionally and become a fond uncle to Haley Joe Osment's character. I can hear them: "Let's let him watch the young man mature and live happily with his wife into the future. Much brighter that way. Audiences like bright." That is essentially what happened to I Am Legend. Some studio head at Warner Bros. decided that people were incapable of handling a big idea movie and instead settled for science fiction movie conventional ending #435. I was fuming when I left the theatre. They took an amazing plot and eviscerated it. And that happens all the time. This modified ending helps some, but still leaves so much that could have been great unrealized.

I honestly thought the original ending was much better, this one was kind of bad. not gonna lie

This was the way the movie should have ended. It's SOOOOOO much better. Just watching the alternate ending made me change the way I thought about that movie. IT's now so much better, I hope the DVD has that version of the ending as a choice for you when you watch the DVD. I hope you can select that as the version cause it would make me go out a buy the DVD. That was the real ending as far as I'm concerned. FANTASTIC!

bottom line, they trashed several classic movies and made a horrible version of Money Making Crap. I thought Will Smith had better morals. This movie (and all of your 'awesome' reviews) makes me embarrased to share a love for film with such kooks

regardless of the book this ending was far better than the original

I much prefer this ending - what a great twist to turn him into the monster. It would be better though if the lead vampire wasn't a spitting image of Ted Danson - mannerisms and all.

I like this ending WAAAAAY more. It gives a more human feel to the ending of the movie. The ending in this movie was way too simple and Hollywood like.

In most cases, mass media has to follow a fixed format in order to successfully integrate into the market. The alternative ending does not follow the "golden rules" that make a product viable to the "dreaded" lowest common denominator (read: profitable). This is the sole reason WB consistently "slaughters" fantastic creative works in a rather predictable manner, regardless of artistic merit and plot integrity the deviations are required for a return on the millions of dollars invested in production. I'm sure it's a fantastic book, but intellectually challenging epic novels will rarely (if ever) make it to blockbuster level following the original storyline verbatim.

I have never read the book or seen other incarnations of the movie...The Will Smith I Am Legend is the only reference for this story that I have - that said, I really enjoyed about 50% of this movie. The first half was superb, conveyed emotion and held my interest. The moment the woman and her child were introduced I began to get bored and started to dislike the story. You could see where it was going - nowhere good. The ending turned out to be ridiculous as expected, and defeated the first half of the movie that I had really enjoyed. I had hoped that the lead male mutant would back off after seeing that Neville had cured his mate and that Neville would become legend in the eyes of the cured vampires...As the female he had cured related his story at the end. I would have really liked that to have been the end, but alas, it was not to be...And the woman and her child as well as the sudden religous themes at the end ruined the movie. This alternate ending is, in my opinion, better than the theatrical one by far - but is still not precisely what I was hoping for after watching the first 50% of I Am Legend...Had they allowed Will to truly be the last man on earth this movie would have been great, however it will now go down as mediocre and poorly ended.

Yeah this was deff a way better ending i mean come on his dog dying was enough sad dramma then him dying too nah way to much at that point i was like oh nah they didnt need 2 do that... but this ending saves tha day and i think its 100 times better ......wmhs is da click dat i roll wit .....

All I can say is wow. That was a better ending by far. There was so much feeling and struggle in that six minutes that would have pushed that movie over the top. Hell I probably would have seen it a few more times in the theater instead of saying at the end, I might buy it. thank you.

Better than the original ending, but still not what it could have been. From the moment the woman and child were introduced the movie went downhill. I agree wholeheartedly with post #79

That was a stupid ending. The theatrical release was actually a more daring attempt because it wasn't such a sappy ending...

this ending was truly amazing, like 100 times better than the other, the other ending never actually made sense to me, even though the movie itself up until the ending was awesome, so this changes my once clouded opinion of this movie to it being totally amazing with this ending!!

That was really interesting. And I'm quite surprised most of you like this "happy ending" more than the one released. I really enjoyed the movie, I don't love it or anything, but it has many interesting things. The way the story goes, there is no way it can end in a fully-happy-fashion. As I said, it was really cool watching this alternative, but it's not quite believable to me. The mad zombie/vampires getting emotional? It makes no sense at all. Too much touchy-feeling to me. Robert Neville has nothing else to live for, his family is dead, he had to kill his dog (SPOILERS!). How can he be smiling in his SUV with his "new" family? It seems like a happy advertising. The one released isn't perfect, but I think is much more close to the original intention of the novel. There is no concept of legend here.

Scott, you are way out of line. People can have different opinions about movies without running the risk of being labeled assholes or fucktards. Grow up.

Thanks for showing us this version. I never read the book so I saw the I Am Legend film for what it was. I have to say I greatly enjoy the theatrical versions ending much more. It was tragic to see the Robert Neville die but at the same time it was refreshing for a movie. With this version Robert Neville lives but it just seems to come to a to common ending, they leave, Robert Neville lives and rides out with his new family to the survivors colony. The theatrical versions ending is so much better, it seems different from the typical Hollywood movies ending. I might be in the minority though, I've shown this version to some family members and they seem to like it simply because Robert Neville lives.

Legend was a complete rip off of 28 days/28 weeks. STOP THIEF!

"I Am Legend" was written in 1954, you dumbass. 28 Days/Weeks Later were both made after 2000.

I feel like it's hard for this movie, considering the book was so breathtaking. While this new ending doesn't necesasrily SAVE the movie from what happened to it (unecessary character additions,) I think it certainly allows for a much more moving, engaging conclusion to the story. I wasn't the biggest fan of Neville's "FIRE TACKLE" in the long run. As a reinterpretation of the book, I really quite like this film. This made things a bit better for me. --IK

The theatrical ending was sloppy and lazy. I liked this ending much better.

This ending far surpassed the theatrical ending. As someone who was a fan of the book well before the movie was even announced, I truely wanted to love absolutely everything about this movie before I even saw it. After watching it, I did love it, but was definitely let down with the ending. This new ending, however, completely changes the tone of the film. For the better. Bravo and thanks for sharing this.

I liked this one better. The ending in the movie was too abrupt for me, and the idea that you could reverse those types of "symptoms" was beyond belief. And I think there was enough death in the movie, without Neville having to die at the end, too. The fact that the dog was sacrificed on the alter of "art" was more than heart-wrenching to me. I'm just glad Neville didn't have a cat! But I'm so glad you shared this alternate ending. I'm sure it will make it's way onto the DVD version, but I would have rather my theater experience ended this way than the ending they chose.

I was very disappointed by this film originally but this ending mitigates it somewhat. there were just too many dense stupid things done by a man who otherwise was doing loads of intelligent things. Not anyway near enough action for this type of film or enough tension instead of action. I haven't read the book but of course am aware of it and the impact it had upon publication etc. Am i wrong in thinking that neville went round the world raizing cities to the ground a la I am destoyer of worlds. If so that would have been much better than resorting to the cliche of another survivor coming to his rescue in his hour of need. but hey that's hollywood cater to the lowest common denominator

Holy crap that was awesome.

What do you think of this new ending and would you have preferred it in the theaters? I almost cried - that is the way the movie should have ended. Oh hell yes I would have preferred it in the theater. Hey, Hollywood - we're adults and we prefer being treated that way.

At the theatre I felt ripped off by the cost of the ticket, which tends to sour me on going back to the theatre for a while. This ending would not have given me that feeling. I'm vindicated though thinking about the gate receipts that I have withheld as a consequence of WB making a totally irrational decision that resulted in ruining the movie.

Alternate ending preferred by myself and at least 5 other folks I've shown it to.

I loved the original ending and feel cheated that the powers that be felt it necessary to change it. I was shocked at the ending in the theatre and felt like it ended too abruptly. This ending fits so much better than the one they chose to show us. Wow what a mistake they made in not showing us the original ending!

I really like this ending!! I read a part of the book but not the whole thing. I like this ending because it further affirms the fact that the lead "vampire" was just trying to get his woman back. I thought the part when Neville says to the camera that because the vampire exposed himself to the light that he'd lost all human charchteristics, made it seem like the vampires were animals. When, in fact, anyone with a brain could see that the male was hurt, angry that Neville had taken her. I, personally thought, that because the lead male thought his girl was dead that he wanted to hurt Neville in the same way by some how killing the dog (which, by the way, had me sobbing in the movie theater). I didn't like the chick showing up just like that all of a sudden, but reading all of your comments about an evolved female who takes Neville back to the rest of the vampires, makes sense. And this ending gave me that AHA feeling. I understand why he was legendary. Because he was a Serial Killer. The theatrical ending wasn't bad, but this one is makes alot of sense and it definately would've been a gamble.

This is the better ending, definitely and makes more sense based on the setup IN the movie. The fact that the movie completely drops the intelligent monster aspect lead to a fight within our group of whether or not the vampire intentionally set the trap for Will. It seemed like he did but then why have that aspect and no follow up, and further why make it a point to say that the vampires aren't intelligent after we clearly saw that they were! Not only was this ending better but, to me, the ending in the film made no sense whatsoever. With that said, I still found the reveal of the human woman completely lame if they weren't going to go the way of the book and how did she even get to Manhattan if all the bridges were blown up?

They called THAT the "controvercial" ending!? and the ending where they glorify a suicide bomber and make him the hero is. . . what? Seeing the film in the cinema was a big let down. They took a good book and twisted it into a generic Hollywood everyfilm. Too bad, could've been awesome

I much prefer that ending. I too felt the one in the film was rushed and abrupt. I preferred seeing the humanity left in those with the infection.

I did not read the book but I have to agree that this alternate ending is much better. When I watched it at the theatre I was drawn in to the film up until the ending. It didn't seem to really fit. I am really looking forward to reading the book to see the different dinamics. Thanks for putting this out there.

This ending is amazing!

I never read the book, any reviews or even saw any previews before watching this movie, so I came to it totally clean. It was amazing! I`m quite hard to please with movie's. firstly, can I ask people to stop calling them "Zombie's" or "Vampires". I hate that. They were diseased and mutated human beings, extremely infa-red light sensitive, stronger and more violent. Even a major film reviewer (Julie something) on ABC tv here in Australia got it totally wrong, and called them Zombie's. She canned the whole movie because of it, that this guy was trying to save the Zombies blah blah blah. Totally missed the point. Secondly, I think the best ending (for me), having seen both versions, would be for a mixture of the two: - Will tells the chick and boy to open the door for him, then shut it and get into the oven thing. - Will takes the mutant lady out etc. Near the end of Will sees the wall of 'trophies'. - When the mutant boss leaves, the others go to rip Will apart, and then Will sets off his hidden explosives and blows himself and the rest of them away. - Chick drives off like above, movie ends as above (but without Will). Although I didn't mind that she found a virus-free colony somewhere in the original ending, I think it would be more interesting (and maybe lead into another movie) for her not to have tied up the whole story like that. I suppose they had to though, as Will's blood was needed as the cure, and he can't have died in vain. If it had to be a choice between the two endings, it's a tough one, but maybe the one they didn't use would have been better purely for the fact about the message of Will being the cruel and violent one (even if his cause was just), and setting it up for a sequel. They have to make a sequel, surely. But yeah, do a better job on the mutant cgi. I think they did a very good job on the movements and facial animations etc (definitely scared me), but the textures were too plasticky.

The book concept has the idea that Neville is now the legend in their myth, for he is the minority of reality. But this alternate ending while good has no bearing on that point it just shows that Neville has finally realized he under estimated their intelligence and worth as people and is willing to be the better man and be diplomatic to the creatures. This still has nothing to do with the concept of becoming a legend. Overall in vampire lore, there aren't points where the vampires (being the minority, the legend to humans) stop and go "maybe the humans aren't so bad after all" "maybe I will stop thinking of them as inferior". lol and no where in this alternate ending do they make an references to being or becoming a legend. So while good, this alternate ending doesn't add to the movie nor does it stay more true to the book, we already knew the infected were smarter then Neville assumed, we already knew that the Alpha was coming for his woman (hence that he loved her) the only difference is that Neville doesn't die which is not true to the book and we still don't get an accurate sense of what it means to become a Legend like the book's concept.

Oh and the last thing, I see a lot of comments saying "this version made me care more" well in either version we know the Alpha male is coming for the female infected, just in the theatrical version he never accomplishes his goal but that doesn't mean he didn't love her. And if the theatrical version made you not care, does that mean you only care if people live? and when Neville dies you don't care? hmmmmmmmm.....

I liked it as it was shown in the theatre and with the alternate ending. But it is irrelevant which ending anyboby likes. The part that didn't make sense to me was Neville getting caught by the vampires. That whole trap stunk. When that dummy appeared out of nowhere on the street, his thought would have been "TTTRRRRAAAPPP". His sense of self preservation suddenly eclipsed by the emotional bond he had with a mannikin? Give me a break. OK, so they copied his trap. They were watching him like a hawk. They might have noticed he always carried a flamestick or boomstick or one of those AK-47s. The vampires might have gone looking for some of those. Do you follow me? One night while Rob is kicking back in the tub with Fido, the Vampires blow into town and start capping all the mannikins they can train their sights on. We get the usual scene where the protagonist starts stuffing every armament known to man in his shorts and bolts out of the house guns blazing. Nev is wasting hundreds of these twitchy fuckers when suddenly the head vampire arrives, grunts up and pulls a Browning out his asscrack. Everybody dies in a blaze of gunfire. The "Hollywood" ending we all know and love. OR..... We could beg Hollywood to apply the "Home Alone" ending to this movie. Robbie gives the bastards whatfor with swinging paintcans, tarpits, bricks, flaming rope and "Snakes" with his lousy cheating on the countdowns. All the vampires get picked up by the cops and Robbies mom and dad finally get back from Paris. I'd let one sneaky vampire bite Buzzs' head off at the end for that last thrill that tells us the whole damn thing ain't never gonna end.

If they'd wanted an ending like that, they never should've dumbed-down the vampires. There just wasn't enough time devoted to them to make that ending seem plausible to audiences. "Because this version is happy go lucky everyone wins, Neville doesn't become a legend in any sense whatsoever and from all appearances no one finds a cure either." Agree completely. There is no "legend" in this version of the ending. This whole thing just reeks of too many cooks, and it's a shame they wasted yet another opportunity to actually film the book's ending. It would be different if someone could actually come up with something better, but after three attempts, no one has.

There is one continuity error with this ending. It shows them DRIVING OUT OF TOWN OVER THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE. Earlier on in the movie, it was clearly indicated, and, in the case of the Brooklyn Bridge, shown, that the Air Force destroyed all of the bridges connected to Manhattan.

Wrong Teno & James. This new ending shows more clearly why he would be concidered a legend. He's not a legend b/c he found a cure. He's a legend in the infected eyes b/c he has hunted & killed so many of thier kind in broad daylight w'out being hurt. He is the last of a species & they do not understand why he captures & kills them. Like the book say's, & Alex points it out as well, Robert Neville is "legendary" because he is that myth that goes out day after day hunting them.

I saw this movie opening day and because of the ending they display in theater I suggested that people not see it because everything they foreshadowed turns into a huge letdown. This is what should have been displayed because it gives the movie its meaning.

A slightly better ending, but Neville should still die and still be the ONLY human alive. It's not enough to save an already slow and boring movie, with little to do with the source material.

The theatrical ending could have been improved if it just showed Anna and Ethan looking for other survivors, but you don't know if they find them. It occurred to me that another avenue they could have chosen would have been the captured infected female becomes "cured", but she has torn loyalties and in the end betrays Neville. I would have added a flashback scene showing the last of Neville's human companions getting killed by the infected. In the movie, you never see anyone actually get killed by them, and it would have added to the sense of terror to see what they were actually capable of.

Having never read the book and seeing the movie purely because it looked like it would be good, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I actually said "What... thats it, he blows himself up and thats it? WTF". This alternative ending was sooooo much better, it just seemed.....right.

This ending is absolutely fabulous, I can't believe they didn't use it for the original movie!

Why are you all referring to them as vampires and zombies??? In the movie they were infected humans who mutated. What were they in the book then?

As others have stated, the theatrical ending was a huge disappointment. I really wish they had this ending instead.

I told myself before the movie that I wouldn't associate it at all with Matheson's book because I knew I'd be disappointed. I was going to look at the two as seperate creative works. Doing that, I really liked the movie. I still found myself disappointed that they didn't use the ending from the book though. It's one of my favorite endings ever from any type of media and I was really hoping they'd use it. This ending is much, much better than what we saw in the theater. It would have elevated the entire movie (and my review of it) from good to great... well, maybe very good. Either way, this ending kicks ass.

They were "vampires" in the book, and Neville was figuring out the fact from fiction of their condition. The alternate ending is muddled, like James said in comment 166. But by the end of the movie adaption of the book (it's _based_ on the book) it's too late to inject any notion that the infected are a new society, since they spent the running time making them into videogame baddies with no development whatsoever. I don't count the mannequin scene, because I think it's safe to say the consensus is the movie Neville became delusional and walked into his own trap, rather than the idea of the infected leader copycatting the earlier trap. And where the hell did that bridge come from in the alternate ending? They were blown up!

I prefer the alternative ending, much more powerful and thought provoking, but, it would be made so much better if the Woman and Kid hadn't been brought into it. For me, that totally takes away all the gravitas and suggestion that Neville is a 'Legend' among this new race of Vampire-folk.

The theatrical ending provides proper climatic resolution, this version is just a wash out and I can't believe all the posts supporting it. What's up with all the zombie / vampire sympathizers in this post? On the sentient being scale they're two steps below mass murders and baby rapists, the good doctor was totally justified in his actions. Personally I was hoping he'd whip out the big guns and photon bombs and give 'em a real what for- but no he came across as a total goodie two shoes who never did no wrong (he even returned his video rentals?!). This alt ending just took the 'pansydom' to a whole 'nother level. Why not just make the monsters fluffy pink and foofy cute while we're at it?

Definatly prefer this ending was hoping it was gonna end like this when i was watching the film.

I only read half the comments (haven't got that much time on my hands) so I appologise if this point has already been made but my problem with the theatrical ending was the idiotic subversion of the meaning of 'legend' away from the book. At least this alternative ending doesn't try to give the movie's title some idiotic explanation.

However this movie ends, you can't polish a turd.

I haven't read the book but from reading the other feedback I get the basic premis. I enjoyed the moviebut boy did it have its faults! I agree that the female lead turning up in the middle of the movie was played out badly and completely unnecessary, it was like WB telling their paying cinema goers that Will Smith couldn't hold the audiences attention, Which i thought and am sure all will agree that he without doubt could of done for the entirity of the runningtime, as his performanceinthe movie was outstanding. The CG was at its worst was Cartoonish (What did they spend the budget on the Lions??) Anyway to the Ending I do much prefer the alternate ending sticking to the Idea that Robert Neville was the Legend (to this supposed 'Vampire' mutation of the humanrace)which you dont really get a feel for in the theatrical release, rather than a legend to survivors. I think it comes down to WB like many other big Studios believing that the cinemaq going public arent intelligent enough to understand the more complex emotional and existential ideas that the original story (and the alternate ending) explored. TO me the alternate made much more sence to the whole over all feel of the movie.

Stunning. Beautiful even. And makes so much more sense than the original ending - they set up all the stuff with the trap, hinting that the head zombie/vampire was pursuing the girl who had been taken - and to finally see the pay off is brilliant. Thanks.

I thought the movie was amazing, up until the ending. It killed me that a series of avoidable mistakes eventually led to the demise of the hero. I truly did feel that the theatrical ending ruined the movie for me for more reasons than one. This ending gave me chills when I watched it and I only wish I could've seen it on the big screen because then I would've been walking out with chills instead of the feeling that I just watched a wasted movie!

Thanks for this post! I am very happy to see that this ending was filmed, what a much more satisfying end to the movie! The biggest part of this for me is finally understanding why they were so aggressive once he had the girl patient, you would never know or understand that the vampire was his wife, etc. This ties together many of the theatrical scenes and makes the movie come full circle. Much easier to understand and watch this way. I felt a little cheated in the theater, but kind of enjoyed her finding the humanity camp. Then again, the natural questions of if th vampires could scale a 4 story apartment that they could jump over those walls came to mind, and the whole idea of that even being possible with the vampires shown "ability's" seems that much more improbable, and I could not enjoy it. I know, its just a movie right? Its just a person like me like it when a movie is so real, covers all its bases and leaved you informed and satisfied. The bean-counters at WB could care less what ending we saw, as long as we paid to see one or the other unfortunately. No movie produced by a major company is made with the first intention of quality cinema. Its all about the BOTTOM DOLLAR and how much money a movie will make. Good call releasing this WB, I will be buying the DVD now because of it.

This ending is far better than that of the theatrical cut. It brings much more closure to the story and really rounds things off nicely. The theatrical cut hinted at the "Dark seekers" being smart but never followed through. This ending gives them a whole new dynamic and a much clearer motive. Whilst I agree in some respects that they could have taken Neville away for execution, I always felt that aspect of the novel was a mis-step. At the end we're supposed to realise that Robert is the real monster... yet, in lining him up for public execution whilst having absolutely no sympathy for his cause shows THEM to be the monster. It's complete injustice. So I think, all round, had this ending been in place for the theatrical release, this would have been the more satisfying story.

"it's too late to inject any notion that the infected are a new society, since they spent the running time making them into videogame baddies with no development whatsoever" Exactly. The real advantage for this ending is that the Big Bad Studio cut it, so we automatically assume it's an artistic triumph. In reality, this ending probably represents just as many conflicted visions as the theatrical. If they *had* used it, everyone would've complained about them tacking on a happy ending where everyone wins, and that it still wasn't true to the book. I like the idea of Neville finally realizing he can't solve the problem of Ground Zero, and that it may no longer be his place to try. But the film wasted the opportunity to tell that story, and instead chose to represent the vampires as (largely) generic, cgi zombies. A handful of cliched moments doesn't really make up for their lack of development. The actions of both Neville and "Main Vampire Guy" in this ending are simply too abrupt to be believable. It's simply too little, too late...except as a strategy for selling a few more dvds. The theatrical version ruins the "legend" aspect of the book once it reveals that Neville is not the only human on Earth who is immune. Once they made that creative decision, it becomes more logical for him to be a legend to humanity. They robbed the vampires of so much intelligence, the idea of them relating to Neville as a legend becomes a much, much weaker concept.

Wow really liked this. The best thing is its just as bleak as there isn't isn't this big commune with people living there as in this ending they just have to move on but he has to confront the fact that to the big scary monsters he's the big scary monster. Loved it! WB please take note

Much more 'powerful' than the original ending in the movie.

Damn, I enjoyed this ending much more. The ending of the theatrical version left both my girlfriend and I disappointed. We both thoroughly enjoyed the movie up until the ending. I really think this should have been the theatrical ending. Thanks for sharing.

I never read the book but would be in agreement that the theatrical ending was too abrupt. The ending was tied up nice and neat, a bit contrived, and really left me wanting for more. In my opinion, the original (alternative) ending was better. Thanks for posting Michael! I hope WB takes note.

I'm still in awe at that ending. I felt like the only one to see that scene where Neville captures the female...that this was why the male stuck his head into the light. That there was a new evolved sense to these creatures that Neville dismissed. That scene comes full circle with this ending. At first, I thought that the writers completely missed their own story line...but now it makes sense. I would have liked the end credits to have us see some of their travels...finding more survivors...possibly curing others...

Oh and no, I never have read the book. It just seemed like the natural progression.

I was, shall we say, more than a little angry with the theater ending of this flick when I caught it months ago. If I hadn't been so completely dumbfounded by the complete reversal of the orignal story, I think I would have thrown something at the screen. This ending is much better in that respect; I don't hold 10% of the ire I had for the first ending towards this one. I was downright outraged before. I'm just sort of resigned now. While at least partially restoring the actual MEANING OF THE TITLE that was so inexplicably reversed previously, this is still a rather vapid (though not nearly as much so) reflection on Matheson's work. Instead of a contemplation on the inevitability of the "Other" conflict in human society, and the inability of such dissimilar groups to exist together (thus always driving them to destroy each other) we're told that all monsters are just like us; seeking restoration of the familial unit. A noble message? Maybe. Matheson's story? Not remotely. Plus we keep the anti-science message of the film, and tack a happy ending onto one of the most nihilistic books of classic Sci-Fi. Color me unimpressed.

I was truly moved by this ending.... the love, the compasion, and let's not forget forgiveness...this should have been the ending that was released and showed to the movie audience.

Yup, this is definitely a better version. Too bad, even Warner Bros fuck up sometimes.

The whole reason I hated this movie was because Will Smith dies at the end but now that I see this ending it would have been way better and I would be looking forward to watching a second film. This could of also run as a Television series just like stargate did.

Dont you find this movie a little like ....uhm lets see Resident Evil? Which i thought was a much better movie then this ... this movie was sooo bad i think i fell asleep and caught the ending.... And by far this ending was much better.

altho i like this ending, i prefer the one they showed in the cinema. because he dies, it give us that human emotion of a happy sad kind. a real tug at our heart strings, through out the film it is pretty much just him, we become attached to him and there for when he dies to save man kind, we find this more moving. a marter (not sure on spelling) is a better hero than an alive one in most stories. even tho most people seem to like this ending, and it is a good alternative ending. i prefer the cinema released ending.

This was definitely a much better ending. I can see why WB changed it though because people don't want to think of the 'hero' as actually being the 'monster'. They wen't with the big explosion and the selfless saviour routine instead because they know the lowest common denominator of movie watchers understand explosions and heroes. I would love for this one to be the proper ending on the DVD though if I could choose.

def a better ending.

HOLY CRAP WAS THAT ONE BETTER!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! I LOVED this movie, all except for the ending; this really makes a difference. I WILL say that I liked his dying at the end, but this made the WHOLE MOVIE make so much more sense; the way the leader zompire behaved. In the theatre, it made no sense b/c they didn't justify it. THANK YOU!!!!!

I too did not like the ending in the theatre version, it was too abrupt, this one is sooooooooo much better!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

I did like the original ending, but that was... Wow. Just 'wow'.

Ah Come On!! This alternate ending is amazing. The "religious" cinema version/ending was so bad it nearly ruined the whole movie for me. I am so glad I saw this

Well after watching the film and thinking it was rubbish then reading the book and realisng the whole I AM LEGEND thing I have come to the conclusion that this ending did not fit the thetrical film. It may have fit the film if there were other bits in the earlier parts of the film to dictate that the infected where inteligent and had a society. The film for me started as a pyschological drama and then turned into a Video game. Great for kids and your average viewer but I dislike stuff like that immensly. The theatrical ending fitted the theatrical feature. Maybe the alternate ending may have fitted the true film before it was edited into a piece of mindless tosh. Who knows maybe it could have been a good film maybe it would have made less money maybe maybe ... Maybe it will all be on the DVD but i should imagine they will dedicate most of it to how they created the infected using CGI for the Fanboys.

YEA DEFINITLEY I COULDNT AGREE MORE, THE ENDING IN THE THEATRICAL VERSION DID SORT OF RUIN THE WHOLE FLOW OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND LEFT US OFF ON AN INCOMPLETE SORT OF BASE. THIS ENDING, EVEN THOUGH IT DOES APPEAR SORT OF INCOMPLETE SOMEHOW OVERCOMES THAT OBSTACLE BY ADDING ANOTHER DIMENSION TO THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF THE MOVIE.

This ending is wayyyy better...it makes more sense but I guess this ending clip will be a myth, a legend to some of us.

Didn't read the book. Normally I do, and i usually prefer the book over the movie. I decided to see the movie, then read the book. I will read it soon. Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie. I like the fact that Neville dies and becomes a legend for all of humanity in the future. The savior of life as you and I know it. I'm really not sure how I would of felt about the alternate ending had i seen it instead. I think it would not have been as satisfying, because it was kind of anticlimactic. Also Eve made a good point; that alternate ending didn't fit the film as well as the one i saw at the movies. I didn't really like the look of the vampires, but they were pretty intense. Great action sequences too. Gotta say best movie i saw this year. And I think i'll like the book too!

It's a far more interesting idea for Neville to be the "legend" to the new society of creatures than the same-old cheesy "savior of humanity" ending. The book got it right; the movie just doesn't get it.

its too bad thats not the original ending i saw because i would have been alot more satisfied with it

No doubt ... this is how the movie's ending should have been done and not the other way around. I trully don't know why they didn't keep this one. This movie was a true piece of art. However, by watching the original ending, I was not happy because a hero should remain alive in the story. True, in some stories the hero could die and beomce a martyr. But I preffer this new ending. It represents peace, a reward for someone's true believe in accomplishing something while hope is almost gone, a challenging decision from the hero when his woman was trying to make up his mind to stay behind the safety door and not to face the enemies, a loving ending clear and simple. Too bad it was not the original ending .....it would have been the best movie 2007-2008. Ohh well... Decision making should be critical like they say.

WOW! That ending was so much better! I would have seen that at least 5 times in the theater if they used that ending! But because they used the other ending I only paid to see it once. WB could have made a lot more money!

i loved the movie till the vampires attack the lab.. but killing neville frustrated me... after seeing it the whole movie gets bugged... but if dey had used this one, people have surely loved it... i love dis ending.. atleast in DVD they shud use this climax rather than the previous one...

I loved this new ending, I must say that the theatrical ending didn't make me happy, I felt like it was missing something, now I know what it was... Greetings from Chile and thanks for showing this alternate ending

I read the book years ago and liked it very much. I have also seen the original movie and the first remake with Charlton Heston. I believe, had WB left the alternative ending in place, this version would have been the most powerful. I certainly would have left the theater with a much more positive feeling about the end. As it was, I left scratching my head (as is often the case with movies) wondering what they were thinking. No worries. It's just a movie and I liked it. Sean's comparison to McCarthy's "The Road" is spot on. Now that "No Country for Old Men" won all those awards, it's likely that "The Road" will become a movie as well. We can pretty much take it to the bank that the moron execs in Hollywood will screw up the ending. Too bad. It's a great story.

I read the book in a day and finished it minutes before watching the movie. I really enjoyed the movie until the end, which was "not enough". This ending is much much better than the movie one, it is at least related to the "legend" concept of Richard Matheson. Wouldn't this ending be better for "I am legend 2" with Will Smith?

Sorry, the CGI monsters in this are so bad, no alternate ending even matters, and this "new" ending is not better anyway. It flies in the face of absolutely everything that comes before. The movie establishes from the first frame that Neville is alone and shattered and suicidal and that the monsters (not vampires) are souless killing machines, and that's why the movie ended the way it did. To have the monsters suddenly appear sensative and loving, and to have Neville live, or even want to live, is the exact opposite of everything that went before and makes no sense. This film, because of the terrible CGI of the monsters and the relatively boring, predicitable pacing of the entire film, makes it one of the worst of the year. This film will soon be forgotten and will not hold up as time goes by and the only reason it's even still around (DVD) is because it made so much money. You fan boys will watch anything the Hollywood money pit throws at you; really sad.

I think this ending is a lot better than the theatrical version because it isn't just the typical Hollywood and-the-day-is-saved ending. It seems that every single movie these days has to end all happy and everything is back to normal. This ending is a lot more realistic. And makes much more sense - Much more fitting.

this alternative ending is much better than the original,

Dude, why didn't they use this. I hate how people can change a movie and ruin it. I was so disappointed by the ending they used. It just dropped off and did that cliche: "He sacrificed himself to make life better for others" thing. Matheson's ending was so profound and unexpected and this ending actually gets at that. It's not the book, but at least it uses the concept.

I would have been more satisified with this ending instead of the original.

I thought that this ending was interesting, it was more interesting than the original. However, I do not prefer this ending over the original. I don't think that the "book argument" is even valid because I don't believe that one can even compare the movie to the book. The book is so different that I could potentially argue several changes that I would have made if and only if I were trying to make the movie an exact replica of the book. Obviously that wasn't the goal. I like the book and the movie equally. I'm sure I would like the book and all the other movies that have been inspired by Matheson's "I am Legend" equally. I'm sure each one has its differences. It personally dissatisfies me when a movie unrealistically ends in happiness. I'm sorry. It almost seems rather cheesy. Either way, both endings probably would have "disappointed" me in a sense that ...Yeah, I would have liked to see more of the outside world, maybe all the answers for the audience, maybe a conclusion to how the cure worked. Unfortunately film makers don't have all of eternity to finish off every last detail to satisfy their audience. I can only assume that film-makers leave these details to the audience's imagination. I'm not a film-maker but I were, I would expect my audience to trust the final decision. Not very many people may know specifically what the reasons are behind why the ending was chosen, or wasn't chosen, but I feel like I can make an educated guess. If my opinion isn't obvious to a particular, then I don't think summarizing it will be of any hope either. Unfortunately, those of us that are on this forum don't have the capability to decide whether to add the idea of pretty clouds, happy sunshines, and glittering rainbows or the realistic (in this case) idea of death and destruction. In both endings the film-makers' idea of hope is still exemplified. I appreciate both endings' illustrations, but I think I prefer the original ending the most. This is my comment. Not my condemnation.

Oh. Was this movie based on a novel? I thought it was a sequel of the Residence Evil videogames and movies. Let's be serious. The alternate ending may fit with the book, but it doesn't fit at all with the movie. They are all brainless monsters because infected by a virus (like resident Evil indeed) and in the new ending the girl is the fiancee of the leader? What? There is even a leader? Nonsense. The movie is wrong since the beginning and the new ending would make it even worse. Yeah, the Hollywood hero that stays alive and conquers the faith of the zombies. Happy ending and all stuff like that. And guess what? Now WB will make even moooore moneyin DVDs because of the alternate ending. Call them stupid.

This ending was much better. Leavse open for a second movie

I like the theatrical ending better. The theatrical ending signifies that the vampires are monsters and Neville is a hero for finding a way to save humanity. I did not the read the book nor do I care about the book's meaning. The movie stands alone for me as I suspect it does for most movie viewers. The theatrical ending gives hope to overcoming human's problems. This alternative ending and the book's meaning but humanity, us, as some sort of monsters. I am not interested nor do I subscribe to such ideas. I have no quarrel with those who view it otherwise. This is simply my preference and beliefs.

I really liked it. It would've done nicer as the primary ending. Consider this my two cents.

I think that this ending was better by far, but as for the scary factor it killed it. It fits much better with the movie, but WB was right in that certain people would rather see something scary than something heartfelt.

I don't know, I really did like that version, but it seemed sort of far-fetched. I think the concept of keeping the altered humans in an aggressive state is pretty important because we see them as the enemy. If we perceive them to have human emotions (aside from the attachment the male has to the female) we become to sympathetic to our "enemy". I liked both versions. I felt satisfied with both really. But for theatrical release, I would have left with Neville's abrupt death. While you may think the theatrical ending sucks, the worst part of the movie was when his dog caught the bug. :*(

I went to watch this movie without any idea what it was about, frankly. I enjoyed it. And liked it even more because well, for a change, the main character dies. I was duly entertained, and a completely empty Manhattan was eeriely well done. You glimpse the enormity of the loss, because everything is quiet. Going by the comments as I have not read the book, I have to agree that an amalgation of the theatrical ending and the alternate ending would have worked better (this ending, while showing the remnants of humanity in the infected humans, and while powerful, had a too fluffy ending, despite the 'I am a monster to the monsters' realization - and yes I echo 'how did the woman get in with the kid and how did they supposedly leave question. A good amalgation might have been to have Neville get the blood, give it to the girl, and then take out the infected woman to the rest of the infected. Cue soft fluffy scene with the infected's leader and the girl tying up the budding cultural/intelligence development the movie built with Neville looking at the wall with the pictures of the infected he'd experimented on, realizing what he's become... a horrific legendary monster to a primitive intelligence. then, the leader giving the others the go ahead to kill Neville - regardless of whatever else you think, you DO establish that humans are food for the infected. That's when Neville blows them all up to kingdom come with a grenade he had stashed in his pocket - because this ending had me go "WTF why are you going out there? Unarmed?" This alternate ending seemed unrealistic in that he was, while bracing to be attacked and eaten, also counting that he would be allowed to move around provided he moved slowly and non-threateningly. Then the girl and the boy leave, with the blood, broadcasting their last message, with some scrapes and bandaged up wounds to show, leaving the audience guessing - and the ending open-ended as to whether or not they found other people still alive. And Neville dies, as legends are supposed to. That's just my two cents.

"The hero should remain alive at the end", the most used reason why people say they prefer the alternate ending. In other words what you wanted was teen oriented feel good popcorn fodder, cure the world, get the girl, ride off into the sunset. Strange also that those fluffing the alternate so much are comparing it to the books ending, when the alternate ending is the exact opposite of the ethos of the original book, whereas the theatrical ending is the spirit of it, as it was in Omega Man and I Am Legend. All i see from the comments here are a bunch of kind, in mind even if not in body that cannot take a film that doesn't give them a rosy glow, Disney provide movies for folks with that mindset...

of course i prefer this ending jonni - italy

yea this ending's much nicer ! .. tho i sorta wish it was a combination of the two if u know what i mean? like him finding the cure at the same time that he realises the vampire was just after the lady vampire ... then again, that wld be a perfect ending for a perfect world (which we aren't part of btw) lol. but yea, theatrical ending def got me frustrated..

much better than the theatrical ending. three thumbs up. change it.

MUCH better than the original, unity of setting and all!

I had not read the book and I did not get the same insight as other posters about the ending. I would have been puzzled by this ending had I seen in in a theater. That said, now that I understand the book and the "legend" better- this would have made a better ending. It would have required more... explanation in the movie though. When you read the book first, you don't realize how much more you can "get" in the movie than those who have not read it.

Incredible. Like most others, I found the original ending terribly disappointing. This ending made much more sense, and really played out better than the "hey, let's just blow the joint up" ending.

The ultimate ending was much better than the original, I don't know how WB messed up what could have been a decent movie. The fact that the infected show signs of intelligence earlier in the movie when they capture Neville's dog, suggests that at some point in the plot there will be some form of communication between Neville and the infected. But to no avail, WB instead of taking advantage of this critical element decided to instead do all the talking with a grenade. If I wanted sub par plots and explosions, I would have rented Rambo. I am banning WB for a while because of this, cause there is no way they will give me my money back or fix the ending that they ruined by selling it on a special edition DVD.

Color me underwhelmed by this ending. I don't care if it's more faithful to the book, it's very cheesy and schmaltzy.

This film is CRAP... no matter what ending it has.

I knew that the moment the creature jumped out into the sun light after Robert captured the female creature, that it had something to do with the leader caring for the captured creature (and even though when Robert was voice recording the behavior he said that all traces of humanity were gone. . . I was expecting him to say that he found it peculiar that the leader would jump out into sun light and risk death for one of their own and show signs of intelligence) This alternate ending makes much more sense but from reading the comments above, I guess there is even more hidden things in the book. That will be for sure one of my books to read very soon. Thanks for posting the alternate ending. I kinda seemed cheesy that they would just leave him alone in his basement after getting the female creature back, but at the same time i was expecting that the creature leader would speak some sort of cave-man English and show that they were intelligent. The actual ending is horrible IMHO because of the heroic antics and that she makes it to the supposed village of uninfected people. . . Great movie either way! Too bad Sam died *tear*.

i really love this ending, but i see why they left it out. i think most moviegoers wouldn't have understood it. without really thinking about the ideas and the concepts the film and story are based on, which most people who go to see action movies, or movies of any kind, aren't going to do, it wouldn't have made sense. without a voiceover epxlaining what it means for that to happen, and for him to look at all the photos, i think it would have been confusing, because in movies the humans are always the good guys and the monsters are always the bad guys and anything else isn't going to fl unless explicitly explained. however, i do really love it and prefer it to the original.

This ending made so much more sense. The elaborate trap to kill Neville's dog, etc., all created a story arc that this "vampire" simply wanted his girl back (I mean, DUH). The fact that a brilliant scientist couldn't deduct it and believed them to have no semblance to human nature/communities was absurd. Had this ending been in the theatrical version, I might not have wanted my money back upon leaving the theater. There was such an opportunity to touch on the paradigms of Other (us vs. them), social constructs, etc. It just seemed as if the producers dumbed it down to the lowest common denominator. Which, of course, given the rampant idiocy out there, is probably why it was such a blockbuster. Thanks for providing this!

Brilliant ending. I really liked the movie up until the end. The alternate ending would have been more satisfying.

I don't understand. Why didn't they use this ending? It is so much better than the one they used? BTW didn't they blow all the bridges up? I only saw the movie once, so I could be wrong.

Hey Scott (#11) why don't you tell us what you really think...

I'm incredibly impressed by this. I thought I saw some promise when we saw the male freaking out early on, his reaching out for her and getting burned hinted at an ending like this. It was just left dangling with the theatrical release. This ending is so much better.

it's much better, when I watched the movie the first time I had this impression that the end looked so so bad! and the entire movie was short! I'm so sorry they didn't use this end, hopefully they will put this end on the dvd version!... we'll see ikkio

This is the real ending, not the choosen one! Hoping in a director's cut version.

Personally I would not have minded, as comment 288 pointed out a mixed ending. I would have liked to see Neville give the woman the blood, and then bring the vampire woman out to the Alpha vampire, then when the vampires are gone he'd send the woman away, and we'd see her driving away broadcasting the message. Then it cuts back to Neville staring at the wall of pictures of vampires he killed, then he would shoot himself in the head and it would end.

I would have liked to see vampire flashbacks. For instance, the vampire patient the Neville almost "cured" could have flashbacked as she was getting back to being human. She could have flashbacked to her illness and turning vampire, during which maybe she kills and eats her own baby. As she is being cured she remembers what she did, and dozens of other deprications, and begs Neville to kill her, or let her stay a vampire, rather than return to being human and tortured by memories of what she did.

Loved the new endin! I found the theatrical one dry and it left you with a bad taste in ur mouth. The original one portrays vampires as capable of loving and feeling. This was truly amazing. It also portrays Neville as finally realising that he does not listen in more ways than one! A cruel reminder of how he perhaps should have listened to his wife years back. Great to see this version since I hated the ending of the theatrical one!

First off, great post. I'm a huge fan of the movie & I'm currently reading the book now. I do have to say that I disagree w/ you about the alternate ending being better though. In my opinion the version we saw in theaters was way better. Why, well for a few reasons. First. Not everything has to be like its original (In this case, why make it like the book. That story has been told why revisit it, I welcome a refreshing new look on things). Secondly, Will's character giving up the girl to the head Hive creature makes no sense if she has the cure in her. They'd (the Hive) reject her & possibly kill her once she's fully healed, not to mention her rejection/fear of them. Another thing that didn't make sense was when the head Hive stopped to wipe his hands on the glass (& paused), ......at what point was it established that these things weren't beasts anymore. Although I know they were once human I don't buy the sudden surge of emotional intelligence. That takes away from the fact that Neville was ALONE fearing for his life against a world of incoherent MONSTERS (it just seems less dangerous/adventurous all of a sudden,). This type of communication between Neville & the Hive is too much like spoon feeding the audience (why not accept that this man is in a lonely struggle but "is" working his way out via his lab studies, not that the he & the beast sympathizes for each other). Having the moment when the monster couple cuddled was too Hollywood typical. I'm a fan of love & all, but why must it be in everything (movie)...it didn't fit the format what so ever. Not having Neville die in the alternate ruined it for me (whether he did in the book or not....haven't gotten there yet) because it crushes his true legend. Living legends are good, but we all know dead legends are more glamorous. Again, I do want to say that this was a great post & I'm glad you still did like the theatrical release of the movie, but to me this alternate ending was just too....easy.

This was a slightly better ending. There should be a third variant. But since there isn't then back to the second. The second is missing some scenes. Between the scene where they cut from the underground lab to the above ground daytime shot there needs to be about 5-10 minutes of more footage to blend/smooth it out. There could actually be a real final climax in there as well but otherwise this ending is also lacking.

Sorry but no... I disagree. Robert Neville has to die at the end of this story, otherwise it should really have been called "I am living-legend". It's been a while since I read it, but, to me, the concept that Matheson was trying to get across is that we are so self-righteous that even if (in the case of Neville) there was only one human on the planet, his right to survive would superceed any other creature's (i.e. the infected). The execution of Neville in the book is key, and I would have loved to see something similar. I enjoyed the Lawrence adaptation, but always felt that the ending was a let down. I don't think this alternative is particularly enkeeping with the rest of the story though. The idea of absolute loss of human emotion is introduced during the story (by Neville); all that is left of the infected, is the necessity to survive. I agree with some previous posts that a mix-ending may have been best. In short, Neville must die, and preferably not by his own hand!

absolutely loved this alternative ending. so much better than the one shown in theaters :]

I think this endig makes more sense than the other one respect to the continuity of the movie (head monster braves the sun, neville comments about it but thinks they are still animals, they set him up thus showing they are intelligent...) and I was kinda expecting the love between monsters to come out at the end...but it's also true that this ending doesn't make sense because the monsters should tear him to pieces so I agree with comment 288..thx 4 the post btw

Agreed. I prefer this ending. It suits the movie title.

Hmmm, pretty good. But not very emotional for me. Indeed, I felt Neville's sacrifice was more emotional in the original ending. Personally, I don't care what the creatures percieve Neville as, because they no longer care. It's apparant that their only reason for living, is to feed. Neville should be a legend to the survivors, as it is his voice that leads Anna to him, and eventually saves the world(we are lead to assume.) This is a good substitute, but not as good as the original ending.

So, did a roomful of people watch both of these and unanimously choose the worst ending to put into the theaters? This alternate was a wonderful ending. The movie ending was awful. It was a borderline Rambo-style ending for the character.

I love the book and I think this alternative ending is much, much better than the "original" one. I wish this was the version out in the theaters and not that crappy one...

That was great. When I saw this movie, I was disappointed that they did not even explain the whole concept of the book/movie title. The whole idea that he was a legend for finding the cure is totally off-tangent with the book that I read the book again just to feel better. This ending is better suited to the book, but Neville was supposed to die by the hands of the vampires for them to achieve their own justice.

I very much rather this ending than the one in the theatical version. First off for the simple fact that the theatrical version didnt keep up with the "connection" the lead vampire had with the female vampire. It showed a glimpse of how the lead vampire felt after Neville captured her, but didnt follow through enough to be sure of it. This ending showed the actual feelings of it all and how they felt towards Robert Neville. Its ironic that him trying to fix his mistake was a mistake all along. Crazy. The relationship with him and Sam was just all too real and amazing. I LOVED the fact that it wasnt one of those "hero falls in love with girl, live happily ever after" The love for the female actress in this movie was his best friend and companion sam. And believe me, i cried when he had to let her go.

Hoy crap! I never read the book, but that was an ENDING, not just an end to the movie, like they actually showed. This would have been SO much better.

it was way better then the cinema version.

A very good article Alex and thanks for sharing the alternate ending. I watched the theatrical version last night and even with no prior knowledge of Richard Matheson's book the ending did feel a bit like a cop out. The alternative seemed to 'fit' so much better. Watching the movie I did wonder about the idea of a zombie/vampire/whatever 'society' but the theatrical version obviously didn't go down that road. Thanks again.

Oh and this ending was WAY BETTER, I felt it gave much more feeling to the movie, and I LOVE that they didn't show some survivor colony surrounded by some 12 foot wall that the vampires just couldn't seem to climb/ was too cold to go out and find, which is crap because last February in Manhattan I freezed my ass of in 15 degree weather. Thanks for posting the clip!!!!!

This ending makes this film strong and a story with a message i cant understand why WB thought their ending was better.

I have not read the novel, but the theatrical ending, looking at I am Legend from a zombie-like survival movie point of view, was a complete let down. When the movie started I was excited to see a new take on the genre, which usually follows an average person during the zombie/monster take-over. I am Legend shows what happens long after humans are nearly all gone, from the perspective of someone who knows how to survive. The original ending seems to fit much better, and it's interesting that he is still alive at the end. His survival implies that, at the end of an epidemic, those immune to whatever happened will proceed with their now-somewhat-different lives separate from those infected/affected. I'm not sure if that would be accurate, but it's interesting to think about.

It'd be cool if they used real people as zombies in the movie instead of the TERRIBLE CG atrocities that made the final cut (the effects studio responsible for these crimes should be ashamed of themselves). Actually, the fact that they didn't (use real people) is another reason on top of many as to why this was one of the biggest steaming piles of shit ever pushed out by Hollywood. See what happens when they get a good story? They dress it up with Will Smith in a Mustang (how the fuck was that car spotless) and proceed to shit all over any sort of artistic integrity the original author possessed.

I don't like the new ending...and I wasn't crazy about the original either. In this new one it's appears like, "Hey, the zombies aren't that bad, and Will Smith gets to live!" I've never read the book, and they appear to be zombies, and one glance at the wall by Will Smith doesn't make me understand..."Wait, Neville is the bad guy!" You have to understand from the point of view of a person who's never read the book that Will Smith has been built up as a good guy for 2 hours. If you expect a person to figure that out from one glance to the wall, when they're geared mentally towards an action flick, good luck with that. This alternate ending only makes sense if you've read the book and I would guess less than 10 percent of the people who saw the movie read the book. Of course, the original theatrical ending was crap too. I knew she was going to find the village. Can't send people out of the theater without a happy ending. Can't have a gray area for them to fill in the blanks. The book ending sounds pretty kick ass, but it would never happen in the modern cinema. Hell, I was shocked they killed off the main character in the theater ending...how will they get a sequel?

WOW. What a joke of an ending. Seeing how many people though prefer it to the original, I can see why they went with the original one instead. Sorry folks, but just because you have been fed sappy happy ending after happy ending for pretty much every movie put out by Hollywood doesn't mean that when they decide to actually kill off the protagonist is a mistake on part of the studio. Looking at this alternate one and watching Will Smith try to play all hurt and remorseful was like a kick in the nuts. What crap! Oh yeah, gotta laugh at the people who say "WB Made a mistake!!!!!". Yeah, as if you'd know, you peons.

WOW!!!! Great I'd but this on Blueray The original ending was kina week and a letdown Thanks for posting this Phillip.

1. these things shouldnt have feelings. 2. if he were to make it out alive, he wouldnt be a legend, he'd be a hero and eventually forgotten, then turned into a folk tale. therefore, even though the movie was shit, the ended was upgraded.

I much prefer this ending.

This ending was better than the theatrical. I could stand to watch the whole movie again knowing this was coming rather than the putrid garbage at the end of the theatrical release. Its still nowhere near as good as the novels ending. I wish film makers and studios would start staying a bit more true to stories that have dark endings rather than making them "happy" so the mindless masses will pay the ticket price.

This ending is much better, this should have been the theatrical release's ending. Much more thought provoking then Neville simply blowing himself up. Although it does raise further questions for me as to how much humanity the other vampires have, do they also retain any shred of humanity left themselves for wanting to protect their loved ones (if they have any).. or if they are simply drones willing to throw themselves mindlessly in harms way under their leaders bidding, which was the way it seemed throughout the entire movie. This ending still wasn't perfect though as per usual Hollywood still cannot seem to offer any other alternate then endings then that which are 'happy'.

I'd have prefered it if he'd shot the lead vamp then jumped in the garbage chute and blown the lab up , its what i'd have done!

This ending sucked just like the movie....

I haven't read the book at all, though I may hunt it down now. My brother was the one that recommended the film to me, and he mentioned having some issues with the ending. I am pretty sure he was unaware of the alternate ending, just as I was. Having watched the original ending I have to agree that it would have made a much better end to the movie. I think it gave a little more explanation to why the vampire creatures had followed them back, and it just seemed to work so much better.

Here's the facts the way I see it. I liked the alt ending better, it fit the movie well, but still wasn't as good as the novel. I read the book years before there was even mention of a movie. I loved it, and was just about sick when I discovered that a movie remake was being made with Will Smith of all people playin Neville. I like Smithie quite a lot, but he doesn't fit the character at all- there is nothing generic and ambiguous about him at all. Anyway, the film wasn't as bad as I expected, it had a few good ideas thrown in there and was quite entertaining- but the special effects destroyed half of it, and the ending was a joke. This alternate ending is certainly an improvement, it feels like much more of a conclusion- ending one conflict and leaving it open as to what happens next. Some who haven't read the book TOTALLY do not understand what it's all about, or what actually happens in the conclusion of the novel. Book spoilers here. The ending for those who want to read it, I'm doing this out of (controlled ) anger at the people who clearly think the book is based on the movie. Basically, Neville spots the first person he has seen in 5 years or somewhat. He grabs her an basically 'naps her, because he hasn't had human contact in quite a while. Then, a bit later, he grabs her wrist and some of her tan rubs off on him. He realises that she is in fact a Vampire, adapted to living in sunlight, with all this special chemical business. She is, in fact a Special Forces/ Secret Service member of some sort, a kind of spy who has been sent to infiltrate his household. In fact it turns out that a whole wee society of vampires has grown up elsewhere, totally civilised, and the legend of him killing hundreds of their numbers has been passed along, possibly cross-country- YES Vampires can actually talk, it's clear some people who haven't read the book do not understand this. After discovering the woman is a Vampire, a bunch of Vampires in SWAT gear burst in, killing a number of the other Vampires (who are like animals in their eyes) and nab Neville. In the conclusion, Neville is being held in a prison, waiting for execution- just like any death penalty in America or anywhere else- because he has killed so many (the alt ending seemed to get this right in the movie adaptation, but it was a bit more sentimental/ less deadly), and the woman he saw before comes along and gives him some pills so that he dies peacefully before they execute him. He realises the way perception of the legend has been twisted, and that he is now a Legend himself. The last line being: "I Am Legend."

99% of you have no place to debate the quality of the ending when you haven't read the book. Read it. The ending would have been better if it was done the same way as the book. They missed the boat on this one. Although I understand moving the story into a city rather than a suburb, the entire movie was inaccurate from start to finish. Both endings are awful. The author of this article isn't brilliant either. Rather than show support for an alternate ending, someone should let Warner Brothers know that this "interpretation" as Billington so cleverly put it, is barely even similar to the book because they literally rewrote the whole thing. The only constants I saw were that there was a guy still alive and killing vampires, vampires, and a dog. DIAF.

Awesome. I wish that had been the original ending.

This ending was much better. Thanks.

didn't like the ending in the theater, loved this ending... end of my story!

I really don't understand why they didn't go with this ending. The one shown in the theaters wasn't really bad, but all of the build up with the main vampire being obviously "emotionally-attached" in some way to the girl doesn't pan out very well in the original ending. In my opinion, the alternate makes much more sense and actually challenges our view of what it means to be "life-deserving". I would not have purchased this movie with the theater ending...it's just lacking something.

Well that truly was amazing it really did make me a bit upset! I think that should definately have been on the movie or even put on the DVD as an extra when it comes out. I am a HUGE Will Smith fan and i think that he has done very well in this film. But that ending was absolutley....well im just speechless. Thanks for showing it XD

this was the goods, however there is should be no lady and child, and freshprince should die at ends

Never did like the ending in the theater and was confused because in previews you see neville and the head vamp face to face...this is THE ending, much more what I expected and it storylines the book better. I hated the act that there was some village and humans were slowly gathering back together. Takes the LEGEND part out of the whole story

Wait, are you suggesting that Warner Brothers -- The WB, fer crying out loud! -- might have made a . . . mistake in going with the bang-up ending? P-shaw! These are EXPERTS! How dare you second guess them. Blah, blah, blah. WITH THAT ENDING, the movie swings, baby. Absolutely fantastic. AND it clears up a mystery: once upon a PR time, there was talk amongst the WB boffins of how they are looking to the the Disney / PotC thang with everything with their initials on it and spin Neville into a multi-part hero. Heck, with THAT set up (the no-see-um version, that is), it coulda gone James Bond-like. Or, uh, original Planet of the Apes-esque. Hmmm . . . Or . . . right! Genius! Gangway for Success! A Cavemen-like spin-off (http://imdb.com/title/tt0981216/) for TV: Dash Mihok & Joanna Numata in "The Honeymooners Redux." Or it just coulda been Ms. Numata siting around for a half-an-hour. That'd been pretty watchable, too.

I really liked both endings. But I like the original ending better, because the good guy can't always win. But, I liked both endings.

This was a real happy ending but I like the theatrical ending better. It makes you feel the sorrow and agony the hero had to experience all alone. This feeling would vanish it was a happy ending. Anyway, with either ending the movie was very good.

I love this ending so much more than the one the studio selected. The humanity of it is so touching. We need violence to feel satisfied.

I liked this ending better overall, but Neville still should have died. The book's whole purpose was to show how Neville was the legend to the vampires, much like they are to us. When I first saw the movie, I thought Anna was going to be the evolved vampire and lure Neville into his capture. It was changed for this, fine. Perhaps Neville could have sent them away and he stayed behind to attempt more research, and that is when the vampires could execute him. This ending was closer to the fantastic ending of the book, but it still could have been better.

both endings are horrible...

The sheer stupidity of the original article and most of the prior comments has driven me to post... For the record, there are about to be spoilers: I have seen only a few that got it right earlier in their comments. The whole point of the book was that in the end, Robert Neville was the "legend." The one that was now different, and no longer fit into the society. This is not addressed AT ALL by either ending. We have the one where he dies (which is at least right), but then there's an entire colony of people thriving, and fighting back. So far off I'm not even going there. Or, we can choose the ending that Neville survives in (WHAT!?) because the vampires that have been going after him the entire time decide that the love interest? of the main vampire is now more important than their animalistic instincts. Had the rest of the movie actually followed the book a little better this actually would have been tolerable. In the book the vampires were split into 2 distinct groups, the more pure ones, that were actually intelligent, and even talked to Neville (with words, not just growls and nasty looks), and the wild ones, that were even hunted by the first group. The intelligent (book) vampires might have been capable of such an act; allowing Neville to live in return for one their own back. But not the movie vampires. Not once did they show such intelligence. How anyone could say that the new ending is closer to the original is beyond me? They're both so far from the original that their difference in negligible. Now that I've gotten most of the rant out of my system (I could easily write a lot more about why both endings sucked in comparison to the book) I will say that the movie was enjoyable at points as just a stand alone movie, but not as "I Am Legend." And if anything I prefer the theatrical ending, because they do not suddenly change the dynamics of the vampires, and Neville still dies. It's rare to actually see a movie that allows the main protagonist to die in the end.

I've never read the book. But as I was watching the last few minutes, I was actually expecting something like the alternate ending. The theatrical ending was abrupt, unexpected. We want our heroes to live, and we want our legends to actually be legendary. The alternate ending provided both. Thanks!

I actually preferred the ending in the movie! @ Ramon how does the alternate ending make him legendary? In the movie ending he sacrifices himself for the good of humanity, in this ending he realises that his studies have been disproven and there is an element of humanity left in the dark seekers. This alternative ending leaves too many holes in my opinion. I'd rather see heroes go out in a blaze of glory any day than ride off into the sunset with the woman slung over his horse, maybe a spagetti western would suit better

If you have a question and you haven't read the book, then you should read the book. It is really short, maybe 200 pages. Easy read.

This ending makes much more sense in the plot of the movie. You clearly see that the lead "Dark Seeker" has a grudge against Neville and with the ending shown in theaters you don't get a resolution as to why did he set him up, why did they pursue him now, considering he's been around for over three years. The concept of him being reversed from the vampire legend is great and I appreciate the movie so much more thinking this is the message that could be transmitted.

Both endinds are good enough for me. I did not read the book yet, so I think this way, the director will always have the chance to sell director's cut movie... more money

Wow. I don't think it directly addressed the theme of Mattheson's story exceptionally well, but it did acknowedge it at least, and it is many, many, times better than the theatrical version. Had this version been attached to the end of the theatrical release, I believe Will Smith may have received an Oscar nomination.

This is SO much better..... oh wow.

WOW!!!, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, BEAUTIFUL, EXCELLENT, this is the REAL end, i saw the film, and definitively, i prefer this end, is better, I LOVE IT!

Wow... When I saw the fim at the theater all I could think of was "I feel bad, I feel bad and I don't want to go to the cinema and end up in a bad mood... It's not my idea of entertainment..." I felt sad, because, although I hadn't read the book, as the film developed I was waiting for a real climax, and I hadn't ot it. I was expecting something that would show that the vampires were not just irrational monsters... Neville mentions somewhere in the film that they have no rules, no hierarchy, no bit of humanity at all... but a couple of times the film showed a primal hierarchy, with that vampire leader actually leading... So I was waiting for an ending that would reveal that fact, that the monsters were somehow contempt with their fate, that although they were not really humans, they thrived, that they were not just monsters but a new species... (now that I think of it, the fact that, with all their violence, they were able to live together without killing themselves was an obvious tip in that direction... they hunted only others, so they were self-conscious...) And here it comes and I get to see the very ending I was hoping for develop under my eyes.... just amazing!!!

WOW, DOESNT MAKE SENSE NO WONDER THEY CHANGED THE ENDING

from a visually artistic perspective, i am so glad that warner brothers decided to include this ending in the dvd. i worked on the visual effects on this movie and was so disappointed when we were told to redo the ending. our zombies looked amazing in this sequence. we never get to really see them up close until then. many, many hours and tons of sweat were spent getting them to look this good and then have the shots deleted was very disheartening. this happens all the time in our industry, but this one was a tough one to take. i hope everyone who sees this new ending will enjoy it as much as most of you have.

I was really excited to hear this book had made it to screen....and with one of my favourite actors to boot. I loved the entire film until the end. The altruistic self-sacrifice is moving, and is also parallel to Matheson's final scene.....however the way it played out completely disregarded Matheson's entire concept. To become a legend, Man must die. The original ending was formulaic hollywod - cotton candy gratification that dissolves as quickly as you begin to taste it. It followed the formula of every zombie flick ever - man's last stand against the monster, and in the end, the last few stragglers drive off into the sunset, carrying nothing but hope. I love zombie flicks, and I love the formula. ....But in this case I think it was dishonest to brand the movie in Matheson's name and discard the humanity in the monsters. Those moviegoers who came because they loved the book were buying tickets to the wrong movie. This alternate ending, while still a drastic change from the book, finally does justice to the monsters, and the book's concept. It comes closer, and it is Much Better! Still, I would like to see Hollywood take a risk, and accept the finality in the Matheson ending. Let mankind die. It's just a movie after all.

I thanks you fo this ending. It's not like the book, but it shows why Ben keeps coming back. To the people who don't know who Ben is, he's the 'lead' vampire.

I liked this ending more than the theatrical ending simply because it ties the book and the rest of the movie together (somewhat). I think that Neville should have died in this ending though, although it may have been a bit too much for people who haven't read the book to process. I think by killing him it would have showed that the new species (I can't find myself calling them vampires after watching them onscreen) were a society and not simply mindless killers. This ending showed that they had a leader and, obviously, rules, since the other members of the group respected the wishes of the leader. By Neville being taken away and deliberating about what he has done before his execution it would have allowed the viewers to understand the concept behind the book without even reading it. Perhaps using a more direct method of showing the number of them he has killed in his drive to restore normality or what he considers normal than just having the shot of the test subjects at the end.

I loved this ending more than what we saw in the theater, but I agree with Travis in that it should have played out more like the book (though I'm not certain I agree with Travis' statements on God and religion). Neville should have been captured and possibly killed. However, since I know they're already working on a sequel this ending - or an ending like the one Travis described where (like in Mark Protosevich's original script) Neville escapes - would have allowed Will Smith the chance to be in the next one. Moreover, the writers of part 2 would have had more freedom to pursue the story wherever it went, as this ending left the issue of the survivor colony somewhat ambiguous. (As it is, I don't see how they could continue this franchise with another film without having to star an entirely different cast of characters in an entirely different setting. I just hope the next film won't be about the "brave survivor colony struggling to cure mankind". That could only work if they pulled it off more like a traditional vampire/zombie film, with the Darkseekers attacking the colonists from all sides as in "Resident Evil: Extinction" or "28 Days Later".

Wow... now that's an ending. I bet they redid the ending because screening audience didn't feel "positive" especially when in time of war, a more proper solution/resolution is needed. Simply leaving the city in search of others wasn't enough. They had to make it so there is HOPE. btw, the original book ending is amazing although that will NEVER make it into a hollywood film ending. too bad WB, you missed out and played safe. boo

I haven't read the book. However, I enjoyed this ending much more. This ending ties a few things together that the theatrical version simply left alone. In the theatrical ending you only get to see briefly in Neville that he is noticing some form of human personality in the vampires. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but in this ending when the vampire leader tells everyone to leave, leaving Neville alive.. It reminded me of the part when the lion and family were eating the deer that Neville had been trying to hunt. He left them alone and ordered the dog to as well. So they were able to feel compassion too, apparently. :p

This ending is so much better than the original theatrical. My friends and I actually spent a good thirty minutes after seeing the movie complaining about how stupid the ending was. If this had happened I think we might have complained a little less.

I definitely would have chose this ending rather than the theatrical version. This is actually the ending that I was dying for in the movie. This is probably the greatest ending to a movie I've ever seen.

This was a much better ending. Leave it to the hollywood machine to ruin a great movie based on an exceptional book. Way to go Hollywood!

so i guess im the odd man out cause i loved the way the movie ended. the reason i say this is because it wouldnt make sense to the title if he lives. by dying to protect the cure to protect what he has worked so hard on made him a legend thus the title i am legend so if he didnt die and didnt find a cure the movie should just be title i am robert neville. and to those that say he is a legend in the vampire type creatures eyes i totally disagree for one big reasons they are mindless and did not kill him at the end for all the stuff that he had done to them. this is just what i think though i personally loved the movie it was one of my favorites that i had seen in the past 5 years. ps i never read the book i didnt konw there was one taht could have changed my opinion i dont know

much better and didn't detract from the feeling of the movie... as a matter of fact i feel so much better after that ending. the original theatrical ending was weak.

I have not read the book. I liked the movie until the female showed up and introduced the religeous theme, and I especially hated the ending. The film does set the mutated humans up to being more than what Will Smith's character thinks of them. The guy that thought he fell into his own trap is way off. The theatrical version where Nevile blows up does not fit, the alternate ending allows Nevile to see through his near madness and realize how his wall of experiments was viewed by the mutated humans. His character was too strong to have committed suicide and i could not accept that ending. The movie promos, which were many, voiced by Nevile declared that he was the last man alive, and i nearly walked out when two people showed up stating immunity and that there was a colony of survivors! In the alternate ending the lead mutate "paints" a butterfly on the lab's glass doors and Nevile hears his daughter's reference to the butterfly. He then remembers and checks for the tatto on the back of the female mutate and you can see the flood of realization flow through his face. This is what the movie was building to and we were robbed of. Regardless of the movie's rewrite of the book or a happy or unhappy ending the movies was wrong.

I thought this alt ending was great. It showed an understanding oh some kind. I like both endings, but this new one is great =) Thanks for sharing..

Very emotional ending. To be honest I believe that the released ending is too close with the spirit of the movie, maybe far from the book but appropiate with the movie line. The legend died not survive!

Wow! i have chills! I really enjoyed this movie, until the ending. I rate movies on a regular basis and I dropped the movie one whole star because of the ending. If the alternate would have been shown I would have given this 4 and a half or possibly 5 stars. So emotional and well written/acted.

This version was absolutely amazing. I preffered it completely over the original as it was more interesting and left it with a better feeling overall. This version should have definitely been released in britains theaters

This is closer to ideal than the theater, but if you combine them, you get the ideal ending: 1) He sees that the zombies are going to break through and sends the girl and boy up the chimney or wherever they went 2) He then proceeds to set down the gun, disconnect the zombie girl's IV and open the door 3) He presents her to the lead zombie and he whispers in Smith's ear and then embraces her, pretty much as in the alternate ending 4) All the intimations about him being a serial killer are still made during the hostage exchange, but they are cemented with the final shot being of Smith looking at the wall of photos wondering in self-pity about what he has become FADE OUT If needed, the end credits could be shown over a sky shot of the woman's car driving north to Vermont with some interior shots of the woman and boy as in the theatrical.

That ending is WAY better. The theatrical ending sucked. my g/f and I loved the movie until the ending, which left a very bad taste in our mouths. It was a huge disappointment. Both his irrational suicide and the lameness of them finding that "survivors" town. This alternative ending you just showed was awesome. WB made a mistake by not using it. I completely agree with your feelings of the tension, especially when he made physical contact with the lead bad guy. Wow, what a breath-taker that was.

This ending is way better. I would support your initiative.

This ending was so much better than the one that they showed in theater. It is more realistic. Such as at the very ending, it leaves it open instead of just stopping the story like when the lady and her kid show up at the town... This is an awesome ending!

The movie is ok until the appeareance of Anna 's character then shher crap, apart from special effects , of course. It completeply betrays Richard Matheson's novel. Demagocical. rethorical and a plain spot for right wing propaganda . By the way in 1971 Charlton Heston played the same role ( Robert Neville ) Vampires c. They believe science and technology to be the cause of the war and their punishment, and Neville, as the last symbol of science, the old world, and a "user of the wheel", must die. Neville, using electricty, machinery, and science attempts to hold them at bay. Now the vampires seem to have taken power and starting producing these kind of film in syle " Science fuck s up everything but there's always some God with Plan B .

And further explanation : Omega is the last letter in Ancient Greek Alphabet , thus title meaning , in a more elegant way , The Last Man. Different times , different culture and , alas , different America..

This alternate ending had substance -- the theatrical version was fluff. I will buy the DVD, but only the extended version, because I will NOT watch the stupid theatrical disaster again. I LOVED the compassion shown in the alternate ending. WOW, Great!

I hated the original ending.... i thought it washed out the rest of the film that was brilliant.

After a long awaited time and hearing about this "alternate ending," I finally found it and watched it. I really did not care for the one in theaters but like other movies, it's just they way "they" thought it would work out. I am very pleased by the alternate ending because it really shows that the "other humans" are not really bad and they still have that human side to them, whereas the Theatrical version just shows that they are non human and want to destroy the human race in some terms. I really think WB should have kept the alternate ending because it just ends on a good note with the doctor that started it all, fixing it.

Putting aside any allegiance to the book and looking at I Am Legend as solely a movie, I think the theatrical ending is far superior and less Hollywood than the alternative. What's more smarmy than Will Smith driving over a suddenly "unbombed" bridge with sunlight on his face as a "message of hope" voiceover plays? They got it right the first time. And for the vast majority of people who have not read the book, the closing voiceover in the theatrical ending neatly ties up the "I am legend" title in a bow.

This movie is far better than Charleton Heston's execrable 70's version (The Omega Man), but it's still a poor adaptation of the novel. The alternate ending did humanize the mutants somewhat (though can you really "humanize" poorly rendered CGI?), but it did it at the expense of a happy, cliched Hollywood ending where everyone gets to live and ride off into the sunset.

I've never been one to compare literature to movies... never been a big reader. But I have a brief story as to why I think this alternate plot (middle through ending) would have been so much better... I watched this movie for the first time at home, alone, about two weeks after moving away from my family. That said, I felt an incredible connection to Neville through out the first half of the movie. I kept saying to myself "This is hands down the most engrossing film I have ever watched." Right up until another human showed up. No exaggeration, the feeling of captivation was entirely gone in an instant. Were the movie to have played out with Neville truly being the only human... I imagine I would have kept my feeling of wonderment to the ending credits. Film until Anna: 10/10 Film after Anna: 6/10

the whole movie shouldve been longer.. I like the theatre version and then the idea of having a more hardcore cult following type alternate dvd ending. Gives you a reason to buy the dvd.. But the dvd alternate ending has to be good like this one.Alternate endings should always try to stay true to a book or original screen play etc etc.. Thanks for posting it. WOW!!!! There are always people that dont care about the book that was wriiten before the movie was made so let them have there theatrical version and the true movie buffs can have there alternate endings when the DVD comes out.. FAIR DEAL added not.. the 70;s version of omega man was amazing i thought the whole movie was gonna stay true to that and grow from there.. but whatever this is a good modern twist. they could have showed more of the people in the city getting infected and switching to these zombie / vampires.. infected whatever.. lol God i wish someone would ask me my ideas about these movies i would give you guys instant hits.. i know how to cater to the casual movie goers and the hardcore movie buffs.. but i guess they ran out of money to make the movie alittle better

this is a much better ending than the one that was shown in theatres. when i saw it in theatres the only part of the movie that i thought lacked strength was the ending. now that ive seen this alternate ending the movie makes more sense and has a deeper meaning to me. i think WB should have published this ending in the theatrical movie. i would have been way happier with it, just like many other viewers would. i would have also reccomend it to many more of my friends. if i am any similar to the people in my age group, i think everyone else would have recccomended it to their friends, therefore making even more money for WB. they should have published this ending, no doubt about it.

Honestly I like both endings. For the theatrical because it fit the theme of the movie, the alternate because it was the more powerful and filling ending. Though I think that both were not as strong as they could be, because they didn't go far enough. In the theatrical they really should have made his sacrifice more dramatic and mean more thematically and visually; for the alternate ending they should have had an other scene of screaming vamps putting him "on trial" and executing him. Have a voice over of Neville talking about justice and perspective. I have not read the book and I plan to at some time. My major complaint was the "vamps" look like ass.

I haven't read the book yet. Though the theatrical ending completely ruined the film for me. I much prefer this one. I s'pose it gives the whole plot a very real twist, in that, although neville believed he was saving mankind, in turn he was the epitome of evil in the eyes of the "vampires".... I like. =)

I hated this alternate ending. I think this is horrible. While I have never read the book before I feel like this is your typical cheesy ending. The idea of humans talking and becoming emotionally attached to vampires is just nuts. More so, how many times do you see a movie where the lead character makes it out alive and survives. It gets old and boring. I prefer the original ending much more. Because of that ending I became much more attached to Dr. Neviles character, and I am actually willing to watch the movie again. If this ending had been used, I would have felt like I wasted my time watching the movie only to see the same ending as every other movie. Personally I think WB chose right.

Have you watched "Omega Man" with Charlton Heston? I have several times in my younger years. I believe "I Am Legend" was a total remake of "Omega Man" and Hollywood was afraid to change the ending! What a shame. I was hoping for the alternate ending you have shared with us. Will Smith was as good as Charlton Heston in this part. Both actors are legends in my book! Do you think they will make a DVD with the alternate ending included? I would buy it!

I would buy this film on DVD released with this ending. I will not buy it with the theatrical ending. Further, I would have told people that "I Am Legend" was a great film that they should go see. Instead, I told people that it was ok but they should wait for the dvd to get released to one of the chain dvd rental houses. I think Warner Brothers lost out making a lot more money on this film.

This is such a better ending. It actually makes u want to think about what is going to happen next. Thx for revealing it!

I like this ending much better than the theatrical ending. I didn't read the book, but I like it because it seems to fit better with the behavior of the leader when he jumps into the sun and the added aggression.

Well i havent actualy red all the comment just beacause its 3 am here and dont have the time to read them all but.. Like some people say that Neville shouldnt die.. and other say well he should die because you see him and the pictures of all the zombies (human experiments) he killed in the experiments. Well if you place your self in his position..3 years are an eternity when you are alone so humans lose track of being a person that thinks clearly and wouldnt kill somebody but Neville sees those experiments as a solution and with this ending shakes him awake of being the scientist but let him see the way he usually sees things and makes descions.

New ending rules just like green day!

Why oh why didn't they use this ending?!?!!? It would given the movie so much more substance. The ending they used felt so traditional Hollywood it made me sick. "Lets kill the main character in order to induce sympathy from the audience." Wow. I can't wait to show this ending to everyone I know who has seen the movie. In my mind this will forever be the true ending.

I didn't read the book but I think I would have walked away confused with the title and the contents of the movie. In order to understand the title "I am Legend" with the interpretation that you've made, you must have read the book. In order to understand the title in the movie, the ending had to be what was on the theatrical release because the movie itself did not do a good job portraying the man as a legend during the movie. I think its a case of not being able to make everyone happy. The people who read the book, and the people who have not. I did find that the title of the movie, and how the meaning came about in the last 1 minute of the movie quite usual, abrupt, and a bit odd. But it did make sense, but it left me thinking that I would have renamed the movie to something else. "Not Alone" would have made more sense for the movie.

All I can say is, that was truely breath-taking

Noo, don't you think this alternate ending, although VERY breathtaking indeed was a little bit too much? I say this because there really is no way that he could get into that close of contact with the infected without them attacking him &Anna &Ethan, (realistically). True, it would have been nice for a main character to come out alive but not that way. There is no way that (realistically) the infected would leave Neville to be alive after taking the infected girl &doing multiple experiments on her. Also, do you think that knowing he found a cure he would want to leave? If anything, it would cause a whole nother part 2 with how he would take the survivors back to NY to try to get the infected, treat them, etc. In a way, Neville went a little psycho because he did think he was alone, do you think he would change his sanity just like that? I don't think so. I do believe WB chose the right ending, even though it was SOO obvious that he, indeed "was a legend" they should have had Anna say something else. There are a few other things I would have changed like how Anna &Ethan got out alive &what happened after Neville blew everything up. but still, it was a lot better ending than that shiz ^. but nonetheless, the most amazing movie ever! It makes you think about the future, &what's going to happen when someone does find a cure for cancer? Are we gonna take it? haha

Both endings suck to be honest, this ending is relatively better, but they just arent satisfying! This ending is too happy happy for my liking, it is just too improbable for this to happen, its just lame to be honest! The best ending would be for the monsters to end it and kill Neville, I mean the whole love ending thing was cheesy, either way the audience would be disappointed! The biggest complaint with the last ending was that it was too unrealistic, this one would get the same complaints as well, so this ending wont make people happy, lawls!

I much prefer this ending to the one in theaters!! It gave me an entirely different view of the movie and actually made more sense to me. I was thinking all along that the girl 'zombie' that he had may have been the lead zombie's girlfriend or connected to him in some way, but we never actually got that from the movie....it was just a feeling I had. Thank you very much for posting this for all to see!

This was a much better ending and I also think it should have been chosen for the theatrical version. I'm still not happy about Neville not being the last "human" left alive.

OMFG. It is clear that whoever wrote this article is not only an idiot sheep but has also never read the book. In the book there are not only vamps and humans but thinking half-breeds. At the end, the woman who Neville thought was a fellow human turns out to be a half-breed spy and she and her people execute him. This "original" is just more hollywood ending bullshit to make the viewer feel better than they do about the real ending. Admittedly, the theatrical ending and the movie in general had nothing to do with the book, but they went well together anyway and changing out the ending for one that frankly makes no sense is just another way of appeasing the overly sensitive douchebag bitches who cannot stand to see a main character die even if it adds to the message and makes the story more powerful.

Face, you are wrong. in the book they aren't "half-breeds", there are just differences between vampires who are dead humans come back to life, and just humans turned into vampires. the ones that are still alive are actually quite smart and thats how they have the girl infiltrate him. anyway, i like this ending much more. i loved the movie so much but the ending just wasnt what i was hoping for. this isnt exactly like the book either, but much cooler, i think. its weird that he lives in this one, i figured he would die like in the book (which, by the way, if they would have made the ending... and probably the entire movie more like the book, i think it woulda been cooler) but thatsjust my opinion. yep, awesome alternate ending, im gettin the special edition probably on tuesday. this movie owns all faces.

A Much happier ending! One of our members posted this in our forum, and Im glad they did! Thanks for sharing!

I remember when I watched this movie, I actually expected the ending to be something like this, I was actually disappointed when is wasn't.

One must consider how they want to be remembered, the choices you make in life, to bring harm to others you are remembered in a bad way, people eventually will forget about you, and there is no honor in that, but doing something to help people and people know and see you for the good that you do, memories of you will be good ones in which you are honored and respected, you are seen in a good way for good reasons and remembered that way, people won't want to forget you then and those that remain as long as they remember you can see your legend. The movie was great until the end when the main charactor was killed off which was a huge turn off, I thought to myself "Another movie that kills off the main charactor just when the storyline was getting really good and made more sense what are they thinking?????", the scenary of the end itself was great, I'd like to see this version combined with the theatrical version in a way that shows this ending, and then transitions to the small village scene where the main charactor is still alive with the woman and child and takes the vile of blood which is the cure and enters the village leaving the original theatrical scenary intact with an updated narration and the music. Main charactor just playing hero and walking with grenade toward the monsters probably wouldn't have been enough to take them all out anyways and the monsters left would have probably seen and quickly followed or ambushed the woman and child before she'd gotten to the car outside, there's alot of inconsistancies to the theatrical version that just plain sucks ass, I mean sure, he dies and is known as a legend, but a charactor doesn't have to die like that to be a Legend, and he held a pretty good fight for a longtime throughout the movie and struck up enough interest in the charactor to just totally kill the charactor off. It's almost like someone else wrote the ending because it just does not feel right, he ending doesn't fit the rest of the movie's direction, because the theatrical ending is like another writer stepped in and finished the movie off at the last minute, that's how it felt, that or ending was rushed. And the monsters saw the woman and child ducking down into that hole, if the explosion was that strong and fire the fire probably would've brought smoke in where the woman and child were with heat with a massive house fire burning house down, they wouldn't have been able to stay in the smoke chemical filled area and probably would've died from smoke enhalation and the monsters outside would've got the woman and child once they got outside in unprotected area out in the open and all attention drawn to the housefire.

Un,WOW! that's one hell of an ending! O_O I like it more then the book because it is more true that there would be SOME of us who cannot be infected. So now we have to make room for a whole new breed of human.

hey, thanks for this. This is amazing. I did a little write up about this article and link your site in my blog. http://jefframos.blogspot.com/ thanks again for this. i'll be book marking your site now. great stuff on here!

Thanks a million.......... I loved it, loved it loved it. I enjoyed the movie a quite a bit and thought the ending was the weakest point and could have been a lot better but after watching this I have a whole different view of the picture. This ending made more sense over what we got. I hope WB is reading........... Thanks again

Some people are claiming this alternate ending is more "rosy" or a happier ending. Just because Neville survives hardly makes it more happy. Neville comes to realise he's a serial killer, that he has been experimenting on people. The theatrical ending fails as the whole film up to that point has been about the real hero Neville's nemeses trying to get the love of his life back after Neville kidnaps her for one of his experiments. It's just the story is shown from the perspective of the kidnapper not the victims. The whole film drops hints to this twist on the typical heroes tale all the way along, but then because of the dumb ending they gave it fails to deliver, leaving you wondering what the rest of the film was all about.

Just as human and humane as how all of them got into the situation in the first place. Makes sense. However, in today's culture, we only know how to demonize, dehumanize and embrace that 'other' is bad. Shame WB!

i liked the film loads, and i thought the ending in the theater was great, yeah it sucke that he died and everything, but it wasnt predictable. i imagined that it would end exactly like this ending. so that fact that it didnt.. made it good. Im still glad i seen this version though, i think both endings were good, but i think that having the 'hero' sacrifice himself to save humanity seemed to work with the film... if that makes sence.

"I want a DVD copy of the movie with the alternate ending being used as the actual ending so I don't have to go to special features to watch it." I second this. I loved this movie despite the predictability because of Will Smith's acting up until the point where the female protagonist was brought in. If this had been the alternate ending, it's still "Hollywood" in that Will Smith lives, but it's far more true to the original book source than the theatrical ending which left me feeling like I wasted half my time at the movie. How do we go about petitioning WB for a two-version DVD?

Far, far superior to the theatrical release. Much truer to the spirit of the book.

The ending of this movie was so stupid! Thank goodness that they did not show this in the theaters! I am so sorry if i'm being harsh, but I never thought that it would end like this!!!

to be honest you all are losers and need to get a life hahaha!

i liked the second ending because it flows with the story line more and it reminds me of bobmarly because he spoke of marly as being a legend who broke down anger and hate. they are both simmilar because he hated the creatures for destroying his life but he gave them a chance and then the hate disappeared also it gives more of a closure unlike the first one which is just ment to make the main character look cool which was ok but at the same time made him look like a bum because he had a pretty shitty last 3 years of his life and i dont know anyone that would want to go through what he did also thanks for showing me the original ending it was sweet and i thought was allot better than the first ending thanks:Joe Joe

I liked this much better. I read the book and watched the other theatrical version with Charlton Heston from the 70's "Omega Man" which I liked better than this movie (ending). I felt with the original ending that Hollywood 'hollywood'ed' it up and thought they were so much smarter than a brilliant legendary (ha) novelist and though, hey instead of something to think about let's just throw in some yelling and an explosion instead! cha-chng! We're so smart! I am glad to see that this ending was available, too bad it was not the theatrical ending.

I really liked this alternate ending. I think it definitely played along with the story line of the book a bit better, than the original theatrical ending. The book is pretty much a masterpiece within itself, I think it has a heart and mind to it that not many pieces of literature have anymore. It shows a very different side to these so called "vampires" or "monsters", than what we see in our usual novels. No matter what, I don't believe that a movie adaptation of I Am Legend really, in full, capture the essence, and the heart of the book. Whether it was "hollywooded" or not, the concept of the book would fly over most peoples heads, especially on just any friday night outing to the movies. As much as I loved seeing the humanity and the real, sort of love between the two "vampires" in this alternate ending, and seeing Nevelle really finding that he was in the wrong, as opposed to this whole other species of people, I truly find myself loving the theatrical ending better. I think that other reviewers 100% had a point in saying that the director and screen writer's vision of the ending being about Nevelle sacrificing himself for humanity, DOES get lost in the midst of "hope there are still others out there". It definitely does, but I found myself with chills, and in complete awe, that such a person WOULD die for people he believes have some kind of redeeming qualities left in them. "Hollywooded", or not, the original theatrical ending moved me a lot more than this alternate ending.

After reading many of these comments, I completely understand both sides! I read parts of the book (I hardly ever read an ENTIRE book, I skip around . . . I know -- awful -- but it's all I can find time for!) I really sought after this alternate ending! Now that I've seen it, both endings incorporate some parts of the book. In the theatrical, Neville dies (though it is a completely different death -- but still a death). In the alternate, it shows his regret for pursuing a cure so viciously and how the infected perceive his doings. The main reason I like the theatrical is due to the fact that there were 9% (I think. . . ) that were immune to the infection, HOWEVER, how long would it have taken someone to figure out that the infection cannot survive the cold? The people who are already living there? Wouldn't they then have no clue what was going on in the rest of the world then? And never the less (from a medical perspective) it could be open for interpretation because something could be dormant in a system in the "cold" as we saw when he had the girl who was infected. And another thing -- how the hell did the woman and child get on Manhattan? I live there. . . it really bothered me that the bridges were destroyed yet they seemed to do the impossible and drive on and off without any sort of way for transportation besides their car? They could of taken a ferry but it is nearly impossible to handle. . . I don't know! It boggles my mind! I feel that this would be one of those movies that should be remade to be in line with the book so that both are available! Either one would be intriguing. The latest theatrical one for hope and those who would rather hold on to concept that the humanity we know can be saved at all times -- and the one where those who haven't read the book would be in shock and leave with a twisted understanding. Ok, I've gone on long enough! I just really have always liked the book and enjoyed the movie! I was pursuing a career as a doctor then as a chemical biologist to create medication for the "good", but I have always written papers and stuff about how realistic this could be just because of the severe fight for a "cure" for everything that it endangers us because of the political aspects about the FDA! haha, it has always just been for fun and to get on my professor's nerves, but is still an interesting perspective!

cool movie both were good but alternative is better cuz he had to survive for the cure. i like it as much as i robot most peolple think they were zombies even me until now. i found out they were vampires they never explained that in the movie well at least i didnt hear dat.

Wow. I would have come out of the theater grinning ear to ear had that been what I had seen, rather than what they sold us. Typical of movies of late - great movies ruined by horrible endings. I had been renting getting the DVD just to see this... now I think I will buy it for it.

I agree that this ending is much better than the theatrical ending; but either way the movie failed to reach my expectations. SO much about the book would have appealed to modern audiences: The brutal killings of the vampires during the daytime (why weren't they paralyzed in the movie?), the part where the vamps blow up his generator, the female vamps making lude gestures at him and his struggle with his unfulfilled lust, his struggle with alcoholism, his wife and daughter dying (not in a random helicopter crash) and him bringing them to the massive funeral pyre, the betrayal of the one person he trusts in the entire book, the REAL story of the dog (he spends weeks trying to make this dog trust him and when he finally gets ahold of it it dies to the virus), the explanations for how the virus interacts with the human body and why vampires are afraid of garlic, his relationship to his old friend who is now a vampire that taunts him all night long, etc. The only good change from the book was HOW he got his immunity to the virus... in the book he gets bit by a vampire bat that's infected and builds up an immunity. Pretty ridiculous.

The alternate ending was better than the one released in the theaters. I read the book a few years back and I was suprised with how different the movie was from the book, however, the movie was good overall. The only real disappointment I think that I had was that the infected were changed so much. In the book, they could talk and communicate which made the dynamic so much better between Nevill and the infected. Also, I would have liked to see how they would incorporate the woman coming into his life like the book. Where the infected society was able to live as a society and infiltrate his life with an infected being able to be out in the sun and trying to live a normal life. Wouldn't that have been a great line for the story? Also, why do they always have to kill off the pets? Come on, if you are going to change so much of the story, why not let the dog live? The way the dog was introduced in the movie was so much different than the book. Couldn't you have just left it alone? I would have also liked to see more with the intelligence of the infected. Like how the leader used "Frank" to lure Neville to the lair. More of that kind of exchange I think would have shown more of the dynamic like what was in the book. Finally, I can understand the deer running through the streets, they are pretty fast, but you mean to tell me that the lions, with cubs no less, were able to survive the infected at night when there was a scarce food source? Not believable at all. Over all, this is a movie that I will own for myself. The movie was good in its own right.

"Although I had wished that the alternate ending was more true to the novel in which Anna is an evolved daylight vampire who helps capture Neville and brings him to the vampires. She then explains that the vampires are a new society amongst themselves and view Neville as a killer and ghostly legend. And then they execute him." Random thought. Scary too...with the popularization of the "alternate ending" through the DVD - they kinda leave an opening for a sequel...one in which the vampires come and take Neville, explain their society, and then execute him. Like perhaps doing it from the vampire's perspective. Or half through Neville's, then switching to the vampire's with some flashback...blah blah... Either way, I am hoping this doesn't happen. I did like the original ending (aka alternate that wasn't shown in theatres) - moreso than the theatrical ending. The theatre ending just felt too "American" - the "we always have to win/fix everything". (And I'm American, so I can say that!)

I think that the alternate ending would have made a better ending. I say this because I am a BIG Will Smith fan and wasn't so happy to see him die on the movie's ending. I've never seen Will Smith die on any of his films. So I love this ending way better!

all of it is the authors responsibility. if you sell your story with no oversight as to what they do to it then you deserve to have your work crapped on by a corporation.

Oh my goodness, this made me weep with empathy. That aside: it's not quite as well executed as it could be, overall, but, damn, this is exactly the flavour of ending I was hoping to see. Over the course of the movie it became quite clear Neville was a bit damaged by his loneliness and a little crazy - it didn't take a huge leap of faith to think that maybe there's more to these creatures than he, himself thinks. I didn't read the book, but I found the actual released ending of the movie to have ruined it. There were other decisions made in the movie that upset me a little, like being spoon-fed the history of the city, but the acting and some of the details (the mannequin trap, for example!) were utterly awesome... only to be dunked into a vat of Lame right at the end, where I was wondering who the directors were catering to. So much of the movie screamed, "This is different than you average zombie/vampire apocalypse!", only to crash right back into the cliché at the end. I still enjoyed it, but it let me with that aftertaste of, "This could have been better." Now I know precisely in what way it could have been better. So I'd like to second the general responses here: this ending would have been so much better.

Yes, I really like this alternate ending much better. The one in the movie is kind of illogical, he could have set and thrown the grenade, then hid in the wall along with the others.

It is definitely a more powerful ending in terms of emotion but then it leaves us a sense of where exacltly does the title come into play. Is he legend because he faced the monsters and lived or that he found a cure. Both endings are geared towards pleasin both sides of our society in which some wish that the hero dies while taking out the bad guy or lives to fight another day. No one looks at the fact that he cause this ailment or that he killed hundreds of people yes humans trying to find a cure. Halfway through the movie he finally comes to the conclusiopn that they have no more human traits but his wall of death showed that he tested this theory on victims in the masses before reaching that diagnosis. All in all I prefer the book they obviously formed there own society scouring for food at night and here comes this man dragging them out one by one and dispatching them as if they were deer or some other type of game, not thinking that they were once his neighbors so in any polite society he was tried found wanting and executed accordingly .

this was a much better ending. i hadn't read the book and was enjoying the movie quite a lot until this last scene when i felt the tone completely changed for the worst. I thought it become really cheesy. WB ruined the movie by doing this.

I knew it! Well.. sort of. I had the alternate ending played out in my head before I even left the theater! My ending went kind of like this: the head vampire is trying to get in the room (as in the movie) and when Neville sees the burn on the side of his head, he realizes that the female he took is actually the leader's girlfriend - which was clearly evidenced by the leader's change in behavior when she was captured. Neville shows the leader that he has cured her and the leader allows Neville to inject him with the cure as well. The others follow the leader and are all injected.. Happy ending for all The real alternate ending kind of leaves me wondering what happened to the zombies. I mean.. They just leave and that's it?

Thanks for that loved it so much better than original ending

Just watched the alt ending on DVD.... for those who were asking for a version where the alt ending is part of the movie and not just a special feature tack-on, you're in luck. The second disc is the entire movie with the alt ending seamlessly integrated. Bravo!

The ending in the theaters ruined the movie for me. I would have much preferred to see this alternate ending in the original movie. But this movie is still one of the best of the decade!!

Although I haven't read the book, I really think this ending is much better. When I saw it in theaters, I thought what I saw just now was gonna happen, but I was wrong.

Scott in #11: Thanks for your post; I'll make sure to avoid taking any advice from an insulting nut job like yourself. Now please chuck your PC out the window so you can stop polluting the internet with your crass and self-important nonsense.

I LOVED the movie and I hated the theater ending. Seeing the alternate ending was much better, I feel like it is complete now. It just feels right. greatest movie I've seen all year!!

how did they drive away!!!!!

The ending was changed because it encourages people to find peaceful, non-violent ways of resolving their conflicts. We can't have people thinking THAT, can we? Think what it would do to the economy!

I haven't read the book but the movie ending was a shock and a disappointment and an insult. This ending is touching, intelligent and ties everything in a meaningful way. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING! This was so much the same depressing end like Last Man on Earth and Omega Man at the movies, give it a special place as being the only way an event like this could make sense.

I rented the movie last night. I couldnt figure out why i hated the movie until i found this website this morning.. Like most of the people i was enjoying the movie up until the woman and kid arrive. (also hated the part about the german sheppard dying, even though you knew from typical movies that is was going to happen. Any after they arrived the movie became boring and i feel both endings sorta sucked. If i had to choose id go with the alt ending. I do like the idea that he is considered a legend among the vampire as a serial killer. I havent read the book but from what i have read on the post it seemed like a much better ending then the movie. They never really said how the infection started. I know they kept saying it is man related. But in the very opening the doctor is on tv saying they found a cure for cancer. I thought that the cure they were using started the infection. Im going to assume that since they found the cure for cancer this was a new and more poweful disease that could whipe out man kind. But the question i had was that they never went into detailed how the disease stared or where it came from. I thought they should have related it in with the cure for cancer, as like a side affect a year later that transformed into into this KG disease. Again the movie wasnt bad until the end.

Oh wow...this ending gave me chills. I like this SO much better than the original. In the original, I really really wanted the "monsters" to finally show their human side...Robert mentioned that one of them came out into the sun for a brief moment, and it was because they were becoming so savage they didn't even think of their own welfare anymore, when really it was because the monster wanted to save his mate so badly, he almost died for her. Then they set the same exact trap that Robert set for them. Clearly they weren't as savage as he thought, and this ending gets that point across MUCH more clearly. God, I love this movie.

i totally prefer the alternate ending... it makes the movie so much better..

Much much better, though the movie still had lots of issues. Still, I would've been more inclined to overlook those issues had this been the ending... Thanks for showing us! And btw, there a new Director's Cut out now (at least online) that fixes this and a few other things...

Hi Mike F, They infer that the infection is a mutation of the virus they modify to attack cancer. So their amazing, resiliant cure, becomes a death sentence for most of the world. As for the ending, I prefer the 'alternate' one, up until the driving and voiceover by the girl. Personally I'd still vote for some form of hybrid ending perhaps, or do something (rapid scene flashbacks) to emphasize his realization that he is the monster, at least to the 'vampires'. It might have been fitting to have the girl 'vampire' kill him just as/after he has this epiphany. Then the escape of the girl and the boy to the 'safe town' could have cemented the 'Legend' for both old humanity, and new mutated humanity. Anyway, just my collection of disjointed thoughts.

Oh yeah, and I think alot of you out there can get your point across without calling people names please. This whole "If you don't like exactly what I like, you're a retard." attitude has got to go also. The fact is, this isn't the book, it's a movie. And try to keep in mind that 75% of the audience probably hasn't read the book. So please get off your high horses and be nice.

You're welcome Mike. And I agree with 'L.' that a bit more civility would be great. I haven't read the book, but can understand that it would be awesome to see that ending. But portraying it without making the movie overly long would be the challenge. You could easily get rid of the girl and little boy mind you, if that was the slant they were taking. Now, I don't think anyone has mentioned it, but would it be trite, or ironic, if Neville died of cancer after reaching the town?

I'm so incredibly exited right now its crazy, and at the same time so very upset. The alternate ending was amazing, I loved it. WB has to know the ending they chose sucked as reviews for the movie are great, except everyone had same same issues. The ending. I honestly dont even know a single person who saw the movie that didnt say something about not liking the way it ended. Theatrical ending was horrid. I just want to thank you for posting the other ending so myself and others can replace the excruciating ending with an ending much more fit.

Loved the movie. I also prefer this ending over the theatrical one, but can someone explain to me the butterfly concept of this movie, especially when the main vampire drew a butterfly on the glass and the female had a butterfly tattoo? I dont get it.

Thanks a lot for breaking the rule... The orignal left me with an odd feeling that the movie ended in a compromise. With this version the movie finally made sense!

I am very grateful to have found this. I loved the movie, but the ending felt very false given some events leading up to it. I have not read the book, but I had imagined an ending similar to this 'original' one. I see it like this: Theatrical ending: mindless, violent, destructive, desperate, loose-loose, yet still managing to put a single (flawed) man on pedestal as a fake 'hero' to try and spin something positive from the disaster. Original ending: as said: profound and emotional, overcoming fear and prejudice and being willing to listen and negotiate, resulting in a win-win. Unfortunately I see an attitude in the US, especially regarding foreign policy, to have disturbing similarities to the mindset of the 'theatrical trailer'. Maybe this factored in to the decision to use this ending - on the assumption that viewers would prefer to see a show of power and big explosion with heroes held high, since this has proven to be such a successful technique in convincing the public that US foreign policy is doing the right thing. Hopefully, this strong show of support for the original ending can also help some people realise that a compassionate mindset can produce better results, and would be warmly accepted by the public.

I definitely prefer this ending over the theatrical one. For one thing, much of the movie seemed to move towards this conclusion. The alpha male's anger when his wife/girlfriend was taken from him, the trap the infected set for Neville, and the complex, distraught expression on the alpha male's face as he was hitting the glass near the end all hinted at the idea that the infected were more human than Neville seemed willing to believe. The appearance of the family of lions at the end is also poignant. In the beginning of the movie, Neville decided not to shoot a lioness, despite the fact that it killed the deer he was hunting, because he saw that it had a family. This mirrors the situation with the infected and emphasizes the sanctity of all life, all families, regardless of what kind. The only small weakness I found with this ending was that there was still a bridge left standing. I can imagine that maybe not all of the bridges had been destroyed (the infected did spread, after all), but the fact that this wasn't explicitly stated makes the presence of a working bridge seem like a mistake (even if it wasn't).

The theater version started off well, it evolved more or less evenly along the way and then it just ... nothing, Neville just decided to give up and kill himself ... , not very good for a squeal in my opinion, very bad ending. Know the original (alternate) ending, that's what I call a decent ending, at least it didn't kill the story.

Liked the alternate left an opening for a sequel.

If you look at the entire movie then the theatrical ending is more in line with what was shown before. If you've read the book and have an appreciation of it then you'll like the alternate ending more because it touches upon some of the concepts the book uses. The alternate ending comes out of left field if you watch the entirety of the movie and doesn't work at all. In the book there is a progression to show the blurring of good and evil, in the movie there was absolutely no blurring of those two concepts. Through the entire movie the vampire-esque creatures are 'evil', and Neville is undeniably good, in the book they blur the line between the infected and Neville. The alternate ending would have made no sense at all when considering the movie only, and even if they had changed earlier scenes it would not have made much of a difference. The alternate ending was an attempt to bring concepts from the book into the movie, so putting it into the movie would have required extensive changes both to the earlier scenes and even the alternate ending as well since they had no backstory to explain the infected's actions.

I loved the alternate ending so much better than the original. Most of all because Will Smith still lived at the end. It made perfect sense to me because it shows that all the creatures wanted was the woman back. They never really bothered him until he took one of the infected. I would most definitely vote for the alternate ending.

I truly enjoyed the alternate ending, and so did my 11-year-old daughter. (My wife wasn't so sure!) We thought it did a pretty good job of walking the line between the "Hollywood ending" and the darker book ending. There was still definitely a compromise of sorts, but in this version of the ending the compromise worked beautifully. I would've been very happy with it in the theaters. The photographs on the walls and the vampire "hero" walking off with the damsel strongly alluded to the book's point, and that would've gotten a lot of people thinking. In a lot of ways it reminded me of the DVD of "28 Days Later", where they showed alternate endings which included killing off one of the main characters. But for that one they made the right choice in theaters — the alternates simply didn't work as well. With "I Am Legend" the alternate is (IMHO) the definitive version of the movie.

Wow! I prefer the movie 28 Days later as I felt the two movies were pretty much the same but that ending was superior to the original in every way. The original cinema ending absolutely destroyed any credibility that the movie had. I agree that this one should have been used. Too late for me now because I seen the crap ending & therefore I am Legend was just another mediocre movie that dragged at times & was ruined. Thank God there's no sequel. Well all I know is I wouldn't be going if there was anyway! The CGI was below average for me so that was another negative point. I'm getting away from the subject now. Sorry! WB, you guys got this wrong. This was the better ending that would definitely have gone down better with audiences. Where do you get your test audience from????

Wow! lmao! I haven't heard a rant like that in sometime, but I agree with ya there! A little bit off topic I suppose but oh well. Thanks for the comic relief though amongst everything else.

I never read the book, though it was obvious for me the original ending did not fit the story. Now I see this, it explains all. Thanks for showing this!

I think that ending kicks ass over the other one... it opens up more onto the themes and really shows that Neville was wrong when he assumed that the others were not evolved at all.. because how would they set traps or have a hierarchy...

wow what a hell of an ending ive seen the movie four times but i never actually got wut the ending meant but now that i hav seen that ending i have one question..............IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN DOWLOAD THIS VID SO I CAN PUT IT ON MY PSP?!?!?!?!?!?!?

This was a much better ending. Very reminisent of the book. Not in that he lived, but in that he realized that the vampires had a society, and that he was a killer to them.

Having never read the book and having generally enjoyed the movie, I thought that the ending was somehow wrong and missing one important element. My daughter and I discussed it at length after seeing the film and we both felt that there should have been an alternative ending that somehow acknowleged the residual humanity of the infected people. This was actually alluded to earlier in the film where the male was prepared to rsik coming into the light to protect his mate. This was very important to the storyline and was completely lost in the ending that made it to the cinemas, but is clearly present in the original ending. Someone should tell American filmakers that resolving a storyline with explosions doesn't really resolve anything - it's just a cheap way of giving an audience some kind of cathartic relief from the stress of the story and is used way too much in Hollywood (Explosions to offer cathartic relief are used way too much in American foreign policy as well... Eg: Iraq: Shock and awe response to 9/11, etc. ) - Allan (Australia)

Yes, Warner Bros. made a lot of $$$ with the theatrical ending, but shot themself in the foot with respect to future earnings via a Will Smith franchise and a better story. The story and Smith's character needed more than one movie to do the book justice. Those of you who argue that the creatures were devoid of all humanity, and that the alternate ending is too soft, missed one obvious detail....They still wore clothes ! They were not completely animals, as their intelligence in replicating Neville's snare-trap also revealed. I thought the movie was too short, and ended just as it finally got going. The book was great in it's time, but did need a bit of updating. I would have liked to have seen his wife survive the helicopter crash and later be discovered among the infected. Perhaps he could have even not recognized her and mistakenly killed her in his rampage after the loss of his dog, ( use the tattoo reference as a means to identify HER,) and show that in seeing these "things" as just guinea pigs in his quest to save humanity, that he had lost his own, and that he had become the monster. Hindsight is always 20/20, and it is far easier to criticize than to create, but Hollywwod could have used a bit more foresight, and insight, on this one. - Sam

Yeah, I prefer this ending to the theatrical one. However, I can see why they would go with the theatrical one, as it gives closure (although quickly and not that convincingly), more so then this one does. Oh, and I don't think they intended to follow the book beyond the basic concept. I mean, isn't that Hollywood's way?

This movie failed on so many levels. Will Smith was brilliant, the deserted city was well realised, and the first half really left you sharing his isolation. Then the "vampires" came. The special effects, up until this point, had ranged form brilliant - New York, empty and overgrown - to computer game - the entry of the mustang - to somewhere in between - the animals. However the entrance of the "vampires" managed to hit a new low in major motion picture effects. When I first saw these I though I was watching an animatic. They are truly terribly realised and unconvincing in every way. The we get the obligatory woman and child, and the inevitable hopeful ending. I was gutted, because I had high hopes for this, and with the exception of some dodgy effects work early on, it had been going well. There were also some glaring continuity problems, where plot directions had been obviously set up, then simply ignored for the rest of the film. The ending didn't surprise me though. I knew an alternate, stronger ending had been show to test audiences (read : Americans) who had hated it, forcing a new ending to be shot. It does not surprise me in the least that this ending was rejected by an American audience. If there is one thing the majority of American film goers hate, it is to be challenged. Good must triumph. There must be hope. Who cares if the real world isn't like that. This ending does tie up some of the plot lines that were left to dangle, and is, on the most part, and much better choice for the movie itself (audience testing be damned), however it does not rescue the movie from director, who is a second rate hack, and the "vampire" effects, which are simple shoddy, substandard and 'safe' Maybe the next person to film it will get it right.

Wow, I really appreciate you helping us see the real ending of the movie. I did not like the theatrical ending at all. I felt like the movie was hurried at the end, up to the time when he met the girl everything was on pace and the rythm of the movie was perfect, after that I felt like the rythm changed for the worse and they hurried the ending without closure. The alternate ending however is much better and gives a reasonable motive to the "vampires" agressive quest to get Neville...it is not about him it is about the girl...wow, carnivorous monsters who preserved the ethics of love, that's pretty amazing concept... Thank you

That's really true. This ending is so much better than the original one. The original ending was the worst of the movie. The original ending made the whole movie suck.

I still prefer the theatrical ending, for once studio executives got it right. Will Smith's character's sacrifice and handing the cure to the lady is more fitting. His legacy is rightly served. It also leaves everyone with a much more greater sadness seeing Will Smith's death but that also adds that extra sense of closeness with the character. So no i would say the studio version is more suitable.

id just like to say they should of merged the endings but after reading a comment by that guy scott i noticed he gets enjoyment out of cutting down people on message boards and has no real life

this ending is way better seriosuly. i liked the show but the ending was really bad, i would say the intended version would have made me much more satisfied. to think they believed otherwise, seriously.

Theres a reason the book is a classic and in my opinion the film should have been as close to the book as possible but in a modern setting but hey the studios are always dumbing down movies thinking audiences can't take a darker more thought provoking film. I mean people are still talking about se7en, do you think we'll be talking about i am legend in 13 years time???? Doubt it!

On the original ending that they showed in the movie, he could have easily tied a long string to the grenade and tied it to the pin and then went into the tunnel opening that both the child and woman went into and then he could have given the string enough lead and then when they were all at a safer distance he could have just pulled the pin and blew those bad boys up !!!

I liked the one in theaters a whole lot better. The one in theaters says why he is the legend. Not the one you people used!

While the death of Robert Neville was one thing they got right in the original, there were too many loose ends to the original ending. It never specified a relationship between the lead "vampire" and the young girl "vampire" in Neville's basement, and it left me wanting for more when I left the theater. I majored in English in college and still love to come away with something of my own and piece together the puzzle myself after I read a good book, but I've never enjoyed it in movies. For your average viewer, and this includes me, the alternate ending would've made the movie great instead of somewhat forgettable. The movie drug too much not to tie everything together in the end, and though tying everything together may not be the direction that Hollywood is headed (see some of the Academy Award Winners this year), it's still the preferred style among mainstream America... which I group myself into. Kudos to you for pointing out this ending and then explaining it in a way that makes it more true to the original book. I, for one, would've actually bought the DVD if this would've been the ending they showed in theaters.

I liked the theatrical ending better too. The religious overtones, and the 'butterfly' analogy, actually brought tears to my eyes -- even though I am very agnostic. This alternate ending is cool too, and I understand the points being made here, but in all actuality the movie totally doesnt follow the original book anyways. In the book there are *two* kinds of sick humans: the monsters - which are actual 'undead', and people who are still alive but who live with the affliction, and who are very much like vampires. In the book (in which he also dies at the end) the reason he is a 'legend' is because the human population has been replaced by the new mutant one - and as such he goes down in history as 'the legend of the horrible monster who dragged mutants out into the sunlight to kill them'. In the original movie ending, he is a legend because he found the cure and sacrificed himself. They are just completely different stories - to the point that the movie probably should of used a different title. I can see why you say that this alternative ending brings up the point of the book, by its vague because so much of the story is so different. Another blemish on this alternative ending, is that the monsters dont hurt Neville. This completely goes against what you've seen from them for the entire rest of the movie, and takes away from it. By combining the 'undead' and 'vampire' types of afflicted humans into this one 'monster' type, you lost the ability to give them the capacity for higher emotion, and trying to give them this character in the final 15 minutes of the movie, undermines the effort to make them terrifying throughout the rest of the film. If you wanted to convey this type of message, you should of been truer to the book. IMO, the theatrical ending is perfect for this version of the story, and makes much more sense.

Scott, I looked up "mindless fucktard" in the dictionary and it said "someone who insults others because they have different opinions". Sleep well fucktard.

i like both endings, but i like the alternate better since Robert has to go out in a stupid way in the theater version. I would of liked the theater version better if, instead of kamakazi, Robert pulled out 2 M249 SAW Light Machine Guns and blown all the vampire things away, that would have been an awesome ending.

wow, that WAS breathtaking... so much better ! Thank you for showing it to me (us).

I never read the book and I was hugely disappointed in the original ending of the movie. It just seemed like it was leading up to something the whole time and then it never got there. this ending make so much more sense and fits in with the rest of the movie. Plus Hollywood never gives its audience enough credit - this ending makes me think and I like that more than the mind numbing explosions and trite answers they so typically force feed us.

I just finished watching the alternate ending and it is now going to be the only one I watch. Granted, I loved the original, until the ending. The original ending was so un-like the rest of the movie and out-of-place with Will's character. It was unbelievable that he would have a grenade and safe in his lab, and the way they got to the colony on the year of 2012 (special to the Mayan Calander) was so corny, I almost lost appreciation for the movie. But the alternate version was beautiful, leaving you thinking and made the movie beautiful and a must-see. I must point out though that they added a few scenes (where he is describing how the dark seekers could not have rigged up the snare and where Ethan is swimming in the pond and he gets his idea to use ice), I thought these scenes pulled away from the flow of the movie. They were great in character development and plot development, but were not very necessary. Anyway, that's beside the point. It was a poor choice to release the original ending in theatres and they should have gone with the alternate version hands down.

I just seen the alternate ending today, and will watch I am Legend for the second time around because this movie is excellent from the very beginning to the now alternate end.

I really like the movie in theaters. I love and hate scary/suspense movies at the same time, and this was the perfect fit for me. After watching this theatrical ending, i realized that the lack of closure i felt with the original ending was evaporated with this new one, as well as that last little 2 minutes of an even higher climax to the end of the movie. WB please atleast recognize that the people like both, but prefer the alternate!

I do agree much better ending I was kind of irritated by the ending on the final cut but seeing this one made the movie better for me. GJ WB >.>

I was so excited to see this movie. I loved the concept, and when I got into the theater I could grinning as I waited for the movie to start.... And the ending... Well, I wouldn't say that the ending killed the movie for me, but it sure came close! When I watched this alternate ending all I can think is, "who in their right mind would pick the theatrical version over this???" It actually let him see the humanity in his enemy that he was trying to save, and a chance to attone for the "ends justify the means" existance that he had been living. The driving away scene was kind of dumb, but overall, the alternate was much preferable!

I've never read the book, but I was extremely disappointed by the ending shown in Theaters. They kept hinting that there was something more "human" about the infected than the protagonist knew; that there was hope for humanity, but in a different way - the plague had set humans back and onto a different evolutionary track, but it was still there and would survive. That the ending suddenly veered away from that theme and I felt a bit cheated. This ending addressed those issues and gave me a feeling of resolution of the film's themes. If they were to release a DVD version with this ending-or at least the option to switch endings when watching the entire film, I would buy it, but I won't buy it as an extra.

The alternate ending was not better. I went to a showing about 2 months before it went to theaters. THey showed us both endings and had a poll where people voted on the better ending. Obviously more people liked the theater ending.

This ending makes the reality of the situation click. My friend and I kept saying "if they are so wild then why isn't the city destroyed?" It just didn't make sense. To see that Will's character was actually the monster in the scope of things was brilliant. They were simply trying to survive the hand that was delt to them. And he kept killing them off. Plucking them one by one. The final moment in the lab with the lead dark seeker is so well crafted. He was pissed. And was not going to take it any longer. I loved that they let Neville remain on his own. I really don't think there should have been other characters. He should have remained the last man on earth at the finish. I would change only one thing... Sam should not have died. I loved Sam. Great stuff here. Thanks for having this online. I missed it on the rental. All is right with the world and I can sleep soundly now. Cheers!

Am I the only one who thinks that the theater version sounds like a scientology liberation plan for the world? With all the discussion around Will Smith being sucked into the sect, that's the impression I got when I saw this - apart from the ending - good movie.

I liked the alternate ending MUCH better. The original ending was a real let-down and very abrupt in nature. The alternate ending actually opened it up for a sequel that has the opportunity to have Will Smith as a lead - I absolutely love his work!

I saw the movie at the theater. I hadn't read the book at that time, but the ending still felt tacked on, inappropriate and it left me rather disappointed in the film. The ending that you've shown us here should have been the actual ending. I'll probably get the DVD now so I can watch the movie as it was meant to be, this "alternate" end was very much better then what they used.

I would have loved it if this was the theatrical ending. I'm tired or companies thinking American audiences are too stupid to enjoy anything but a "happy" ending like the one shown in theaters. This alternate ending should have been used because it really drives the point home that the vampires weren't mindless beasts. They had a society, and deep relationships with one another.

Wow... That ending really felt right. As the audience, I felt more connected with the movie. It's better when everyone doesn't die in the end; that's so cliche'. But then when you have Neville and crew make it out to all go to the retreat together....it just makes more sense. Just a thought though...now what? Those "vampire/cannibal" things are left all alone, to finish corrupting the world...what about them? It definetely needs to be continued; with the exception of the original ending.

I think the original ending was best because it left that emotional and powerful feeling. The alternate ending was too cliche. Also, it seemed confusing since these are suppose to be creatures that show no signs of human behavior yet they seem to have sympathy and seem to understand Neville in the final moments.

I agree, this ending should have been the one in the movie...wow that was awesome.

That was way better! The final moments of the theater version left me wanting more from it. This version actually much more thought provoking by showing the vampires to still have some remnents of human characteristcs. As for the WB execs... this ending provides an opening for a sequel.... HELLO?!?!

Flawed, but a better. Much better.

This ending was much, much better. Although WB will come around to liking this ending as it will make them more money to. But this one was more emotional. There is more of a human element to these creatures than what we saw in the first ending. You see the head vampire truly loves his wife or girlfriend.

Like most, I loved the first half of the movie. So much that after seeing the movie I read the book, which tells a much more honest story than the film does. The movie pusses out the moment the other human characters are introduced. A world without survivors, a world with intelligent vampire esque monsters, is much more frightening than the hollywood apocalypse. This ending is better, but still not good enough. Why is it so hard to give Robert Neville a William Wallace death? If the world has stopped appreciating irony, than intelligent art is dead, and all thats left are brain tickling films like epic movie and meet the spartans.

This ending fit the movie better. For instance, it would have better explained why the alpha male exposed himself to the sun when his wife was being caught in the trap. Not because human behavior no longer exists, like Neville states, but because they actually DO still have souls. The alternate ending also shows that Neville finally learns somewhat of a lesson in screwing around with nature. The background of all the pictures shows all the people he experimented on and killed to try and find a cure for the virus. In the theatrical version, by not even acknowledging that he was remorseful for screwing around with nature is disappointing. Basically what you got was "oh I made a boo-boo, but i fixed it..now make me a legend"

This ending is infinately better than the theatrical release. It gives the story so much more heart than the original. It is a better point of closure for the film because it is a more definitive ending, showing that not only do the creatures still have a piece of humanity left in them that CAN be saved, but also closure in the knowledge we now have that they WILL be saved. I would've paid to see the film again if it ended like this.

i think that the dramatic final was better than this because.... this one ends like all the others movies... it's taken for granted, the dramatic final comes as a surprise

Wow. THIS is the ending that should have been released. I was extremely disappointed with the way it ended "originally"... abrupt. Filmmakers nowadays tend to kill off characters way too easily as if it were a niche (the self sacrifice thing is getting old). Now that I see the alternate, I can take solace knowing that in "my" mind, the other ending doesn't exist. )

The alternate ending worked far better for me. It actually changed the way I felt about the entire film, specifically the dark seekers. When I saw the film the first time during it's theatrical release, I viewed the dark seekers as villans, but with the alt ending, you see they still have souls. Then you have Neville, whos been systimatically kidnapping and killing them - of course they are pissed off and want to wreak havoc.

i think this movie was disapointing all together!! i understand how it could have been seen as awesome to other people but there just wasn't much to it at all. yeah that alternate ending was better but i still expected more from the whole movie. maybe the whole dog part killed it for me. but you seen one zombie movie you seen them all. im sure the book was way better but it doesn't seem like they got in touch with what it was suppose to be about. the alternate ending was the best part of the movie.

I would have liked a hybrid of the 2 endings. Most of the alternate with the more complext interaction between Neville and Mr. Hardhead but also at the end instead of leaving after the radio show the colony. I know it doesn't follow the book but I think that would be a sweet end.

love this movie

I had no idea that this was based off of a book. Even so, I thought that the ending that WB wound up with was 'off'. Throughout the whole movie, I was noticing the subtleties such as the fact that the lead vampire-thing exposed himself to sunlight after Neville captured the female, the fact that the same lead vampire-thing showed up later, after setting a trap for Neville, and so on. Before the ending came about I found myself thinking "Oh, maybe they are sentient" and "What's Neville going to do after figuring out they're still aware of the world?" The released ending was abrupt and disconnected from the rest of the storyline, and really detracted from the overall feel of the movie. The original/alternate ending 'fits'. It ties the whole storyline together, from the repetition of Neville's daughter's butterflies, to the the lead vampire displaying an advanced sentience, and the subtle formation of a culture amongst the vampires.

This ending made so much more sense. It tied together several loose ends. First, why else would the Alpha-male "dark seeker" risk coming outside into the light, except that he had just witnessed his "best girl" being kidnapped. He was that upset. Neville himself noted this unlikely behavior of the Alpha-male risking endangerment later in his findings but had the wrong explanation. Second, in the theatre version, when Neville heard the small voice whispering, butterfly, I could not relate it to anything (except Anna's neck). In this version the butterfly voice/symbol established significant communication between Neville and the Alpha-male. It also brought to light the humanity that still existed between the Alpha-male and the Alpha-female. This ending also broadened the relational dynamics between the "infected" and Neville. The infected were no longer minions of Satan, so to speak, but were infected humanity. The reason Neville was there in the first place.

you are completly right this endind is much better then the one seen in theaters(even thogh that one was amazingly great)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE I AM LEGEND!!!

Did anyone else think the alternate ending was a bit too preachy? Nothing like having religion forced down your throat. There certainly WAS an undertone to the last words of the film.

I just saw this at the $1 movies with my dad, and that ending in the show made both of us feel we paid one dollar too many. The ending never really connected why the alpha male was so intent on getting back that one particular member of his group, and the whole butterfly deal was just way too cheesy the way the ending played out on the movie. This one really gave the same tone as the book, and seemed to fit better with the concept that the infected weren't going through devolution, but evolution as a new species on earth, one that still had their humanity intact, just on a more animalistic level, and robert was truly alone because he could never cope with what he felt he created, rather than the process that nature takes. All in all, good alternate ending, but that girl's voiceover has got to go. I would have preferred a summation of what Robert realized in that final sequence.

Oh, my God. That ending is so much better. Closer to the book, but with its own twist. When he looks at his wall of "failures" and realizes that he has actually "murdered" these "people"...that is amazing. Says so much about our own prejudices.

So much better but it still will never be as good as the book. It is so much more realistic and reflective of what it was supposed to be about.

The theatrical release ending really only had one thing wrong with it -- Anna should have been shown driving up to the wall, the gate should have opened up, and an armed man should have emerged and told her that she had to leave because she was an illegal alien. Or maybe that she could stay, but would have to clean everyone's house. That would have been much more realistic. BTW, as far as the bridges go, the ones shown blown up in the movie are the East River bridges, if I remember correctly the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges (maybe the Williamsburgh). The one shown in the alt ending is the George Washington Bridge, which leads out of NYC over the Hudson.

i like the original ending better but the movie came out better that he didnt make it... because come on u cant make it alive and call yourself a legend.. well u can: but legends are so much better when they died for the cause and are just remebered. -Mario

To me, I found the theatrical ending to be formulaic and just like every other blockbuster movie. There are good guys and bad guys. Good guys kill the bad guys and win in the end. His death had no emotional impact for me since it was almost stupid on his part. It wasn't necessary since he could have gotten in the escape tunnel and thrown the grenade as he slammed the door shut. So his death came across as silly because he could have helped protect Anna and her son escape and therefore ensure the cure would be safe. So to me, it made the entire point of him being a legend have less impact. This alternate ending at least puts a twist on the cliched 'good guys' and 'bad guys'. It says something and makes you think about that entire concept. I'm left thinking about the whole situation and seeing things from different perspectives. I just find it more poignant.

I could never understand why anyone in this day and age would want to compare a book with a movie "based" on a book. They are never the same. Book lovers should not see movies and vice versa, period. The theatrical ending was just fine except that we all noticed that the head dark seeker was pissed about the female being captured. The new movie is more based on the older movie "The Omega Man". Although still concepted from the book, it more resembles that film than anything else.

i loved "i am legend" but like many other people was a little disappointed with the ending. i can't believe that an ending so satisfying as the alternate that is posted here exists!! i wish i could get a dvd where the alternate is the main ending, cause now i REALLY don't like the main ending haha!! thank you so much for posting it!!

I did read yours Andrew. What I didn't like was that the movie had so many gaps in it, and you bring up a lot of points. The way I see the "legend" point of view of the alternate version is that he is a legend to the infected because he looks like a serial killer with all the pictures of his victoms on the wall. The whole bridge problem baffles me because if the whole island was quarenteened, they'd need to block off ALL the bridges, otherwise, the whole separating the "clear" from the "not clear" would be pointless. If they didn't block them all off, then the "not clear" could just run and cross that bridge! I really don't get it. Well, in the alternate version, Robert looks over the trap and says that they were his snares and materials. I agree with you. He would be really confused and he's just hoping and praying that there's someone else out there like him. He's so hopeful that he wants to believe that "Fred" is real or that the person that moved him was real. ALSO, something that made me mad in the theatrical version is that they cut out Ethan's only line!!! "It's cold". lol. Just a thought, Ayu

Everyone have a sit. . . this is quite long. I apologize. I just have a lot of time in my hands and a lot to talk about #612 - Asmodeus Good point. . . hmmm imagine that. There's an alternative to violence? wow #619 - Slick Rick I agree that they shouldn't have called it I Am Legend, however if they hadn't I wouldn't have read the book so maybe its a good thing. #631 - Yus John that's a good point. Kinda reminds me of spider man and how disappointed I was at first of how they changed it but now I don't mind it much because times have changed. And people are trying to keep the fire of these stories alive still and to do that they have no other choice but to change it up. #638 - Phillip Seo good point with the Lioness and the family in relation to neville and anna. I didn't look at that earlier. #662 - Allan without jumping too much into politics I think that they don't have any imagination as to how else they could fix problems thus "just nuke them" right? #663 - GadDamn Batman I agree with you. The ending of it was kinda hasty and poorly done. I think it would've been better if he was legend because after being captured to keep him from killing the creatures he was forced to help kill off the undead and/or creat a cure since he got so smart throughout the book by reading so much #667 - Just me Anna says 'we came from maryland' not ' drove in from maryland'. . . they could've swam, boated, flew, etc to manhattan island. #693 - Niclas think of it this way. According to the info from robert the virus had a 99% infection rate. Then whoever was left of the population was feeded on by the dark seekers because at the time there was nothing left. Then three years later Neville is still around and now there are other things available for the dark seekers (deer) so they don't have to hunt humans anymore and also the leader vampire emerges after awhile and when neville shows compassion and kindness by giving the girl back, the leader forgives him for his actions and leaves him. But still that shouldn't be. It could be "I'll let you slide this time, but next time I see you I'll rip you apart myself". I actually think he should've said something like that in some broken english type as he left neville and called his minions off. Either that or Neville can't live with his disgraced self and commits suicide #698 - Mike what do you mean by the year 2010 special to the mayan calendar? And what about ethan swimming and what not? #735 - adeadcrow that's true. When Anna walks into his life saing that god has a plan. . . that was completely unnecessary. I didn't like that part of the movie. And in the beginning when he's driving the shelby and you see the butterfly on the wall and it says "god still loves us" or something like that. Yeah not necessary. Specially how he portrays his faith in the book. #736 - Nina that's a good point. That's why I still think in the alternate ending they should've sacrificed Neville after they got the woman-creature back. After he realized that he was a serial killer-like character to them he should've been captured and exectuded #739 - Chris the idea that they can be saved in the end is ideal, however the point trying to be made is that they don't want to be saved (made stronger in the book). When I read that in the book it lost me for a bit but after thinking for awhile I got why the book ends like that. #747 Kimball - You have a good point. Although I say you should've read the book AFTER watching the movie. Anyways about the virus comment. You know that since you're in school for it, however remember they didn't have in mind a medical school audience. So not everyone is expected to know what it's supposed to be thus making it the way it was. It's just what's better and easier to understand to most people #754 Joe - In the theatrical version the butterfly showes up in the glass as it's being cracked by the leader of the dark seekers. Watch for that next time you watch it. #757 - Ryan Daugherty Robert was in the military. Remember how he got a cross tatued on his chest in nicaragua and where he was bit and almost died from a vampire bat which led him to theorize that's the reason he didn't fall to the bacteria? Now to all saying that the woman and child should've never come into the picture. How were they supposed to end the movie? That's the ticket to the dark seekers finding his hideout. I think that instead of rolling his SUV, if neville barely makes out of the pier alive and goes home far ahead of the dark seekers but by the time he gets in they're not far behind him and then tie into the attack at his house would've been much better for the ending. One thing that bothers me is that they never touch why neville is invulnerable to the dark seekers. And also did anyone else notice that when he gets captured only the dogs attack him and sam? Another point to show that the leader is somewhat forgiving by giving him a chance knowing that he could probably make it out alive? or just a loose string set by poor editing? I don't think they should've used CG whatsoever. . . well except MAYBE for the animals. . . maybe. But the dark seekers. . for sure no.

I STRONGLY prefer this ending over the theatrical one. The ending in theaters was terrible and every single person I know who has seen the movie says they hated the ending. It was just so, "okay... the movies over now" and everyone gets up and leaves feeling unfulfilled. This ending makes everything just stop (much like the scene where Fred was moved), and forces me to the edge of my seat and I can do nothing but focus all of my attention towards the movie. WB is out of their minds to not use this ending in the final cut of the movie. Honestly, if it weren't for the bad theatrical ending, this would be one of my favorite movies ever.

I think WB severely underestimated their viewing audience's capacity to understand what was going on. We would have loved it in the theater that way. I agree with the person who said we need a DVD that uses that ending, rather than just having it in special features.

BOTH ENDINGS WERE TOTALLY RUBBISH a great movie was made mediocre with the ending, enjoyed it up until the last 10mins

This ending.. Wow. I remember telling people that I thought the movie was pretty good, all things considered, if you were to leave the theatre after the woman and child show up. This ending fixes most of what was wrong with the movie. I agree that Neville should still die, but I forgive that considering how hard it would be to get the average audience to go with that. At least this version holds on to a truer feel to what the original story had. I especially like how they subtly pan across the wall of head shots of his experiments as he slumps to the floor.

This ending was much better. I really enjoyed the film but would have enjoyed it MUCH more and left the cinema much happier had this been the ending. It's amazing, more tense, more exciting and just better at gathering the loose ends. Awesome!

I really liked the movie and haven't read the book but am planing on it. I have only read the first 10 or so coments and just want to say that the movie was clearly a variation of the book. In the movie, if they put in this alternate ending it would leave too many questions and not show the audience that Neville was a 'legend'. In the movie the 'dark seekers' are not vampires. The movie doesn't depicte him as hunting them and killing them or the 'dark seekers' trying to find him. In fact, the dark seekers don't even know he exists. The movie shows him as more of trying to find a cure. The movie depicts the 'dark seekers' as not organized, not intelegent, and not having a hierarchy system in place. This is obviously diferent from the book. It sounds like the book describles the 'vampires' as a new race; as a substitution for humanity. The vampires are not stupid or just animals acting on instinct. In the movie they are. The dark seekers in the movie evolved to become organized (one reason that the ending sequence was more scary then the dark seekers just comming to get them). They had no concept of Neville until he traped that one female. So, I feel that if the movie was more closely tied to the book then yes, this alternate ending would have been much better. But because it wasen't, the ending that was used was better.

i like this ending better because it show the ego of humans .why are they wrong? why do they have to change?

I really liked the alternate ending and honestly I feel as both ending would have done great in the box office. The alternate ending is a lot more emotionally charged which is pointed out above but Neville's sacrifice in the original ending appeals to me as well. At the end of the day I do prefer the alternate ending because it just makes more sense with the storyline. Why would the lead "darkseeker" be following Neville trying to capture him if it wasn't for the fact the Neville took something dear to the "darkseeker." Alternate ending was superior than the original but WB probably wanted to keep the distinction between good and evil(Robert Neville and Company vs Vampires).

Ok the alternate ending was 100 times better than theatrical one. When Anna came about and ended up at the camp I thought to myself wow this is a real shitty ending to a pretty good movie. The way Anna was portrayed really ruined the movie for me although i still thought it was good. But i think that the movie could have gone a lot more in depth. Not just the interview with the Dr. with a cure and then NYC 3 years later could have gone a little deeper. Most of the time im a person that hates long drawn out movies but this was definitely one that could have been drawn out. The theatrical ending is what everyone expects its just like wow same shit every time. So yes WB should have put out this ending. Just thought id add that from the first 20 comments...Scott you just a total duesch just because you didn't like the movie doesn't mean you have the right to say stupid ass shit. You're one of those stupid viewers that everyone hates to listen to their bullshit. The movie could have been better but it was still could and more people liked it than people that didn't.

i thought this ending was so much better. the theatrical ending really pissed me off. when i rented the movie i watched the whole thing once and then the next 3 times skipped the ending. plus who wants a hottie like will smith die?

This ending is far better than the theatrical version.

I was completely excited to see the movie when it hit the theaters in Dec. The movie was intense! The originally released ending was terrible! I left feeling like something was missing. The alpha male had some sort of bond with the female that the original ending never answered. The next business day, we discused the movie at the office. We all agreed that no one should promote this movie to anyone else. The commercials had been misleading. We also had issues with the ending. You never saw the infected actually killed anything!! The walls of the village were barely protected, and just a lot of little details that didn't complete the story. All in all, the new ending made it more enjoyable, they just should have been walking out of New York rather than driving. The movie probably would have done better from word of mouth if they went with the second ending. Jaybyrd

Umm... i dont see the self-sacrificing part. Thats what RUINED the movie for me. There was no clear reason as to why Will Smith had to die at all. If he wanted to kill all the vampires, he could easily have chunked the grenade through the hole created by the vampire/monster when he was smashing his head against the plexiglass. I mean you didnt have to be Michael Jordan to make that shot, plus most hand grenades have a 3,5, and even a delayed fuse of 10 seconds, thats why he pulled the pin and held the grenade for a while, so he could have easily lobbed the grenade and jumped into the coal chute after the boy and the girl and closed the door. It made NO sense at all that he died. And i like that other point someone made, how did they get out of new york, the bridges were most definitely destroyed.

Just finished watching the original on DVD. Now I can kick myself for not spending the extra 6 dollars and getting the two-disk special edition with the alternate ending. I have seen three movies in the last 2 weeks. 3:10 to Yuma, No Country for Old Men, and this movie. All three had poor to mediocre endings. Even the alternate ending could have been better, but it was definitely better than the original. The original movie gives little hints along the way as to the relationship between Neville, the vampire girl, and the vampire leader, but the original ending doesn't fit. Also, I'm glad to see that the guy Scott from post #11 has cowered away. Perhaps he went back to surfing porn or playing World of Warcraft!

I liked the one NOT in theatrical release better. It addresses what I thought was a central theme in the movie, which was whether there was anything “left” to save in the zombies (or vampires). This end summed up it rather nicely with limited dialogue and powerful acting. I have to say though I have heard a lot of people say they hated the theatrical ending… it ruined the movie etc. I would not go as far as to say that. I was disappointed that it left so many questions unanswered. The thing I did like about the theatrical release was that it was not the typical hero saving the day and riding off to the sunset. It was an atypical Hollywood ending. Kind of a Hemingway hero thing at the end ( http://faculty.millikin.edu/~mdwiggins/code_hero.htm ).

I like this ending far better, the person or persons who said to use the other are asses, how many Virologist do they think survived the outbreak! You would need someone who had his notes and the samples to cure the population in the end and that would take many more years because you would have to weaponize the cure in order to insure that everyone one received the Cure! I even wrote an alternate ending myself, I told others that it would take from three to five sec for the grenade to go off, but they said I was stupid for saying how it had ending wrong. Also remember that we all saw those guys standing around him in the trailers so there had to be a better ending! I also explained who in part two how the virus was continuing to change the infected and that their abilities were increasing, and that they were becoming more like the vampires of legend! Dr. Neville had gone out on a search for more gin pigs to test how well the cure would work , because they could not afford to wait three or four day for it to work, he was developing a faster process to assimilate the cure into the infected! But during their search they encounter a new type of infected and they are running out of time the infected are have more trouble find food in the cities which provide them protection from the day light so they are having to expand their search for food outside the cities which in time have them come toward and humans that are left in the would in camps, this only protection right now is that they are far from any protection for the infected , but as their powers has expanded so has their range of movement throughout the country. So if Neville dose not complete his cure soon their will be now one left, because they will be food for the infected.

I like this ending far better, the person or persons who said to use the other are asses, how many Virologist do they think survived the outbreak! You would need someone who had his notes and the samples to cure the population in the end and that would take many more years because you would have to weaponize the cure in order to insure that everyone one received the Cure! I even wrote an alternate ending myself, I told others that it would take from three to five sec for the grenade to go off, but they said I was stupid for saying how it had ending wrong. Also remember that we all saw those guys standing around him in the trailers so there had to be a better ending! I also explained who in part two how the virus was continuing to change the infected and that their abilities were increasing, and that they were becoming more like the vampires of legend! Dr. Neville had gone out on a search for more gin pigs to test how well the cure would work , because they could not afford to wait three or four day for it to work, he was developing a faster process to assimilate the cure into the infected! But during their search they encounter a new type of infected and they are running out of time the infected are have more trouble find food in the cities which provide them protection from the day light so they are having to expand their search for food outside the cities which in time have them come toward and humans that are left in the would in camps, this only protection right now is that they are far from any protection for the infected , but as their powers has expanded so has their range of movement throughout the country. So if Neville dose not complete his cure soon their will be now one left, because they will be food for the infected. In the book the legend is mankind they no longer rule the world the new society of vampire would , but you have to ask yourself how would they survive they eat everything in cite, once their food is gone they are gone , then there is the possibility that the virus is not done changing them, in the book they found a way to maintain some of their humanity , but we know viruses do two thing really good they change and they multiply very fast to take over an organisms, how would the new society survive if they didn't find a new way to maintain themselves as human-hybrids. In my visions they are still doom if you look at the book! In the book they were stone cold killers too so don’t look too harshly on Neville for killing them at least he was trying to solve the problem of the virus.

a raft can be built and thye could tranfer thir gaer to the other vehicle

Much better ending. The one released in cinemas was blatantly tacked on, and tacky. This one had some credibility. We could have left the cinema feeling like we'd seen something, and it would have stayed with us, instead of feeling like we'd been sold nothing more than the opportunity to eat popcorn

are the bridges the only way to get out or are thier tunnels?

there are ferries too!

Elvis #3 Perhaps the bad guy dying seems easier and less "neat" than everything working out for him in the end, and usually that would be a more daring choice because the audience gets attached to the main characters. In this case, however, I think is is impossible to ignore that the theatrical ending leaves the vampire like creatures as simple "monsters" with a typical heroic sacrifice at the end. There is nothing profound there. The true genius of the original story is to see how the hero is actually a "monster" to this new society of species, he is the freak that comes while they are sleeping and terrorizes them. And they retain some level of humanity, too, with the love story that was never really revealed with the theatrical ending either. When Will Smith's character looks at the wall where he has photographed and catalogued the hundreds of them he has captured and killed in the name of finding a cure, he sees everything differently, and the audience gets to think. This is what makes great endings, not mere spectacles.

And Scott - Why the slew of crude language? That is all your posts contained. You've yet to offer a single substantial observation or idea about the movie itself, not a single supporting point! If you didn't like it, fine, and feel free to drop a few poignant four letter words, we are all adults. But please tell me you have something more intellectual to contribute than "mindless fucktards" etc., especially if you are going to attack the intellect of those who enjoyed it.

Interesting alternate ending, and less cliche than Will Smith blowing himself up... A few problems, though. The Vampires ARE seen as uncontrolled, animalistic, and driven by a lust for blood. Also, these vampires were ONCE human beings. It seems stupid for the film to preach "respect" for their new existence and society, since they've obviously "de-evolved" into growling and snarling neanderthals. It seems rather INCONSISTENT for the Alpha Male to snatch up his beloved, and for the hoard to then have a "...okay boys, we got what we came for" attitude. It turns the vampires into a group of pacifist flower children. Still, the theatrical ending DID need to indicate that the Alpha was after his woman. The movie DID need to indicate that the vampires were more "human" than the good doctor gave them credit for. I got a sense of that when the creatures had the intelligence to set a trap for the doc. I was surprised by that. So I propose an conclusion that combines both endings. An ending that has the Neville hide the woman and boy in the tunnel, after handing them the antidote. The alpha Vampire breaks through the glass, and instead of attacking the doctor, he grabs his woman off the gurney. Neville is confused. Slowly, Neville realizes that the Alpha is after the woman. He then injects the woman with the "KV Virus" active agent, and Alpha does his growl at Neville...then takes his woman away...with the Hoard parting to let him through. Smith looks at the wall with the photos, and muses verbally or non-verbally, "Have I lost my humanity as well?" Once the Alpha leaves, the Hoard is now free to come at him. The bitter and atheistic Neville now says "God forgive me" (...since his "listening" to the butterfly message already told us that he found some type of faith again), and THEN as the Hoard of vampires claw and bite into him, he blows them all up. This movie is very well made, but did have a somehwhat weak script. It's not just based on the novel "I am legend" but based on the original movie version "The Omega Man."

Steve #821 The "new age" vampires aren't all out vampires yet. They are infected but they haven't transformed (remember the woman that shows up in the book talking about a pill she takes?) and Living vampire is someone who didn't die and became a vampire (kinda like sam the dog in the movie) and a dead one is like his wife in the book, she dies, he buries her, then she comes back after him. Do you remember reading in the book how the bacteria takes over the body as a parasite and controls the body making it a trade off. I'll give your body this fake life and you give me fresh blood. Hopefully that helps.

Actually, I preferred the original ending, other than the 'God' concept. The supposed real ending is too Hollywood predictable - ie male rescues female from captor and everyone lives happily ever after. And he wasn't the last human on the planet, was he!

Of the entries I read, Chris from 826 is the best. I think the ending he proposed is the ending I would like to see. It seems to capture enough of what I gather is the story from the book (from entries describing it - I've never read it), have some cool explosions, blood, and gore, kills off the main character who probably deserves to die, and yet still leaves that small glimmer of hope for humanity (the cure) that a number of humanists need to have at the end of such an apocalyptic story. In deriving my own opinion from the opinions of others, I think both endings are a bitter disappointment when one considers what might have been.

Personally, after just watching the original theatrical ending again in light of the better ending I was endorsing above, I have concluded that I don't believe that there should have been a successful cure. Neville should have concluded that his efforts to find a cure were a failure and a mistake. The story emmanates the idea that we did this to ourselves out of foolishness. Why should humanity deserve a second chance? Is it right to attempt to "cure" a race of creatures that doesn't want to be cured, and even views such attempts at finding a cure as injustice and murder? The fact is that we created this new evolving race, and they deserve the same oportunity to live as we had. Perhaps the movie should have been truly apocalyptic, with the race of mankind ending right there. Neville should have went out with a grenade blast of glory - one last spark for mankind, with no hope for humanity to rebuild itself. As grim as it sounds, that would have made for an awesome story grimly attesting to the risks of experimenting with DNA viral research (just like the Resident Evil series). I conclude that the movie makers missed out on some amazing storytelling oportunities that could have really brought to life what sounds like an amazingly written book.

...y anyone would want to use these sorts of forums to insult and frontally attack other peoples point of view is just wrong. we can criticize...but not in anger! its just rude, unnecessary, and i think barbaric to be doing so... whoever posted this...dude...u just made a great movie end even better... ...thank u...

the book is totallly different from all the movies but one the first one!

He can still die in part two, remeber how they messed up Ultraviolet by rushing the story sometimes it take a while to fully understand a charcter, what thier motovations are what kjeep them going each day know thw whole whlie death is just outside the door, how they loose the desire for se over time withut human contact, how you can start to here want is not there, and covence yourself a lie is the truth. to determine over time that we really do need one another even those individuals that get on our last nerve because they aid in shaping our live eeven if it is in a very small way!

Humans deserve a second chance because GOD gives us a chance even when we have been awful in even thing we do. We know what is right and wrong but we as a people cast that away for what we want. We lie and cover it up so that other will not look upon us in a bad way. We betray to gain an advantage over someone that we deem not worthy of anything good. We follow the mob mentally which allow very awful deeds to be done and after everyone has calmed down no one pays for those deeds, we justify it and say that if was not my fault and that I was just going along with the crowd. But we know deep within our own heart that we did was totally wrong. We force our will on others and claim that we are for freedom for all mankind, as long as it does not cost us anything. We don't even realize that man is not basically good, even in the bible Jesus said that their in none good but GOD. But we keep on lying and tell people that they are good so that we can fit into our little groups that feed on those lies. We attack others who look, speak, think and act differently then us because it make us feel better to blame someone else for our problems that we created by not doing what we were supposed to do ourselves which is be self-sufficient. We barrow knowing full well that we can’t pay it back then yell foul for our own greediness, and the thing that we had gotten we do not even use or want. Mankind is just an infant and because we are an infantile race we need another chance and time to grow up, and I thank GOD that he give us so many opportunists to do things his way before we destroy ourselves and those around us. Everything we do affects others and if we took the time to realize that we might just one day become not good but a descent people!

It should both be on the DVD.. I like this one more than the one in the cinema.

aight i don't like the idea that the darkseekers are seen as ruthless killing machines in the majority of the movie, and then in this ending they're just all thanks dude i'm gonna take my girl back to our vampire hive. the only reason i went to see the movie was because i loved the book and the commercials showed Neville in close contact with the Darkseekers, like in the alternative ending. I don't like how Neville died in the regular ending cuz he could have just thrown the grenade out of the little door thingy. His sacrifice was unnecessary in the cinema ending. But the Darkseekers should have taken the girl, killed smith, busted the glass, killed Anna, while the little kid got away and you heard his voice on the radio talking about Dr. Robert Neville being mankinds legend or whatever. Or all three of them should have died and humanity should have been wiped out completely, and it has something to do with god doing something or other because the whole religion-God thing in this movie is very important. i still love the movie, but both endings are so so. + plus how do they drive off the bridge to the colony in vermont if the military shot the bridge down?

Great commentaries here! Viewers are always more creative than "play it safe" Hollywood and it's fear of originality. How is the hero dying in a self- sacrificing explosion "cliche?" One example would be in the blockbuster "Independence Day," another Will Smith film. One unlikely protagonist, played by Randy Quaid, yells out some cornball lines before flying his jet with the "jammed missile" into the spaceship. All that protagonists dying, as in another proposed ending, is too reminiscent of "Night of the Living Dead." All it leaves the viewer with is futility...we could call it the "Emo" ending. Let's all cut ourselves as we watch it. And yes, KILLING the loyal Dog is also too predictable!! What a shock it would had been, if Samantha the dog survived through the movie. I will admit, though...the look on Will Smith's face as he strangled his dog was probably the most compelling scene of the film. The alternate ending should NOT show them driving across a bridge. All bridges must had been brought down. Let's also remember, the new society of vampire mutants have something comparible to "rabies." As if normal humanity isn't violent enough! They are doomed through their aggressive impulses. Still, there resides enough humanity in them for Neville to have respected. Thus, the antidote is important... just not at the cost of being a serial killer, aka Nazi doctor experiments in concentration camps. Chad

I am legend was a great PG-13 movie right up until the ending and since seeing it in theaters I've been telling everyone it sucked simply because it was a horrible ending. This original was exponentially better than the one that ruined the whole movie for me. Thank you = )

i dont think that quarantine would work anyways the virus would eventually find its way out of New york city and wouldnt matter eventually I dont think fauly equipment had anything to do with it

The alternate ending of the movie wouldve been good to see, but I see the problem. The whole "legend" concept was destroyed by it. A legend to me was a huge, like major war or politics, person(s). But, like the other legends, that person(s) are now dead. In the movie ending, he could be considered a legend. In this one, I would consider him a hero.

Never read the book, but the last 10 minutes of the theatrical version ruined the movie for me. THis ending was FAR superior!!

also, I hate the movie BECAUSE of the theatrical ending. leave it up to hollywood to destroy something beautiful.

I don't get the comments about how this alternate ending is better than the theatrical ending. The theatrical ending fits in based on what has already been shown from the first minute of the movie. I'm not saying that the alternate ending is complete crap but it doesn't fit. How exactly is Neville a legend when he realizes that all the "head vampire" wanted was the female? Many are analyzing this as they have read the book, but if you haven't read the book, it fits in perfectly fine. In the book, he's a legend because hunts "vampires". In the movie Neville is a legend because he saves mankind. No matter how you put it, one can make arguments about the movie about how such and such didn't work, but the movie is titled "I Am Legend" and from the beginning of the movie, you already knew that Neville was trying to be the "good guy" buy finding a cure (which he ultimately does at his own demise). Again, you can make points to which ending is better, but you can't mix and match and say it's better because you've read the book and can justify your arguments. "I Am Legend" - human population is almost extinct, Neville trying to find a cure, ultimately does sacrifices himself for the cure to work: Legend status achieved "I Am Legend" - human population is almost extinct, Neville trying to find a cure, ultimately does but realizes that vampire hunting him down just to get the girl back, Neville lives happily ever after: How exactly is his legend status achieved? (WITHOUT mention of the book where he is considered a legend to the vampires because he's the only living man capable of killing the vampires) Like I said, if you've never even heard about the book and just went to see this movie, everything works out fine, but when you complicate things by taking taking stuff from the book and asking why they cut it out, then it creates a mess of what the movie is really about and debates start to happen.

Both ending makes sense. I liked the alternate ending becuase Neville didn't have to die.. But in order to be a "legend" in my opinion, you have to die while being a hero right? He did what he had to do to save Anna and Ethan so they could give the cure to the other survivors because he knew he wouldn't make it. And if you think about it, I'm sure he didn't mind being killed. He looked at his wife and daughters picture right before the gernade exploded. He wanted to be with his family again. Anna carried on his name and that is why it's called I am Legend. This movie was amazing. I didn't care too much for Sam the dog being killed, it made me cry lol. But Will Smith did a great job.

i love the alternate ending but it still conflicts because he said he would never leave ground zero, it was his project.

Two comments about the comments following mine. First off, about these creatures being like rabid animals, I'm not sure I entirely agree. I think it's our own arragance that makes us believe we were any different during our own "stone age". The author is trying to get across the idea that these creatures are evolving. If we evolved from mere apes, why can`t these creatures evolve into an intelligent and productive society. I suggested there should be no cure, simply because it kills who they are, which is against the idea that they have a `right` to live just like we had. The author is suggesting that it is not fair for us to judge them as `animals` that must `be fixed`. We created them, we brought about our own destruction. We must live and die with the consequences of our actions. As for the Christian argument, I would not disagree. However, the story is not a Christian story, and in fact appears to take place in a world in which God is not real or in charge. I was attemtping to view the movie in this context. I myself am a Christian, but in the context of this fiction, is irrelevant. Your argument would have been a good one if I didn`t ask my question in the philosophical context of the movie and book.

The alternate DVD ending is better, much better. I read the book and was hoping for a real "i am legend" type ending too, and glad to see they at least made one.

I haven't read the book but have learned a good deal about it from reading these posts. 1) How can Neville be a monster when in his mind he is trying to save his own species from extinction. 2) How could he possibly surrender himself the the idea that the infected should be allowed to exist without him trying to find a cure after the virus destroyed everything he ever knew or loved 3) I agree with the person earlier who said that the alternated ending made the carnivorous dark seekers look like a bunch of pacifists 4) if another animal sees you as food and has a legitimate chance of eating you, you probably wouldn't be ok with the idea of co- existing with it 5) If you watch this or read a story like this and feel that allowing the infected to continue being mindless cavemen/ zombie creatures is the 'humane' way to operate you have a fucked up way of looking at thing...

Great points, Alex. If the creatures truly wished they could go back to what they were before the dissease, than all Neville did would be justified. Have you considered that the creatures appear to be resisting and even resenting the finding of a cure? Could it be our own arrogant presumption that makes us believe that these creatures "can't possibly be happy" because they don't live the way we live right now? It's true that the dissease was thrust upon them. Howver, perhaps in some strange way that our arrogant human selves can't quite comprehend, maybe they "prefer" their new current existence. There is nobody to speak on behalf of the creatures except the author of the book. I think that is what the author is trying to get us to understand - there may be other ways to exist besides our own that give one a rich fullfilling life. If these creatures really wanted to be cured, "why did they resist so passionately?" Not once did any of the creatures call out and ask to be "helped". I welcome any differences of opinion - however it's a real challenge to overrule my suggestion that "arrogant presumption" causes one to feel that these creatures can't "prefer" what they've become. Now, Nick, my point also challenges your idea that allowing these creatures to continue being like mindless cave men/zombie creatures is a "fucked up way of looking at things". By that idea, some sophisticated evolved aliens should have come down to earth during the early stone age when we were cavemen creatures and whiped us out, saving us the trouble of an empty existence. We don't know what these creatures may become if they are allowed to evolve. They might go on to form a great world that makes our current civilization look like one of arrogant, materialistic, barbarians. Once again, our own arrogant presumption should not be a basis for judging other life forms in a lesser evolved state.

I dont see the problem with the theatrical ending, i like the idea of him being a legend to the survivors. If thats the way they decided to portray it then thats they way we are supposed to see it, thats the movie makers job. if you haven't noticed most films made from books are not the perfect adaption so why should this be?

The alternate ending is the better one. I am really disappointed in the studio. For the reasons above. I was absolutely enthralled with the movie up until Anna shows up. It left me wanting so much more, from his hostility to the explosion. I infered the story line that gets resolved in the alternate ending. But was left unsatisfied in the theater. I was drawn to this picture from seeing the title online, the previews wetted my appetite further and the actual movie blew me out of the water. Sure it was a great example of present day movie magic, and a great example of a classic horror/thriller. But what got my adrenaline pumping even more than the monsters and action on screen was the allegory involved. The story line and characters are timeless. This movie disguised as a "hollywood horror action movie" packs a profound story that places it among all the great myths.

Daniel Gagne i still can't go for that. They push each other around and kill each other sometimes. I don't know if you've read the book but im going to use some examples because i just started reading it. They kill the women and eat them. THEY KILL THEIR OWN PEOPLE AND EAT THEM. There's no way any of them would want that. If they were healed they wouldn't have to fight for their food and kill each other. They only think about one thing, BLOOD. They may have some sort of mind but not real good one. And if they were healed they wouldn't have to fear be eaten by the others. And the reason they don't express they want to be cured is because they can't. They don't know what we're trying to do so they're afraid. Thats like a wild animal if its sick and dying. It doesn't want us to go by it even though we're trying to help. But when it gets better its happy and grateful to still be alive instead of struggling. Its the same concept, we're like a foreign creature that they can't trust. Thats why they can't express the need of help.

alex billington: as a "layman" moviegoer who has never read the book,i did think of the original ending as neville sacrificing himself to save humanity... especially since he kept saying during the movie that he could fix it and he could save everyone... i think it occurred to him that while he may be able to fix it, it was too late to save everyone, he couldnt save him self and everyone else, it was one or the other and he had to make that choice. also, i agree that the alternate ending was a bit sappy in that everyone lived "happily ever after". I have never read the book, but from what i gather from other peoples comments, neville was killed in the book right ( i may be wrong but i think i read that in the book anna was an "evolved daylight" vampire and she lured neville to the other vampires and they killed him. While i see how the alternate ending stays truer to general theme of the book, i think the happily ever after part ruins it because in reality, with or without the head vampires girlfriend, the vampires are still hungry and are still going to follow their own instincts to survive. All in all i like both endings but the original theatrical ending still wins for me

i thought the original ending in theatres was dumb. but now that i've seen this ending, i'm not sure which is worse. the ending here is completely unrealistic in relation to the plot. there is no way the zombie creatures would have gone from hostile, bloodthirsty, pure instinct creatures to just, "ok, here's our woman. we're cool now"

WOW! we just finished watching the movie at home and dang, this ending is sooooo much better! we all think that this would have been a way better ending in the movie then the actual movie ending!

This is an idea I feel has yet to be floated; Everything is the same as the theatrical release. The only difference is that the reason Neville incinerates himself at the end is because he realizes that "Ben" is there for his woman and that he (Neville) must also be a monster for what he has done to the "vampires". Scene: Ben bashing his head against the glass, Dr. Neville looking at Bens eyes and seeing that his gaze is fixed on the "cured" female vampire. Ben madder and madder, bashing harder and harder as he grows more and more concerned for his mate, what have you done to her!? Dr. Neville seeing how different the "cured" female looks than the rest of her people. He looks at the pictures on his wall and is filled with sadness and disgust at what hes done to them. He pulls the pin on the grenade without even noticing or caring that Ben has made it through the glass and is at his mates side, is it possible a tear in Bens eye? We'll never know as the screen is filled with fire and then blinding white light....

Yes, I am with you 100% I like the original ending that you posted on your site better. MUCH better. in fact... I found this site because I heard there was an alternate ending, and when I rented the movie from blockbuster it must have come with a second disc that they did not feel worth allowing me to have because I could not find it on the disc. Thank you for making this ending available... I enjoyed it much more than the ending on the movie itself.

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, but if I had a criticism it would be the scenes with the CG characters. I am not sure how much of the book was followed in making this movie, but I didn't see how the CG lion(s) helped the story. Also, I may be alone here, but I thought that the most suspenseful scenes in the movie were the ones that the creatures were not visible, such as when he went into the dark building looking for his dog and whipping the beam of his flashlight back and forth at sounds he heard. It would have been interesting to see them film this movie similar to Jaws where you didn't actually see the creatures until the end. I also would have liked to see them use an actor rather than a CGI character. Although CGI has made great strides, these characters still looked fake to me which ended up hurting the story. A little more creativeness with the camera in showing the creatures blurred or zipping past the camera would have also heightened the suspense. I think Afred Hitchcock once said that some of the most frightening things are what you don't see. Just a thought. Thanks for posting the alternate ending. I definately preferred that version over the theatrical version. I also picked up on the thought that someone had stated earlier about the bridge being intact at the end. Don't they hire continuity people to think of these things or do they just all think movie-goers don't have the wherewithall to pick this stuff up. I think if they filmed it as the three of them reaching the far shore on a makeshift raft and Will Smith pausing and looking back at Manhattan before walking off with the girl and kid would have been a better ending scene.

I agree that this ending was definitely better. The relationship between Smith and the aggressive zombie character is certainly an interesting and different approach.

Daniel Gagne no problem it was a fun debate. I'll let you know when i get to the end it might be a couple days cause i just started and i don't have much free time. Its a good book for anyone that wants to know but it is quite a bit different from the movie.

I thought the alternate ending was awful. As a playwright and an actor, I did not see the ending fit with the themes in the rest of the film. The ending certainly fit better with the theme of the book, but here's a secret, the movie wasn't a book... That being said I do have to agree that overall the script was not a great adaptation of the book because it did not follow the theme, mood, and message of the novel, but you can't change that in the last five minutes. The alternate ending took every theme that had been building up the entire film and said, "No, we were wrong." It wasn't just the character realizing he was wrong, but it was the film makers announcing that they weren't on the right path. I can see how someone would like the alternate ending better, I personally prefer the original ending as a spiritual person. Isolated, the alternate is fine, but included with the rest of the theme packed film it doesn't fit at all. I think a huge part of that is because it seems like Will Smith was acting toward the theatrical ending and not the alternate. Robert Neville in the book became a cold man who hunted down vampires just because they were evil. Though we are rooting for him the whole time, we realize in the end that he was blind and callus. In the film however, Nevile was a man who wanted nothing more to save the world from the pain and torment he and his family had to feel. Ending the book with Neville becoming the Legendary monster fit perfectly with the book, but a more fitting ending for the film was Neville becoming a Legendary hero.

This ending is awesome in various ways. For one, Robert Neville doesn't sacrifice his life in this ending, which leaves much more of a satisfying feeling than the original ending in theaters. Second, it extends more of a lesson to be learned because you learned that darkseekers aren't really just savages and you should sometimes trust someone despite of their typical behavoir. Finally third , it brings more of an understanding to the movie because it shows that the darkseekers human characteristics aren't entirely absent.

This ending was better, period.

I just saw this movie, and when I was walking out of the theatre I can honestly say that, even without reading the book, I was slightly disappointed with the ending because it had left so many loose ends when it concerned the Infected. I much prefer this ending as it built on the way the Infected were acting, and it showed definitely why the male kept coming after Richard (first going into the sunlight and then setting the elaborate trap). I suspected that the female Infected was his "woman" (for lack of a better term), but they never built upon that. Oh, and I did also notice that they were attempting to drive over a bridge that wasn't technically there anymore (or shouldn't have been considering the government blew up the bridges, during Richard's flashbacks, so that no one could get across). I very much prefer this ending, and I have to thank you for posting it.

Hi i'm from Europe and i have to say the cinema ending sucked !!!!! The original ending is awesome !

I thought the theactrical ending wasn't that good i like the alternate ending but it's too short and does he even get the cure for the virus?

Personally, I LIKED THE ENDING IN THEATRES, it was MUCH more exciting, heart pounding, and makes you feel concerned, happy, sad, angry, and almost every emotion at the same time, BRAVO to the Director, he did a wonderful job choosing the ending he did. Athough, I DID like this ending,it was still good, just not at good as the real ending But i think the Theater ending was much stronger, and i loved the Idea that HE actually remade humanity, made him much more legendary, and left me shocked and wondering for hours.

the original ending was good, however the Alt ending did pay at least some homage too the book, however, the movie was really just a remake of Omega Man. I like both endings, altho i am glad to see they did make this one.

Wow. This would have been a much better ending. Count me in to tell WB that they seriously screwed up the movie. I really enjoyed it until the end, I was left with a feeling of, "uhhh, what?"

I'm in the minority here liking the theatrical ending better. The way I saw this movie was that the infected were evolving. After years, they got an alpha male and became smarter (hence the trap they set up to catch Neville). This alternate ending it just so inconsistent. Why would the vampires spend 2 hours of the movie trying to kill anything that wasn't infected and then let Neville, Anna, and Ethan, pretty much go free in the end? I understand that the alternate ending is more consistent with the book, but this is the movie and not the book.

My husband and I loved this movie until the end, when we looked at each other like "HUH?" I defintely like the alternate version SO much more. However, Will Smith is an awesome actor no matter how you slice it.

" Alex, Your taste for movies must reside somewhere in your asshole if you think this movie even deserves to be near a best of 2007 list. This was one of the worst movies of 2007 and resembled I-Robot so much that it probably could have been called I-notveryscarymonster. For you to see this movie at the theatres 3 times is a disgrace as it proves that your intellect is somewhere beteween that of a turd and a retarded spider monkey. Also now that you are actually trying to decifer why the most retarded scientist in movie history was killed really proves your stupidity. Scott on Mar 5, 2008 " Interresting Scott, what made you think that " I am Legend " doesn't deserve to be near a best of 2007 list? Is it because you don't want Movies like " Across the Universe ", which IMO was a horrible video that made no sense and didn't show a story to me? You don't have to go around calling people assholes. I doubt you can even define the word without using someone elses name. Please leave this one alone, and don't be a disgrace to this website, you're basically waisting everyone's time.

Awsome Mc Awsome, I know you are not correct in your assumption of why people don't like the ending. I expect the hero to die sometimes and it was predictable here. I want something unpredictable... the new ending is unpredictable. Also, I like the new ending because there is suddenly compassion for creatures hated and feared during the whole movie.. a new way of seeing things. That is so unique to find in a movie!

Totally profound! The theatrical ending was depressing, unfulfilling. It did make money, though, so we're kind of encouraging them!

I strongly believe that the ending shown in theatres is the "correct" ending for the movie. The movie was "based on" the book but it was NOT the book. The movie was created, I believe, as an allegory which contains a positive message "for those with ears to hear and eyes to see." I am a Rastafari. The way the move was presented conforms entirely to Rastafari principles and presents a spiritual truth in physical form. The virus in the movie is a physical manifestation. It is portrayed as an evil thing which infects all of humanity with a disease that renders them violent and no longer possessing the human characteristics of social consciousness. They are described as vampires and parasites which prey on those members of the human race who have not become infected. Rastafari teaches that on the spiritual realm, there exists a segment of the human race that has a spiritual malady that has resulted in violent and predatory tendencies and lack of concern for fellow human beings (the most virulent example would be the mind set that resulted in the Nazi holocost, but includes the the perpetrators of all wars, violent crimes, political and social oppression, and every day con-men of all sorts). There is, on the other hand, a segment of the human race that is not violent and does not prey upon others but instead lives according to principles of equality, love, and concern for others. It is significant that the main character is named Robert Neville and that he plays the music of Bob Marley, that the main character's child was named Marley, and that he explains to the female character just who Bob Marley was and what his message was. Bob Marley's name was Robert Nesta Marley. He was a conscious Rastafari who formed a Reggae musical group, called the Wailers, one member of which was named Neville Livingston (aka Bunny Wailer.) Bob Marley and the Wailers spread the Rastafari message to all corners of the world. The Rastafari objective is freedom and unification of all peoples. Minds cannot be changed by force but only by divine guidance leading one person at a time to achieve a higher consciousness. Bob Marley referred to persons who prey upon their fellow humans (oppression, slavery, social injustice) as "vampires." This movie can be viewed as an effort toward the Rastafari purpose. The main character's goal is to find the antidote for the virus so that he can save the people who are already infected, and to do that he uses his own blood, which he gives for the purpose of finding that cure. Toward the end of the movie, when he has the vial with the cure in his hand and he is being beseigec by the vampires, he shouts at them, "I can save you." But they cannot understand and do not seek to be saved because they are in the throes of their malady. They know only the violence and they care only to prey on their victims. The main character is a Christ-like person who seeks to redeem those who have become like vampires. Even though these people have killed his family, he does not hate them. He sacrifices himself to save them. This is also the Rastafari response: resistance to the evils of the world, combined with mercy and love, as Yahshua (Christ) Himself proclaimed from the cross: “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34 KJV). “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?” (Matthew 5:43-46 KJV). Thus, the main character keeps the greatest commandment of Christ, which is also the greatest commandment of Rastafari: “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:10) The Rastafari motto: “One Love - One World - One Destiny” summarizes all the above when the famale character carries the vial of blood, which contains the antibodies for the cure, to the safe haven. As Saint Paul stated in his sermon to the Romans, "If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches." The vial will be used to make more of the antibodies which will cure the 'vamires' from the malady that had caused them to become violent and predatory toward their fellow human beings. Through the fulfillment by the main character of Yahshua’s (Christ’s) greatest commandment to love everyone (One Love), the cure will bring about the harmony that will unite all the peoples (One World), which will achieve the One Destiny: a united humanity living in harmony with no predators and no prey among them. Just as the main character's main purpose was not to obliterate the people who were suffering from the malady, so also physical revolution is not the intent of the Rastafari way. The reason for that is because physical revolution is destructive and, therefore, since violence and wars are part of the ways of the predominant oppressive powers throughout history, such actions are to be avoided. Not only are followers of Rastafari to do no harm to others but it is also part of the commandment of Yahshua (Christ) that InI (we) should do all in our power to lift up those who are downtrodden. Rastafari holds that Jah (God) has told us what to do and that He has given each person the free will to do it – the greatest commandment is to love. Violence toward others is not love. War is not love. Social injustice is not love. Anything that harms any human being (physically, emotionally, or spiritually) is not love and should be resisted. “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.” However, Bob Marley did acknowledge that a revolution of some sort is called for: “I mean maybe it’s the beginning. You know, me live within the time, and me know what a gwaan. Because it’s the consciousness against the folly; that’s the Armageddon." In this quotation, Marley stated that he (and by extension all Rastafari) are not ignorant about the decadent state of the world: “me know what a gwan” (I know what’s going on). He suggested that a revolution in thought and spirit is beginning, and that this revolution is one of “the consciousness against the folly.” The “consciousness” he sites refers to the positive consciousness of the followers of the Rastafari faith, which has set itself as the spiritual opponent of “the folly.” In Rastafari terminology and the Jamic language (Jamaican patois), “folly” refers to foolishness and includes any actions that are not based on sound judgment. Thus, the decadent affairs of the present day world are viewed as being based on unsound principles (which bring harm to others) and such principles must be resisted and opposed. Marley defines this spiritual warfare as the “Armageddon,” which also calls to mind the Armageddon of Revelation, the prophesy of the final spiritual battle in which good will triumph over evil. Rastafari teaches self control in regard to each Rasta’s participation in the predominant system in which some people behave like "vampires" and promote or condone materialistic consumption, neocolonialism and labor practices that exploit the Earth and its peoples, and aggressive competition in economic and political arenas. Increasing numbers of people in all nations are gaining an awareness that with consciousness of the interconnectedness of, and respect for, all peoples and all living things, we (InI – each and every “I” – each individual) can make a difference in the lives of others, and ultimately in our own lives and the lives of our children and the children in generations to come. That is the purpose of Rastafari. The movie, with its current ending, conveys that message "for all who have ears to hear and eyes to see." Seen?

That was terrible You don't want a creature/monster showing human feelings in any way The theatre one was perfect except for the part with the girl and kid. They all should have died with the grenade and it should have left it like that This ending was painful and frankly tried to make a disturbing concept come out nice in the end I don't want nice ! I want reality!

To say that this ending is superioir to the one shown in cinema's is an understatement of Monty Pythian proportions. I am so glad to have stumbled over this site. For me it upgrades the film considerably. It renders the story much more powerful, the storyline much more interesting and, not unimportantly, much closer to the original idea of the book (where dr. Neville turns into the (freightening) legend to the vampire-likes.

I never read the book... When I watched the movie in theaters, I thought the ending was crazy. I mean, they spend this time building up that at least 1 vampire is smart enough to set a trap for him and knew what a good bit of bait would be. The ending was horrible. Now that I've seen this.... OMFG... It was wonderful and MUCH better. I really can't believe how much better it makes the whole movie and doesn't cause it to be disjointed of "Hey, these creatures are actually smart. Perhaps there is hope for them" to "Nope. Mindless animals. Move along."

This ending was infinitely better than the theatrical one, it finally addressed what the entire movie was about from when he captured the female "vampire." finally the characters got to see why they were being hunted so fiercely and the real intelligence behind some of the "vampires." Very satisfying. Though the driving across the bridge didn't quite make sense.

Well this should have been the real ending...that's all i have to say.

WB really did choose the wrong (rubbish) ending. This one is absolutely the better ending for this great movie.

Haven't read many of the comments before this one, so forgive me if I'm missing anything important, but here's another vote for this ending instead of the one that played in cinemas. I hated the ending I saw first, and that's nothing to do with any sentimentality - I have no problems with the "hero" dying at the end of the film, but quite frankly the ending I saw just didn't work. Although it's not perfect, this resolves things much more neatly - the other ending raised more problems than it solved.

The theatrical ending was a more appropriate choice within the context of the movie. The "monsters" were portrayed simply as monsters (generally speaking) throughout the entire movie so that ending works. That being said, I did not like the theatrical ending. It felt like kind of a let down. It was boring and not at all provocative. It felt kind of like, "Ehhhhh," when I saw it. It's just more appropriate given the construct of the film. The alternate ending was completely unsupportable; it is a complete shift which contradicts the rest of the movie. Plus the CGI was completely unbelievable and impossible to connect with emotionally. It just doesn't work. They'd have to revamp the entire movie to make the alternate ending work. AND they'd have had to revamp the entire movie to go along with the themes in the book.

Commenting solely on the alternate ending I would have to say that would pull an otherwise ho-hum Movie out of the gutter and give it a helluva lot more credibility. Tense and scary, I would have been much happier to see that roll and can't believe WB went with the other. As to the Movie in general, it did the book a disservice and butchered it, I was pretty furious when watched a significant science-fiction book being torn apart.

You are right, I was not a fan of the last 10 minutes or so. But after seeing the true, and real ending, I feel like it was saved the whole movie for me. I also hate when movie studios get in the way, and I think they should just let the Director do his thing, Let his vision show on the big Screen Not there's. I mean! That is why you Hire Directors is it not.....Will Smith ROCKS........................

that i think cold toch to people and ya it did seme like that he was a seral killer sort of becas he ysed difernt vacs sens but it dos show that thay still think and have fealing

As I saw the ending in the theater, I was deeply confused, as it didn't seem to mesh with the nature of the rest of the film. Now I finally know what the legend really is, and now the dichotomy is gone. Nevil seemed to act out of character in the last few minutes of the film, and it nearly ruined the film. The legend in the theaters implied that he was at least infamous, and at the end he was certainly famous, but this ending truly brings out the profound human population inversion - and that the story carries on. Thanks for making this one of my favorite films, and I look forward to watching it on DVD with friends who have not been biased

The alternate ending is the best ending for this particular movie without question. Reason being, Neville actually learned (and I can't emphasize the word learned enough) something. Rather than reinforcing the typical "if you love something enough you MUST die for it" ideology of the theatrical ending. This Book/movie draws heavily from Dunne's Meditation 17 in which he wrote "No man is an Island" meaning that we are ALL interconnected to humankind. Neville even goes so far as to reject his own family and other offers from Alice to leave the Island (Manhattan) and "join the flock". Why? The main character must learn something about himself. Even though everyone he loved died, he was still not alone. When he did feel most alone in the alien world (realizing that the mannequin in the video store was the only "person" in the world left to get to know), he tried to kill himself. Alice represents hope. She bridged the gap between him and humanity, even though he yells at her and another actual HUMAN being that there is no one left on Earth, she stands firm and tells him that she believes (that god told her) there are other survivors. The final words of the alternate ending are "you are not alone." The butterfly represents a change in HUMANkind which his daughter (aka Marley) was repeatedly trying to tell him look daddy a butterfly i.e. we are changing as humans whether you like it or not, and we're all in this together. "Don't worry about a thing....." If you use the theatrical ending, he's just another martyr who dies without learning Marley's lesson "One love....Let's get together and feel alright..." If you use the alternate ending, he learns what John Dunne, Bob Marley, and the author of I am Legend are trying to teach you and me: No Man Is An Island.

BTW, Neville is the "Legend" in this movie for the same reason Marley's CD is called Legend....Neville broadcasts Hope everyday on all AM frequencies promising food, shelter, etc. People heard Neville's message of hope and responded to it. If she doesn't show up (with excellent timing I might add), he dies -plain and simple. He can't survive alone in the world. And he then can no longer deliver what his message offers. Just like people hear Marley's message today of hope for a better world, and respond to it, and even make movies today based on that message! I haven't read the book but I'm pretty sure it doesn't include reggae music and huge, overt references to Bob Marley. Cinema allows the artist to add other features, embellishments, enhancements, where words sometimes fall short. I don't want a movie to be like a book. I want a movie to be like a movie with rich music and images that show, not tell, basic human emotions. Like the connection between Sam and Neville, or a little girl who makes butterfly signs with her hands the way we used to when we were kids. I think books are great, but they do fall short in certain areas and movies help enhance those areas where they do fall short.

I liked this ending better. It gives the story a really nice conclusion a provides the possibility that New York could be saved without so much sacrifice.

I have to say, had this ending been shown instead of that god-awful stupid one that made it into theaters...Well I would have told people to go see the movie instead of telling everyone how much it sucked and to avoid it at all costs. The movie was really cool until the theatrical ending...its funny, cause normally the alternate ending is stupid and they replace it with a better one. I am Legend not only reversed that, they emphasized it. Theater-worst ending ever, Alternate-wow that is really cool...I'm pissed.

omg this ending just made my life soo much better when i was watching this movie with my friends it was so exciting and breathtaking with all the undead dudes and all but the last ten minutes of the movie totalyy changed my liking of the movie untill i saw this ending although, i think that the movie should have shown everyone actually dieing and turning into the undead, that would have been pretty cool

I thought both endings were fantastic! I did think though that this orignal one was much better. Either way i think Will Smith did a amazing job at acting for this movie.

vampires? they can't stand the light, they are attracted to blood, sharp teeth? also in terms of movie history, in the earlier films based on the novel e.g. omega man) there are stronger connections to traditional vampire lore. but also, some of those ealier versions actually influence george romero and others so you mgiht eb putting the cart before the horse a bit.

I like the alternative version. IT definitely has its merits. But something which came to me as I watched it... in one of the flashbacks we saw the military fire missles at the bridge to isolate the island. so how could they take the bridge out the city?

I so much loved this one over the other ending! and this one was just so much more. The other one was just lacking in something, but this one tied it up nicly and you could do a secound movie so easley off of this one if you wanted to.

Holy shit that ending was better.

Being a film critic myself I fully support your opinion and feel that the alternate ending would have made the movie substantially better.

It's actually funny, a lot of the complaints I'm reading here are the same ones I have about the Harry Potter movies (3 and 4 mainly). As someone who didn't read the book, and still hasn't, I personally love the theatrical ending. It really hit home for me, yes, I did get that he was sacrificing himself, and it almost made me cry. I did get the feeling that the girl that Neville took was important to the main zombie guy, even more so than the other zombies, but there were other underlying concepts there, too. Like the fact that the zombies were learning. I thought the way they did that was really cool, because before that you just think that these are mindless beings. The other thing that I got was that the main zombie guy was really vindictive. Yeah, the reason he got mad in the first place was that Neville had taken someone he cared about, but he didn't just want that rectified, he wanted to make him pay. I thought that was also really amazing, because for me, it made him seem more human. He didn't just want it made right, he wanted revenge, which is how LOTS of people think and feel in situations like that (death penalty). The last thing is just that I loved that the zombies didn't get to kill him. He went out fighting, and blew himself up (along with the zombies). I thought that was the best thing ever. I do understand, though, how it feels to love a story, and then have someone mutilate it.

Correction They were "supposed to be" vampires because in the book all they want is BLOOD (not flesh)

Personally i like the original ending i think its more emotional, how just runs into the lead vampire and kills him. hate all you want but i like the original ending better

Woa. This make so much more sense than the cinema released ending. I remember watching the movie and thinking that this was great bit of sci-fi except for the sucky ending which felt very contrived, and abrupt. Here's to a re-release with this ending or atleast a DVD with it on. Soooo much better conceptually, emotionally, cinematically. How studios f**k things up like this still beggers belief.

I also strongly prefer this ending, and might have chosen to see it multiple times in the theater had it not been for their ending choice. In the box office version Neville makes less and less sense towards the end of the movie, which I perceive as somewhat contradictory to his actual film-character. The alternate ending does portray him as the great person again at the end that he is supposed to represent in the movie.

the hollywood ending was much much better! roll with me for a minute please: Neville's blood was the cure right? So they eat Neville in there...the ones who ate him got cured. those in continue were eaten by the rest of the vampires coz they had become human. They second batch of cured vampires in turn get eaten by other vampires and so on...you get the point. This my friends, in the end leaves a couple if not a bunch of vampire-cured-humans as the last humans on earth! ( who can then set out to find the rest of the - if any - survivors) Which equals to Neville saving humanity and the humans can populate and live happy and free again! I don't know if this thought was posted earlier...couldn't go through all 981 replies...so apologies. I myself didn't like the alternative ending and I am thankful I didn't pay for seeing that in the Theaters!

I think WB was caught in a dillema They could: A. End the movie like this, but not have him die OR B. Kill him off, but not make sence to those who didnt read the book. Either way they were screwed, as the way they made the movie they didnt leave much room for explanation. And for those of you that think that this ending makes more sense, to a degree it does. But what this ending doesnt tell you is HOW ARE THE BRIDGES THERE. AT least in the other ending, there was the possibility of the woman and the kid going on a ferry or something..

Five words to WB about the ending they chose: So much for a sequel.

i mean really come on he makes the grl a zombie again and all of the sudden they are calm and dont go by instinct and eat him, wat happened to his want to cure them dumb ending u guys are wrong to say it matches the movie cuz it definately changes the whole character dynamic

So, I have to admit that 'I am Legend' was not the best of movies. In fact, when I saw it on screen I didn't particularly care for it at all. To me it seemed a bit too fast paced, and unless you've read the book, the movie has to many unexplained holes. After seeing it, the only reason I would be willing to watch it again is to see Will Smith's acting...since I have to admit...that was good. Although I do like the idea of the romantic, slightly disturbing vampire/zombie reuniting love scene, without the theatrical ending the movie loses it's purpose. In the book he found the cure, and he died. So I say that the one they used was the right one. To me, it made him seem...more noble. Not to mention after watching the animated comics, I can see the whole 'love' scene happen...it cuts away from the fact that the creatures are supposed to be scary and running off of basic instinct! If they were there should have been no way that the one leader could have organized them and made them do all that stuff, because they would have reverted to primary survival instincts. (etc..etc.) Anyway, I still prefer the regular ending. The other kinda has that, 'god has a plan moment' which is neat when the 'look daddy it's a butterfly' moment ties in, but it loses it dramatic appeal with out Roberts death and the cure.

Richard Matheson's 1954 "I Am Legend" is my favorite of all books. I have a black hard bound and silver edged copy of this greatest survival horror legend ever written. It is the prize of my library. It has been adapted to a feature-length film three times… The Last Man on Earth 1964 Vincent Price The Omega Man 1971 Charlton Heston I Am Legend 2007 Will Smith All these attempts have has sadly deviated from a literary legend. Even though the screenplay for The Last Man on Earth 1964 starring Vincent Price was written by Matheson, the studio behind the film deemed that the audience would not grasp the story. The re-writes twisted the screenplay into the vanilla and unimaginative quality of horror commonly screened in the sixties. The changes were so bad and differed so much that Matheson did not wish to have his name on the film and credited under a pseudonym. This latest incarnation is entertaining but disappointing. It felt as though there was rush to complete production and that film makers did not comprehend the story. The vampires in 30 Days of Night were not the best quality but were hundred times more impressive and present, lurking in the shadows, a threat about to pounce. Here in “I am legend” 2007, vampires should own the night and Neville should have been revealed as the monster in the light. But it didn’t happen. Partly a good movie but is also another disappointing perversion of a great story. Will Smith is what kept this movie cohesive and I think without him, the movie would have been buried. It would have been awesome to have the alternate ending. That would have at least attempted to give truth to “3rd time is the charm”.

Just watched the DVD and was a but let down with the ending. I mean they set up this whole situation where Neville talks about how they are devoid of humanity, and it's clear that he's taken the leader's girl. All he wants is his companion back and he even uses Roberts trap against him. I just felt like they set up all his stuff in the movie and then the theatrical ending used none of that. So I was curious about the Original Ending and loved it. It's such a better ending to the movie, and wraps up all those plot lines. Thanks for posting it.

Some people are still kind of missing a couple of BIG things....Ask yourself if you think Bob Marley is a Legend. Then ask yourself why. Bob Marley did not kill himself or anyone else to attain legendary status. What he did was leave a strong message of love and hope for others. It's more than just COINCIDENCE that that Will Smith's character is named Robert "Bob" Neville and Marley's real name is Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley. Will Smith holds the CD and shows the woman (and by extension the audience) the title LEGEND and the movie is named "I AM LEGEND". For those of you so hell bent and whining about the differences between the book and the movie, I think the studio is trying to tell you all "Hey, this is a movie about the life and growth and understanding of interconnectedness to humankind of ONE MAN: Robert "Bob" Neville. BTW, there are, I think, FOUR Bob Marley songs in this movie. Is that a coincidence? With the exception of his singing I shot the Sheriff, the other 3 are OVERT references to HOPE. Listen...3 little birds on my lawn/singing sweet songs of melody pure and sweet/singing THIS IS MY MESSAGE TO YOU/ don't worry about a thing/ 'cause every little thing IS GONNA BE ALL RIGHT. Also, Redemption Song and Stir It Up which have so many relevant lyrics you'll just have to look them up. Think Redeem. As in he redeems himself by stopping all the killing of those innocent people. Thought...was Neville ever really their prey? If he's one of the only guys in Manhattan, how many people could THEY have possibly eaten in THREE YEARS? They couldn't have eaten everyone; they Are the everyone. The woman (and CHILD) are VERY important to THIS movie. Again, I don't care about the book. She is unquestionably a woman of faith, meaning that she not only believes in god but also takes BOLD acts of faith. She "bridges the gap" (look at the word BRIDGES) between Neville and the rest of the world. She didn't KNOW for sure if Neville would really be there but she sought him out anyway. Also, she doesn't KNOW there is anyone in VT but she is going to go anyway: on pure faith. Note: the climax of the alternate ending is a COMPLETE act of faith by Neville. His faith in humanity. It is a total risk. That's what really put me on the end of my seat! My god, I thought the man was toast! She shows him that he is not alone (i.e. no man is an island). The child is completely symbolic. I don't even think the kid has ONE line the entire movie! So why is he there? "Son of the coach" type thing? I don't think so. Children symbolize hope and the future. As in "I believe the children are our future..." In this particular MOVIE, the kid represents a future for Neville with hope that he will embrace the living and accept that he is not alone in this world. I can't explain the bridge thing. But in both endings someone DOES make it off the island. The woman and child were able to get on AND off Manhattan in both endings so it CAN be done, but for THREE long years Neville never even tries. In fact, he vehemently rejects the idea of leaving. Was Neville in the book ever able to change his situation like that? I'm guessing no, especially if he really was the last human in the world, which Will Smith clearly is not in the movie. I've only seen the movie once and don't remember what her idea was for them to get to VT and I don't remember what watercraft she used to get to Manhattan to meet him at Seaport pier.

Funny - I forgot about the bridges - good point. Duh! Anyhow, would have been awesome for it to end a happy ending and the alternate ending still left that open, because you do not know for sure if they make it to Virginia and got the cure spread and how did Ana know how to defeate the messed-up humans single-handedly and also with a child in tow? Anyhow, I think that Will Smith is an awesome actor and I think that Samantha should not have died and everything should have been a Hollywood ending. However, Samantha's death really was "an eye for an eye", Robert Neville stole the lead messed-up-guy's companion so why not kill Robert Neville's? Anyhow, I need to read the book but overall, a lot could have been done to make that a better movie - it did leave me with an emty feeling. Apparently a lot of people did not agree with the theater ending and there is a lot of debate going on here. Does that normally happen with movies?

The original ending would have satisfied me much better than the obligatory sacrifice of the main character. Until the very end, the movie had me convinced that one day he would find the cure. Blowing himself up at the end just didn't fit.

Ok, I understand the need to simply things down to a level that "layman moviegoers" can understand, but heres my question. Why oh why, am i sitting here listening to all you so called "Non Layman" idiots call these freaking things Vampires. Are you all that ignorant and unimaginative that you feel the need to attach a well known fantasy creature to them instead of creating something new for them? In that damn case lets just call them Elves. The jackass that did comment #35 acuttaly complained that they where not as real as the Vampires in 30 days of night, that they just looked like really sick humans. Did you even watch the movie dumbass, they ARE really sick humans. Seriously, you are the kind of people that kill movies. I pray that none of you ever produce or direct your own films because it is going to gurantee me another century of the same crap im seeing now. Get a original idea, then feel free to comment on someone elses.

Heh heh. I can't watch sh*t like this - it makes me too paranoid.

I really liked this ending better and the ending from the book would have been better than this. When I saw the movie, I tried to point out to my dad who I generally consider an intellectual but haven't had read the book and he didn't take to the idea of there even being a relationship between the lead vampire and the girl. The movie without this ending is just another thriller but with it, it would become something more. Of course, my younger brother would probably hate it since they tried to actually throw in some advance concept among all the suspense and action but I think for the general audience, this ending would be better. I think I want to pick up the book now, it sounds much better.

I do not think the original ending works for this movie. To all of a sudden realize at the very end of the movie that Dr. Neville, the hero, is a monster in the eyes of the vampires is too much to take in. While I understand this is why he is "a legend" in the book, this is not why he is "a legend" in this film. There needed to be more interaction between Neville and the vampires (and of course, no more humans appearing at the very end) to have this ending work. I really enjoyed the movie, theater ending and all, but I hope we will see a film that is closer to the book someday. Has anyone seen Last Man On Earth, the 1964 film with Vincent Price that is based on the same Matheson's novel? How close is this movie to the novel?

actually guys the alternate ending was supposed to be the original but someone leaked on the internet and they didnt want anybody to know the ending hence the not as good as the original ending

best alternate ending since the butterfly effect

Haven't read all the comments but here's my selection: The alternate ending was much, much better! intense, climatic, emotional - the way Neville chose not to make eye contact and apologize was fantastic...I was much more moved by this ending. The original left a bitter taste in my mouth - like it was missing something?

Shit dude what a gay ending.

Much better ending.

I thought both of the endings were bad. It would have been way more cool if Neville could have been allowed to cure the infected people. That was a sick, perverted, evil way to have to live...surviving on human flesh. It would have been so much better if the Alpha male saw his woman and came to reality that there was some help for them and submitted to the vaccine. Everybody told me the alternative ending was soooo much better. I was disappointed.

to say the truth i like the movie but seen better and yet to this end that u say it was breath taking i have to go the other way on that it was whatever and it didnt really go with the concept that monsters or what ever u wanna call them have no human feelings so in reality the dr would of got torn to shreads but out of 10 that ending was 7 just because im nice

Wow- That ending would have been a MUCH better choice!! There's no question about it!

This should have been the ending to the story. I would have liked to have walked away feeling that even though they were sick and infected with a virus that made them close to inhumane they were still somewhere deep down inside human. This ending showed us that even though their primal instincts wanted them to kill, even though they were suffering and trapped within a deep dark hell - love was still stronger.

Definately a much happier ending. I thought the Theatrical Ending provided more closure as the Cure was actually found and created the Legend which Robert Neville was. I liked both endings. But there probably would have been a much larger public opinion of "Great movie" if it had this ending. Much like 12 Blocks (or whatever it was called) in the end the main character dies. But in the Alternate Ending he lives. Both were good endings, but the Alternate one is much more of a crowd pleaser.

Marley and his music probably should have stayed out of the movie. Rastas are black supremacists. Aside from that, Bob was a swell dude. Seriously folks, would a white performer that was a member of a white supremecy group be tolerated, much less put on a pedistal? Peace, Love, and Unity.. for people that have skin like Bob did

loved it. Much better

Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand this so called concept of a "director's vision" when it comes to making a movie from a published work. The idea is ALREADY THERE, the vision is ALREADY THERE. Changing any part - ANY - inherently changes what the author originally intended. Why is that so difficult to understand? In doing that, the movie shouldn't even have the right to bear the same name. I suppose the only exception would be if the author him/herself directed the film. In the case of I Am Legend, the entire premise of the story is changed - Yes Neville should die, but definitely not as some kind of self sacrificing idiot but in shock of betrayal, hopelessness and in terrifying realization that he has been and forever will be legend. Having other survivors living is some encampment with a vile of blood they might not even know what to do with spits right into the face of those who had even a glimmer of hope for this film.

Hey Random Dude, The ideas expressed in Marley's music are color blind. I am not a black supremacist or even black but I can hear a voice singing out, calling out to others to unite against poverty and oppression. The concept of unity in the face of adversity and with your fellow people is prevalent in this movie from the very beginning. Did you notice how all the deer ran TOGETHER at the threat of danger from Neville? The most easily hunted and killed were the lone stragglers. Didn't the lions seem to form a cohesive unit that was better suited to hunting and protecting their kill than hunting alone like Neville? Didn't the diseased humans still habitate TOGETHER in "hives" instead of having one or two wandering the streets alone? I guess people can hear a positive message and take it anyway they want. Neville interpreted Marley's coming back after being shot as a sign to continue the fight, but really what Marley did was join his people to sing to them an important message of keeping hope alive no matter how bad things might get.

That ending was SO much better than the one that was released! We can only hope that at some point they will re-release it in theatres with the original ending, so we can watching it all the way through on the big screen thank you for posting that!

Well, personally I enjoyed the other ending a little better. I haven't read the book so I don't have any reference from there. I love this ending too, but it just seems a little... softer, than it needs to be.

okay. WOW. this ending... i dont even think... it was so good. what happened when they were deciding...??? i mean psh. the other ending had more "legend". but this one... was so much better. i guess they chose the other one cuz it showed that he was a hero. but still. this one had more meaning to the movie and that guy SHOULD have lived. go will

This ending was SOOOOOO much better. WB stupidity strikes yet again. BTW, I was waiting the entire stinking movie for the moments where the vampires surround Neville that we *did* see in the trailers and previews. Lame.

ya know, I just saw I AM LEGEND for the first time tonight and then I watched this end, and I really would have loved the whole movie allot more if I had seen this first, the 2 didsk dvd is supposed to have that ending, I may just buy the two disk version

This was a way better ending. Everyone that saw the version in theaters said that the ending was horrible. I would have much rather have seen this ending. What were they thinking? I didnt read the book but I think that I will read it now. Alternative ending is the way it should have went.

What a great ending! I was disappointed in the movie ending but kept telling myself I didn't like it but I guess it couldn't be any other way. WAS I WRONG! THIS is definitely the ending the movie deserved. I love the emotion in this one. I plan to read the book, but as with any other film and book, they are two seperate entities. Kerri

Yeah, this ending is a way better one! When I saw the movie in theatre two things shot out at me. 1) I read that the "vampires" were supposed to be smart. yet the only smart thing they did was mirror the trap that neville set up for the female vampire. 2) It seemed like they killed Neville just to make him a martyr. While I do believe that tragic heroes tend to be some of the best, it just seemed a little unnecissary. This ending does a couple things very well! First it adds humility to the "savage generic" vampires in this movie. Second it Shows that Neville and The lead vampire have a lot in common. Both were willing to do all they could for their families! Third, it seperates Neville from the herds of blind, mindless action heroes who are to busy killing things to realize that there's more going on than meets the eye. Neville dying only served the purpose of allowing the end monologue about "us being his legacy". This ending is far superior and it doesn't take anything away from the story. If anything it furthers the take home message- "There is hope". If Neville was able to communicate with the "vampires" in a civilized kind of manner... maybe one day they will be able to accept the cure he's created... willingly. Opens up a whole new world of possibilities! Good stuff!

I haven't read the book but I plan to buy a copy. The ending here was better ending than the one show last december. The original ending was a tragedy but this one may make it a "happily ever after" type, more related to the novel itself according to others.

I have never read the book, but I hope my opinion of this is still taken seriously. The theatrical ending was an entirely varied theme from this one, from what I gathered. While the theatrical ending was very "Hollywood", the ending shown here was more of a writer's ending. One very real problem for film adaptations of novels is that an ending for a novel -- any given novel -- may not come across as "right" to viewers of said film adaptation. While reading this ending may have made more sense than reading the theatrical ending, the die was cast and the result is apparent. In Layman's terms, I prefer this ending, for I am more of a bookworm than a movie freak. I'd prefer to have read the book and imagined it the way I want than to see a movie and be disappointed. Anyway, I sincerely do hope that my point has been understood by any who read this: both endings are good for the way they were originally done. The novel's original ending was the better read, while the theatrical ending was a better watch. Thank you very much , Mr. Billington, for posting this video clip here, I honestly do appreciate it.

I have never read the book. After reading some of the comments, however, I now know how it ends. You guys should warn that your comment contains a spoiler for the book. That said, when I watched the movie, I got the sense that the lead vampire was after Neville to get his woman back. I thought that the vampires showed intelligence (the bait picked for the trap they set for Neville was not based on animal instinct but observation and reason), societal structure, use of strategy. Right up until that woman showed up, I thought the movie would be about the vampires becoming the new dominant species on the planet, with a new type of society. Then the woman and boy show up with talk of survivors, faith, and fate. None of these are bad movie themes, except that they had nothing to do with anything that proceeded their introduction. This is what really spoiled the movie for me. It seemed as if the writer had written himself into a corner with the scene where Neville was on the pier, so instead of looking to the characters he had already introduced for an out, he had the clouds part, the sun shine down and the gods from above reach down and make everything alright. I prefer the second ending because I feel it stays more true to the overall storyline, characterizations, and themes of the film. The theatrical ending would have worked if the film had been about faith and fate all along, which it wasn't. Screenwriting 101: Foreshadowing makes a film more clever and satisfying to the audience. Don't introduce new stuff in the last 15 minutes. It just makes your audience feel cheated.

"They are completely void of cultural humanity as we know it - science, art, the need to pursue an evolved form of existence." Does this mean that because a culture or people are different to yours, and do not share the same goals as yours, or because they are not technoligically advanced as yours, that they are therefore worthless, and undeserving of basic human considerations? The fact that they think, feel, organize, reason, have goals and show human emotion are all inconsequential because they do not conform to your idea of an "evolved form of existence". Gosh, why does that rationalization sound familiar? Who else used it when exploiting others for their own gain, as Neville did by experimenting on the infected while searching for a cure? Hmmm....

wow. i have seen the movie many times but never really liked the ending, but when i saw this, i was blown away by how this was so much better than the original ending. now, a legend would have been alot more interesting if he gave his life for the sake of huimanity, but being there to share his glory would also be interesting. im just disappointed they did't choose this endidng to premire in theaters.

This ending was so much better and brought some actual closure to the story. Love it good post man

And this is why the Omega Man is considered to be the second best adaptation of the novel... The best one is the Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price... It's on the public domain, if you want to watch it... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-51739690186335997

I loved this movie, but do agree that the ending was far too abrupt. I did not read the book, but book endings do not always translate well to the big screen. Nevilles character needed to die, creating more meaning behind his persistant search for a "cure", he then is a legend to the surviving population, which made more sense that there were other unaffected people smart enough to not be killed off by the vampires. I do appreciate in the alternate ending the significance of the head vampire showing his connection to the cured woman, and the recognition of Neville trying to cure them, not kill them off (because Neville is not a serial killer!), showed that their intelligence level was evolving. Just like when they rigged the trap with the manican to catch Neville, it showed that they had intelligence, I mean even animals evolve, so why wouldn't virally mutated humans evolve? But Neville would still need to die by the hand of another vampire, because the movie portrays them to be void of intelligence and controlled mostly by their animalistic side, and even though the head vampire shows some evolution of thought, it makes sense in the society of vampires, very few have begun to evolve enough to not kill Neville.

Wow. An amazing ending. SO SO SO much better than the one we saw in the cinema. I am moved by this alternate ending whereas the original ending did nothing for me. In fact i told friends "great film, crap ending". Enough said

i thought this movie was the best ever. but i hated the ending where he killed himself. the other ending where he lives is really cool. if that ending was with the movie that would be so awesome.

I prefer this one.

I thought the original ending was too abrupt and boring, I would have much preferred to see this one. I think I would have ultimately preferred this version with ending with the three making it to Vermont.

This is better than the original ending. As other pointed out, the title is "I Am Legend", and in the book it refers to the fact that Neville was a legend amongst the vampire. He doesn't need to be dead to be a legend, not more than vampires are legends because they die. Where the original ending makes him a legend amongst humans, this one is closer to the book even if he doesn't commit suicide. Plus, this ending makes us realize that they are vampire and not mindless zombies, which the movie failed to establish, and in the process it explains the trap laid out in front of the bank. The butterfly being on the ex-vampire makes much more sense than it being on that girl, it removes the "godly prophecy" element from the movie to replace it by Neville subconscious try to makes him realize that something is wrong with what he is doing. Criticizing this ending because Neville "doesn't die like in the book" is ridiculous because it doesn't take into account how this ending explain so many other things in the spirit of the book that the theatrical ending doesn't even touch.

This discussion has prompted me to get the book to read for myself!! I actually loved this film and now exposed to both endings....love each for different reasons. The first ending was cataclysmic in the sense that Dr. Neville’s demise was violent and animalistic, seemingly without much fore thought. The Vampires were seen as savage and non human. However, the alternative view allowed the humanity and passion in both Dr. Neville and Vampire to be prominently displayed. With that said the alternate ending also pulls us as viewers through emotional and metaphoric exchange of the “breaking through glass”. As the glass is being cracked, the viewer is allowed to share Dr. Neville’s epiphany and final clear view into another life perspective. I know someone will say I am romanticizing here but, what stood clear for me was the ultimate right to love protect and preserve life. Even in this genre, it can be a very powerful and useful parable.

The theater version of the ending was a let down for me, never read the book, not before or after seeing the movie, yet i disliked the way that a theme regarding religion was practically forced on the movie, they could have kept the ending and merely suggested it, but for me it felt very out of place. That being said, i prefer this ending.

You know, I may be one of the rare ones, But I actually found the original ending to be better then this one. I was a tad bit bored with the entire movie, although it was good in parts, they could have added much more gore to it.

Scott (twards the top) should watch his language cause not ever one in the world will have his opinion cause personally i enjoyed this movie and i do like the alternate ending more

I personally thought it was just too cheezy, but I can see how it makes other things like why the zombie leader risked sun exposure have a different meaning.

I'm glad to see that so many people have commented on this. I agree with you that this ending feels much less Hollywood and far more emotional. Now lets see if they keep it pure and don't come out with I am Legend 2

Definately a better ending. Not a patch on the book still. I can understand how people who have not read the book have said that it is not a very good film and is predictable. It is, but it's based on a book that I believe was written in the '30's. I feel that Will Smith played the role superbly and the mental strain he suffers because he believes he is the last human is fantastically illustrated. I thought the film when I saw it at the cinema was let down by a weak ending that did not explain that the vampires were not all monsters, as this alternate ending shows. He has become the monster to the vampires, which is beautifully illustrated by the alternate version.

I loved everything about this movie, except the original ending. This was much better.

This was so much better than the theatrical version. It shows that the monsters were much more human than you got to see in the theatrical version. Great ending. I am so glad to have seen this, it makes the movie so much the more memorable now.

The alternate book ending seems a little more true to reality, they ride off into the sunset in hopes of a better life but with no guarantees. The part with the lead dark seeker is a little hoky. I like that they build on the one guy as the leader and the love story with his abducted girl. But it left me feeling like I always do, cheapened. No story is ever complete without two characters finding or regaining their love. This alternate ending was good but it left me feeling a little suckered. Much like when I read a really good mystery novel and then, somewhere in there, no matter how misplaced, two people hook up! Anyway, this was better than the original which leaves you feeling the "happily ever after", which to me is even cheesier.

I prefer this one~ justice will keep going.

That's the ending i was waiting for.. I'm not satisfied from what i've seen in the theater.. I's quite tragic and seems so unfinished..

I feel this ending gave the whole film a better sense of understanding, the fact that the vampires had evolved to adapt to their new society, and way of life and that the vaccine hadn't wiped them clean of every last drop of human emotion. I was pleased with the sense of exchange between the vampire girls life and Wills life, if he had been executed then it would then make the point of total emotion loss amongst vampires hypothetical.

I like this ending ALOT more then the theatrical one. for a very simple reason too. The other one becomes so heavy and droopy with religion and false sentimentality that i almost got sick. the theatrical ending didnt do anything except remind me that this is a hollywood movie, and as such it HAD to cater to the large amounts of christians(or just religious people). Maybe im reading too much into the fact that it was so heavliy religious, but it still bothered me. That he had to die because he wasnt "born again" untill too late. utter crap for me. About why they stopped attacking him : they ofc realized he wasnt out to kill them, he was out to save them from the start. how can this not be obvious? And plus, the emotional zenith of this film was when the dog died, cant have two zeniths in the same film. As soon as that spanish lady came into the film i knew will was gonna die, the director made that quite clear early on(again, after the spanish lady came, not before), he was antagonizing them, being crazy, acting wierd and being aggressive. This alternative ending still has the message of hope and faith, but not over the top like the orignal one. Sure, the director could have made it smoother, but the clear difference in message is there. There was no zoom-over a century old church in the end(that shot almost killed me btw, my politically correct muscles went berzerk) just them being happy and hopeful. The one thing that annoyed me the most about the original version was that religion stuff. and it was removed from this one, ergo i liked it alot more.

Now this makes more sense!! I see the little, "Wait, what?" moments such as the bridge they drive over (It was supposed to be destroyed? yes?), and I can understand the sombre mood they tried to give as they tried with the theatrical ending but like others I was left with a wtf feeling.. I mean, that was it?! This ending however... wow... I mean if they really wanted to have Will Smith's character die they could have made a compromise between the two but I can't believe they chose to leave this out..

I liked both endings, but the ending here is more realistic. Even though they have been ripped of humanity, they still have to have traces of it, such as a long-term mate. Also, survival is printed in caps in our genetic code, and Will Smith's character didn't need to kill himself. Even with the blood he gave them, it wouldn't have been enough to bring everything back to normal. Robert Neville knew the formula for making the cure and could have easily reproduced it given the materials. He could have taken the tape of the cure and left for Vermont to save the world. The alternate ending is much more realistic, in my opinion, and this is how it should've ended.

I watched this movie on PPV tonight and the last 10 minutes ruined the entire movie for me. Then I did a search looking for reviews to see what other people thought and I found this site. WHAT were the makers of this film thinking releasing the ending they did over this far superior alternate ending?! This restored the whole movie for me, I'll watch it again on pay per view up until the last 10 minutes, turn it off, and watch this again instead! LOL

I loved the theatrical ending! They would have to change alot of things in the movie to make this ending fit properly. Deeper? Emotional? Sure, but then it makes neivel look like the asshole and infact all those damn "vampires" killed off everyone else.... I would have been extremely dissapoined to see this ending instead and I am sure it was not chosen for a reason....

I have to say I thought that the alternative ending does make much more sense, and that the theatrical ending did seem somewhat tacked on and out of place, but I still liked the one they chose to go with better, as it is much more hopeful and gives a more positive spin on things.. I don't get people seeing Neville as a bad guy who should have died though, in either sequence ( I wished he hadn't had to blow himself up) Even though he was experimenting on and killing the vampires, he was simply behaving in a fashion most anyone would in that character's situation..people behave in desperate ways when they are in survival mode and are afraid..his fear is palpable especially in the sequence where he goes to save Sam for example..plus he was simply attempting to save the human race and return it to a state he once knew it, and so therefore in my estimation he still could have remained heroic without having to die..

MUCH MUCH BETTER....wish it had be chosen as the theater version!

I would have liked a combination. Have this alternate ending, then he gives the girl the vile of blood, then he gives the girl zombie to the males, then they try to take him for execution and he blows the grenade. That would have been a perfect compromise.

i think the ending they brought out was quite cool but it did take away most of the point of the book the alternitive ending did forefill the purose but i think wasent as gd to see good job of getting this online

This is a better ending and would've set-up the film for a sequel. "I Am Legend: The Dark Seekers"

The alternate ending is far better than the theatrical ending. However the movie could have been soooo much better, but ALICE BRAGA STINKS, HER ACTING IS AWFUL.

Okay, Though i have yet to read the book, I think that the original theatrical version was so much better than this piece of **** version they have up there. For one, its not heroic, its... a pussy willow attempt to survive (and Will Smith is not a pussy). He has the cure, but someone has to die for them to get it to the people who could mass produce it. so he dies, whatsherface takes it to the colony... hero dies, still happy ending. Will Smith did a superb job as Robert Neville. And they changed it from the book because the movie must fit the times. Besides, No movie is EVER as good as the book (except for possibly the lord of the rings movies (GO PETER JACKSON)) just look at the Harry Potter movies, or Eragon (especiall eragon), or the chronicles of narnia (they didnt even start with the first book). Besides the hero NEVER dies in movies, im tired of the good guys ALWAYS winning, for once cant the bad guys win just a little bit, they have all the odds in their favor most of the time anyway, and even though in this the bad guys didnt really win, the hero died. Oh and by the way for all you who think that ending was better, you are all conformists who like what everybody else likes. TYLER

When I watched I Am Legend in theatres, I loved it... until the ending. It almost ruined the movie for me. Infact, the main comment I heard about the movie was "I loved it until the end." I found the alternate ending after downloding the movie (boo me, but I was dissappointed in it and didn't want to spend the money to watch it once more, but my boyfriend hadn't seen it). Tihs version had the alternate ending placed seamlessly in the movie over the orignal, so I was pretty surprised. I don't know if thats how all the dvd versions are, but it would be cool if they were. I remember where Robert says something along the lines of 'all human socail structure is now completely gone' (I'm sorry I can't directly quote that...) and I thought he was wrong. The fact that the lead 'vampire' came into the sun after Robert took the girl was a very socail thing to me. It wasn't just anger about being hunted, you could see the fury in the vampire's face, and I thought there had to be more to it then just that. The alternate ending addressed that. I loved that it implied that the vampires had a culture of there own. All in all, the alternate ending really made this movie!

this ending is SO much better.

Alright so this ending was truer to the novel but surely it goes against what the film was about? The idea of the film was that Nevile remained behind as the hero and in the film dies as a martyr, but what is he here? Yes I understand the concept but thanks to the perception of major film industries nobody would appreciate this ending as it is not achieving the "happy ending" that is so sought after and readily shown in films of this genre.

I thought this ending was much better than the one we all saw in the Theatres... this is more eplanitory and the other just cut hte whole movie short too quick.... WB got the ending wrong in my opinion,, they should have used this one...

Oops....And it`s mentioned in at least 25 other posts.

Wow! I have not read the book but I definetely like this ending better, it seems more real. Thanks for posting it. Now I have to read the book for sure!

I've not read the book, and thought the movie was reasonable. However as with many comments above - the general showing ending ruined the movie for me, it seemed to be completely out of line with the rest of the movie. I was left feeling empty and somehow 'cheated' by the general ending and it stopped me from wanting to watch the movie again - not good. This ending would have been much better.

I have been a long time reader of Matheson (and others), as well as a a long time film fan. Although the alternate ending might convey the ending that readers of the story may enjoy or more closely relate to, the movie itself failed to underline the fact that in the written work, Neville spent much of his time attempting to destroy or experiment on the vampires (as did Price in "The Last Man on Earth", believing he has the moral obligation to do so) and is portrayed merely as a survivor (victim) hunted by the infected (making the viewer more sympathetic to his plight, and less inclined to the realization the "he" may in fact the be the one on the wrong side of an ethically altered landscape) Which changes somewhat the overall balance and relationship between the man and the future man (the infected). In order to reflect the underlying theme of the original story, the film would have had to truly preserve the currents and ideas of isolation,loneliness, and a gray juxtaposition of morality and its beholders in order for the audience to truly relate to the sociological,philosophical,and ethical points raised by the written version. This would be have been a truly ambitious work of film indeed. As so often is the case, the true power and feeling of a written work is very difficult to convey in a condensed film format, but can still be quite enjoyable none the less. Is this film better than the story? Of course not, they never are. Is it a decent horror/sci-fi film? I think so. For me the only real comment is: Is it better than "The Omega Man" In my opinion, yes. Is it better than "Last an on Earth" In my opinion, no. But, it is a decent overall and somewhat better than I had expected movie.

I REALLY liked this ending... The movie not only made me sad when the doggy had to die.... But the theatrical ending I thought was crappy and let a lot of empty spots... And of the people I know who have watched the movie, NONE thought the ending was good, they all hated it, and some of the ended up disappointed on the film because of the theatrical end. I was tempted to hate it, but then I tried to be objective and see the film as a whole, and thought that the concept was amazing, and that the only thing that I wished had changed was the end. Now with this end, the movie is a piece of art LOVE IT.

Geez! you talked as it if it was Christ second coming! please! there's one bad ending, one good, period. Fact is nobody in US can cope with the first one.AHAHAH!

Loved the original ending. I didn't read the book, but in the movie they were zombies/vampires akin to something like those in Resident Evil. Their lives might have been lived "as alternative ways of being human," that is not who the zombies/vampires were in the movie. The movie does not give any sense of their humanity except in the barest forms. The focus is on Neville and his valiant attempt to restore them to the humanity. Cheesy--a bit--but that is the story line. The original ending emphasizes his willingness to sacrifice himself for the good of others. (A bit schmaltzy? Yes--but that is the story.) It fit the story as given in the movie... On another note, the most interesting thing about the movie to me was the ethical issues raised by the intentional mutation of the measles (?) virus for good purposes. The law of unintended consequences is one that we rarely consider. Instead, we continue to assume that all medical advances are good, despite evidence to the contrary. Even today, there is news that the latest rash of stop-smoking pills have lead to depression and suicide.

This was a much better ending, much more satisfying.

All you people want is a living hero so there can be sparkling rainbows and beautiful creatures doing ballet on ice. Hence constantly reprimanding those whom say such rather than giving legitimate reasons. THEATRICAL ENDING ALL THE WAY.

Hi. I just saw the movie for the first time on DVD. The book...has always been a fav of mine. I am Legend...the short story has always been to me one of those classic pieces that stands the test of time. It has influenced so many authors out there...and should have been made into a movie that kept the story line of the book intact. But what happends is what happens with most great fiction...with most great stories. Its made into what "hollywood" things the people will enjoy...rather then what is true. What i am legend talks about is the human condition...it talks about what is right and wrong about society, and who makes up the rules of society. This movie relied so much of special effects...and not enough on the basic story in the book. While i agree the ending you have shown here on this site IS better....im sorry. very sorry but it still pissed me off to no end that hollywood yet again killed yet another great piece of work like i am legend. Why cant they just take the book and leave it at that? All i know is....im just glad i didnt pay to see this piece of crap at the movies...

I though the original ending when watching the film in thearters was ok kinda let the film down but i heard rumors the films budget was cut half way through filming so maybe thats why. Overall though the Dvd's alternative ending was far superior to the thearitical version it really captures the Darkseekers humanity with Nevilie finally understanding that he has been the monster (legend) almost like a serial killer or sick scientist performing his experiments with his victims photos litering the wall of his labatory. After seeing it really feel WB bottled it and let us down. Really glad i got the DvD though i can always watch it now with the alternative ending and forget the theartical one ever existed. For those who want to know the Dvd comes with 2 dics first disc has the theartical version with original ending along with 4 short comins second disc has the Dvd version (almost the same apart from some new scenes and alternative ending) with some special features, a documentary on viruses and expedemics by some experts and a digital copy of the film to put onto your computer. Anyway overall though I'am Legend was one of the best films of 2007

I never saw the movie in cinemas, I just heard so much about it from my friends. I knew nothing about the book either but I was influenced to buy the Dvd just so I could boast about it. I only got the one disc version so I had the theatrical version with the original ending. I watched the whole thing and I even liked the ending, by the time the whole film was finishe I thought nothing less than perfect. But then words got around my school about an alternative ending, so I had to see it. That led me to this website, and I must say the the alternative ending was even better than the one shown in cinemas. If they had have shown that in the original film then it would have been nothing less than epic.

Wow this movie sucked to be honest, both endings were terrible. Thats 2 hours of my life i will never get back =P

First off, i like what number 5 said. I like how he mentioned that the vampires jumped into the sunlight because that was the only thing connecting them to humanity. Nicely put. But, in response to this video. I disagree with this ending. Yea it might have "looked cool" or gave you "chills." But the one used in theaters had a bigger impact. People don't become legends usually until they die. I believe he needed to die. People have this mixed up idea that the main character has to live in order for a movie to be good. I think it's better that he died. The movie would have been a lot better if they stuck with the book's idea, but do you know how hard that would be to explain in a movie. And, on top of that, do you know how many people would not get it. American society doesn't go after good movies like that. They go after what everyone wants to see, that's why I was actually suprised that they killed off the main character. It makes the movie unique. It's not like your watching run of the mill movie where everything goes to crap, but some how the main character still lives. I do like how they explained the main vampires affection towards the girl, but I could piece that together in the movie. So in closing, if you believe that this alternate ending was better, then you don't know a good movie when it hits you in the face. The alternate was poorly put together, and I actually think WB put more thought into the ending used in theaters. Oh an for #1162, if you hated the movie so bad, and you say that it wasted 2hrs of your life, why are you wasting more of your time on this website. Go watch Beerfest, b/c i bet you only like movies like that.

Yeah, obviously this was the ending that was originally planned. Otherwise, the entire movie they made was moot (why that one vampire kept chasing him, the "nothing human left in them" speech, etc.). Someone needs to get fired for allowing them to send the movie out with that other bullshit ending. That being said, I still don't prefer it to the book ending, which would have truely been breathtaking to watch, but instead, we got the Will Smith-a-fied version of the story and they couldn't give us that ending because they didn't stay true to what was so important about the story (the mystery behind the virus and the changes Neville makes throughout the book). Anyway, I'm ranting. Long story short: Didn't like the movie that much. I like Will Smith, but I don't like the all-consuming-source-material-changing force that comes with Will Smith (I, Robot, anybody?) That being said, this ending was better than the original, but that's like making me pick between a frozen dick-on-a-stick and a tub of ass cream. I don't want either, but if I had to choose . . .

I thought that "humanizing" the darkseekers did not fit in with the story line. In 3 years the darkseekers have appearantly never displayed any thought processes any more complex than to avoid the light, but suddenly can replicate traps, utilizing the mannequin as a lure, proving that they understand the advanced concepts of loneliness and some basic mechanical skills. Why then, had they not built themselves (or just took one from a store) a big beach umbrella type thing so they could move around during the day. Now zombies can fall in love. OK then, heres my alt ending Captured zombie girl requires repeated doses of serum to effect her cure. Neville finds making the serum quite easy, and has stockpiled massive amounts. As she gradually gets better, she realizes that Neville is not the enemy, the sickness is, and allows him to medicate her. Shes not able to communicate well, and is still dangerous, but seems to know Neville is trying to help, and pleased with her own progress when she happens to see her reflection in a surgical tray, she knows shes getting better. Fred and his homies break in, cornering Neville, Anna, and Ethan.Unseen by the zombies, Anna and Ethan hide in the furnace. Neville prepares to make his last stand.Zombies closing in. Zombie girl fights to escape her chains, but from the look in her eyes, and the way shes struggling, it seems like she wants to save Neville. She can't escape her chains, because shes not a full on zombie anymore, she isn't as strong, and watches as Neville, her only hope (?) at returning to the living, is torn to shreds by her BF. Zombies reunite with the captive zombie girl and free her. As zombies are seen leaving the lab, zombie girl hesitates and picks up Nevilles little case containing serum and syringes. Anna and Ethan make it to to the check point with serum. Happy music and credits. As camera does a very long zoom out up into the sky, looking down on the check point, two birds fly past, just as scene fades, one bird attacks the other and screeches his little zombie bird screech. I haven't read the book yet, but will. Loved the movie, liked the theatrical ending better. Big Willie, you rock!! Alice Braga, your HOT!! Some one get Maxim magazine on the phone, I'll buy the iss with Alice in it.

I thought this ending was much better than the theatrical one shown in cinemas across the world, such a moving piece of filming when he comes into contact with the lead vampire. WB, you got it wrong.

I don't like this ending. It was like Jack and Ross live happilly ever after in the Titanic. -_- dull. who cares if the movie follow the book or not? The idea of virus infected monster killing people is not an original idea at all. The movie is ok only.. not really GREAT either with the alternate ending or not. I still wonder how can Anna and the kid survive out there for like 3 years??? How can Anna save Nerville? They were right in front of the monster's hive rite? There were hundreds of monsters there... The monsters were so aggressive! Anna can confront them with just the Jeep front light and some short guns? She still have to take care of a kid and drag the semi conscious Nerville out of his wreaks jeep? wow.. she is the real man in this movie i guess. -_- And... the virus only infect humans and dogs? What about lions? deers? monkeys? hmm...

This alternative ending makes a lot more sense - showing the payoff of the intelligent and premeditative nature of the infected people - than the theatrical ending that just made the infected people seem like monsters who pick on Neville because they're angry and want food. The only thing about the alternative ending that bugged me was the fact that Neville, Anna, and Ethan drive over a bridge, presumably from Manhattan. Weren't the bridges all blown up? I assume that if the alternative ending was made the official ending of the movie, the powers that be would have re-edited and re-cut the movie to show the bridges not being blown up...?

I have seen 28 Days Later, and while I like it, I think it is a totally different concept than I Am Legend. Having not read either of the books, I don't know the original storylines. However, I was very touched by the original ending shown here. I also believe it should have played out this way, but I also think they should have made their getaway on a boat to make it a bit more believable to the rest of the theatrical cut. In either case, thank you for sharing this with me. I thought I Am Legend had drawn all the tears it could from my eyes until I saw this. How truly touching! And it is believable, because they made it clear that the infected still had high intelligence. That and the fact that they are living (not zombies, like those in 28 Days Later) would certainly make it understandable that they could still love. Thanks again.

I really just have to echo what Lupo Tazler said. If you think of the movie as a completely different entity from the book then the theatrical ending is better by far. It makes a bolder statement about smiths character and gives the viewer hope that everything is going to be okay. This ending may be closer to the book and makes the monsters seem more human but the entire film up to that point portrayed the monsters as emotionless beasts and this sudden change in character would not work well in the movie. So this ending would have been better if the film was more closely based on the book but as it was not the origional is the better ending

Kristi, While I respect your point, I do not agree. The original ending was too rushed and sudden. This one had intensity, feeling, and power. THAT is an ending.

Already posted my opinion but Just seen the DvD creating i'am legend on my computer about (50mins long) and one thing i noticed while watching the documentary was how many seens were edited out of the film. There isn't any specific delected scenes section on the dvd but when you watch the on set filming and locations it is really apparant. Supposed to be a scene at St patricks Cathedral and scenes of Robert Anna and Ethan walking around the city in numerous places which looked really symbolic specially in the empty New york and the cathedral was really spooky. Even written into the script that Ethan doesn't trust Nevile at first which ment Nevile tried to cheer Ethan up and make him laugh (explains the shrek scene) and probably why Ethan doens't talk much. Such as shame seems like an hour was edited out probably the majority of it being cut from when Anna and Ethan showed up. One fo the main complaints i have heard from people i know is that there wasn't much character development for Anna and Ethan and that they just popped up out of now where so really seems a shame that these scenes were edited out. Another complaint i felt was that the film seemed to miss things (again edited out scenes) and that the time between Nevile being Rescued and the darkseekers raiding his house was to short. Enjoyed the film in threaters and enjoyed it even more with Alternative ending yet the film with the edited out scenes included would of been amazing. To bad Holywood scwered it up could of been a great film yet still a good film at that. Asks some really important questions i mean are we as humans really morally right or are we really the 'bads guys' after all?

I think what you say is really intresting Lupo Tazler and has actually made me think about it in even more detail. I accept that this is the film we see today in it's edited form i was simplying expressing my opinion that i felt the film could of been better in regards to alaternative ending and the edited scenes and that it was a shame not to have them. But thats my opinion you might disagree with that and thats fine. What i was trying to get at and hopefully it will come across more so in this post is that i feel we live in a post modern society and that we have and should have more choice. You may like the Theartical version of the film i might like the alternative version some like me might feel the film would of been better with the deleted scenes that were missing, admittedly it's not practical to release three versions of a film in cinemas the marketting would be horrible. But the great thing about DvD is the director can add in things that were never put in the film and therefore i think we should have more choice. I beleive it would of been a good decision to allow us as consumers to view the scenes we never got to see even though they wern't included in the theartical release this denied us that choice of making that judgement of deciding whether we thought they would fit the film which is frustrating to say the least and abit of a let down although the film in it's existing format was still a good film in it's own regards.

"Maybe DVD versions will become more like those interactive kids' stories where you make decisions and determine the ending. I guess they could accomplish this by just keeping the cut-out content and letting viewers piece together an alternate version than what appeared on the big screen. I'm sure it would sell a lot of DVDs, which is how they'd have to justify it. Make that a few bucks more than just the regular DVD . . . I think most people would buy those versions exclusively, just out of curiosity." Exactly Lupo Tazler i think you have hit the nail on the head. The concept is a very good one. It would allow Holywood and the film industry to appeal to mass audiences allowing us as consumers to interact and decide what version we want to see increasing profits for studios yet leaving the consumer satisfied with the product they purchased and in the form they want to see it. Much like how we can now Get information on demand and Choose what Tv Programmes we want to watch and when we want to view them.

incredible.. definitely would have preferred the alt ending

I loved this article, and I loved the alternate ending. Does the alternate ending mean they did not take a cure up to Vermont? I saw the movie, and I did not read the book (now I think I should) but just based on the two endings I prefer the ending where Dr. neville lives. One quick question. If the 'healthy' people sealed off the island, and destroyed all the bridges... how did Alice Braga's character get to Dr. Neville, and how did they get to Vermont with no way off the island? Either ending still does not explain who rebulit the roads. Also, the critic in me won't hush until I ask, what does the woman who found the cancer cure have to do with Dr. Neville, and how did it go from sealing off the island to Dr. Neville being the last human? I think the movie should have been longer and maybe explained a little bit as to how all those infected people changed into the vampire type they are when we see them in the movie. I also think that the "butterfly concept" was supposed to represent Alice Braga's character, since they show a butterfly tattoo on her neck. Any thoughts?

wow this ending was amazing!!! the funny thing is my theory from seeing the first ending was correct and proven corect when i saw this ending.i loved the movie and so far this year it is my favorite.i wish that they would have put this ending instead of the other one though

both the endings were quite kl but they should make a i am legend movie wich is the real book and no changes that would be ace

Way way way better. This is the ending that should have been.

Paul the things is though the darkseekers didn't want to be cured so what right did Nevile have in experimenting on them? They had created a new order and society and had moved on whereas Nevile was still stuck in the past on borderline insanity and was killing them for his 'cure'.

I would have to agree with the 90%+ people who have left comments here. This is a MUCH better ending than the one in the movie. Thanks, Alex!

Neville borrows his life-motto from Bob Marley's mission in life: to "Light up the Darkness." He wants to be as dedicated as Marley in bringing good, or light, into the world. One obvious spiritual theme in I Am Legend is Light vs. Darkness. Will Smith has made a personal commitment to his grandmother, and too his audience to "hold it down" as far as what films he does, what energy he sends out. In other words, he will only take on positive material, with positive messages. He proves to the world that he can still be a millionare, and still be successful, without "selling out " his beliefs or his faith. Never have I seen a horror movie that made me feel good or inspired at the end. Good job Will... "keep on holding it down" "keep lighting up that darkness"

I personally like the original ending more in the movie, and especially for a movie. The self-sacrifice was more elegant and personal. The end narration was more powerful. I like the alternate ending to a degree, but it just wasn’t as… mm let’s see… rich as the theatrical ending, at least in a movie-sense. The original ending would have been a disappointment to many movie lovers, I believe. It wouldn’t sit so heavily on them. I say that because many movie lovers that I know don’t read and don’t strain their heads with the deeper level thoughts. I gave up on reading a book and then seeing a movie or vise-versa. I hold both works as two separate things now because they were made, in a sense, by two different people with different ideas in most cases. So, I never judge a movie by a book. I may like one over the other, but it has more to do with the execution of the story. If both are wonderful, then fine. If one is horrible and the other isn't, fine. But I do not put them into relation any longer because the disappointment is not worth it. Never go into a movie based on a book and expect to live up to what you read in its purest form. Accept both as art forms in their own rights and judge them against their own categories. Books against books and movies against movies.

I didn't like the alternate ending. It was too predictable. You knew he took the leader's girlfriend when the guy burned himself in sunlight. And it was very silly that the zombies didn't kill Will Smith for all the killing he has done to their kind, and for kidnapping the girl. If I was a crazy zombie and someone stole my girl to experiement on her... I would not be so nice to the kidnapper when I finally confronted him. Don't you agree? It was just all too corny for me. The theatrical version was much better. Who cares if it doesn't jive with the book. It's a movie... deal with it. If you like the story that the book tells, go read it again. Over.

The Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridges were blown up. Both bridges span from Manhattan to Brooklyn. The bridge the drove over in the end was the George Washington Bridge spanning across to New Jersey.

i liked the original ending better. its alot better then the one it had.

I just downloaded the film but could not watch anymore as it was too scarey for me. I've missed the theatre ending but caught the one on this site which was nice. Will smith's character finally finds someone who he can relate to. Don't we all look for that one person in a sea of zombie like personalities and characters, shooting down egos and pinning resigned relationships to a dusty notice board in the back of our minds.

Thank you, thank you for sharing. I bought and read the book and still haven't found most of the answers to my many questions until now. We all agree the girl and the "pet" boy have no place in the film, serve no purpose, and only take away from the "Castaway"-like intrigue and courage of filming a solo man in the midst of "Monsterville", which is the concept that brought everyone to the theaters in the first place. If only this ending would've been him driving alone into the unknown territory with endless potential (a la the original Terminator) since he has no more bonds or ties to anyone, and the city is "occupied." The movie already forshadowed this ending (when he captured the girl as mentioned by comment #5), which is part of the reason for all of our postings. Something was wrong, and we sensed a last-minute add-on. Shame on them , and good on us. This "original"ending has a little "Alien" feel to it, but is far more fresh, true to the title , and would've brought an ironic "Sixth-Sense" appeal resulting in far more revenue, acclaim, and potential for continuing storylines.

Having seen both endings to I am Legend, read the book and seen the 2 previous films based on the book I am not sure which ending I prefer. The alternate ending is slightly closer to the book as in 'who is the real monster', but its still a long way from the book. The original ending to the film I am Legend is a better spectacle whereas the alternate ending changes your view of the vampires, and to a much lesser extent, your view of Neville. I am not a film-maker, but I suspect the I am Legend book ending would have been hard to translate effectively to screen (i.e. having the same impact as it did in the book). That said, I would love another alternate ending to the film I am Legend that is genuinely based on the book, just to see a visualisation of the meaning of 'I am Legend' as the book intended.

Re. all the 'how did they manage to drive across a bridge' points and the answers that some must have not been destroyed. Presumably some hadn't been destroyed, or the lions and deer must've just swum over from the Bronx zoo on a day trip?!

to DC and Dwang. Deer can definitely swim and they're native to New York State. You don't have to go far from Manhattan to see them, that's number one. Ok, there are many small bridges that connect Manhattan to the Bronx, and that would explain the African lions, but Surely it wasn't in just Cloverfield that the Bridge blew up. If you really saw the movie, when Will Smith and his family were evacuating Manhattan they said that they were sealing off the island. You then saw the bombers fly over and blow up the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. When they said they were sealing off the island and then blew up two bridges connecting the island to Long Island, you would have to assume that they also blew up the bridges connecting the island to mainland North America. It helps to know the geography of New York. Although there aren't any lions there (at least not the last time I was there), there is a zoo in Central Park. About twenty years or so ago a polar bear ate a boy from Harlem. Just a little extra info I suppose. Don't climb in the polar bear exhibit.

1224

yeah thats a much better ending, i dont think they used it cause they wanted a 'happy human winning ending' and well the theatre ending was a bit to religious for me

Usually, I hate alternate endings. I admit it, I like to watch a movie, see the end, and feel fulfilled. But this- this was amazing. I acutally felt better about the movie after this- thanks to whoever posted it. I really didnt understand the concept at all of how smith was a legend- but now i get it totally. Oh yeah, Neville can build a bridge at the speed of light! its amazing!

Noo, don't you think this alternate ending, although VERY breathtaking indeed was a little bit too much? I say this because there really is no way that he could get into that close of contact with the infected without them attacking him & Anna & Ethan, (realistically). True, it would have been nice for a main character to come out alive but not that way. There is no way that (realistically) the infected would leave Neville to be alive after taking the infected girl & doing multiple experiments on her. Also, do you think that knowing he found a cure he would want to leave? If anything, it would cause a whole nother part 2 with how he would take the survivors back to NY to try to get the infected, treat them, etc. In a way, Neville went a little psycho because he did think he was alone, do you think he would change his sanity just like that? I don't think so. I do believe WB chose the right ending, even though it was SOO obvious that he, indeed "was a legend" they should have had Anna say something else. There are a few other things I would have changed like how Anna &Ethan got out alive & what happened after Neville blew everything up. but still, it was a lot better ending than that shiznit ^. but nonetheless, the most amazing movie ever! It makes you think about the future, & what's going to happen when someone does find a cure for cancer? Are we gonna take it? haha

This ending was pretty good. It brings a nice change I suppose, but either way both endings are dishonest of the books story and message. While I enjoyed the film for the most part, my biggest complaint was the "vampires." Yes, I specualte as to their nature because they seemed like dumb, jacked out, sick people rather than the vampires from the novel. In the book they are intelligent, they have a mission (i.e. kill Neville), and they are VAMPIRES!!! Fangs, blood lust, aversions to crosses and garlic, and they slept like vampires even. Even the Omega Man, which has its own flaws, gets some of these things somewhat accurate. The vampire virus is not the byproduct of a cure for cancer, but is an ancient virus that is mutated by biowarfare in the book. This movie could have been better. What would have been cool to see was the original Mark Protosovich (google it) screenplay on the screen. His story had the vampires attacking Neville's house, they were intelligent and pure evil, and they were vampires!!!

the alternative ending did give the movie a more unified and fulfilling conclusion, because the cinema cut ending finished too abruptly. however the movie became to lovely-dovey, rather than scare you pants off, while having specular cinematography and being stylish. the mutant humans need to be scarier.

I like this ending because I think the theatrical ending looks more cheesy than thrilling, hahaha

I loved this movie. One of the better ones I've seen in a long time. I'm torn between the endings though. The one in the actual movie was pretty good, but this one was good too. They could have went with either ending, but I think the one in the movie was just a bit better because they have the cure, eventhough he dies, they still got the cure. Plus, the grenade scene was pretty sweet.

I more prefer the theatrical ending, maybe it's due to it gives me more impressive feelings. Too much interactions between Neville and the mutated human beings in the laboratory in the 2nd ending, it only makes me feel that i am watching another Will's dramatic & heroic film which purely made by Hollywood and not a affecting one that could impress people much.

I think the decision to tart up the theatrical release so it would play better in the Bible Belt was a travesty. That is to say, I hated the heavy-handed religious imagery of the theatrical ending -- the shameless mirroring of 'good' and 'evil'...culminating in the moment when Neville and his Nemesis are literally shoulder to shoulder before being consumed by fire...the idiotic 'butterfly' comment becoming a message direct from God...the opening of the survivor's door immediately revealing a church -- so this is a vast improvement that respect.

i have yet to read the book but i thought this ending was much better. However, there is no reference in the film to these monster/vampire things having any emotion or social connections to each other what so ever. They appear to be cold blooded killers for the rest of the film with no suggestion that they have feelings and they are attacking him out of revenge or to stop him from killing more. If only the film had subtlety picked up on this and used this ending, i think it could have been much better.

I hated the original ending. I thought that ending ruined the entire movie. I would have enjoyed this ending better. It just made more sense. WB should have chosen this ending and people would have enjoyed the entire movie, instead of enjoying the movie up until the last 10 min.

I appricate this end much more. I shows the humanity of man and the hope of one person to give back and not destroy his WORLD, because a mistake was made. I all, who see this alternate ending can believe in the future of mankind, then why can we not now see this as the most logical answer now. We do not have to continue to comdem and hurt each other over religion, polical nonsence, provierty or greed. Will our world come to the end of this story. Thank you for providing this clip.

i actually thought the ending they used in the movie was better than that. in the movie he makes his video diary thing and explains how human behavior is completly fled from the infected, and the scene at the end kinda goes against all that. still, i havent read the book, so this all might be completly irrelevent

Awsome, thats pretty much all I can say, this is way more deep and where on the first ending you get the feeling that something is missing with this one the movie becomes complete somehow.. Thanks for sharing

The alternate ending definitely should have been the blockbuster ending; however, Neville should have died in both endings (as well as the book) to make it fit the title -- legendary.

the theatre ending is way better it makes more sense because he is a lgend is story (life) is a legenda nd we are his legacy if he lives then the movie is just stupid it should be called i am gay

Oh geat alternative ending, but on this way he doesnt end and dont got to be a legend . but all the endings are good, atleast the orgiginal everyone will still speak about.

I completely agree that the cinema ending was incomplete, and for me the most significant part of the film was the revelation that these beasts had some humanity left. It was clear to me the second I saw the male creature follow the female that Neville caught into the sunlight exactly why he followed her like that, but in the cinema ending the only explanation given was Robert Neville's misinterpretation. The alternate ending is clearly more complete and emotional in terms of giving an understanding of the creatures' behaviour.

I agree entirely, that ending was much better. I was going to argue that they would need to change a lot of the movie for that part to work... but as soon as I started my arguement, I kept finding holes in it. It would have worked fairly well actually. There are rumors of a 2nd movie coming out, so hopefully they'll attempt to make up for their mistakes. (The idea that the zombie/vampires hasn't been dispelled in any way) So they might take that as an opportunity to change the creatures evolution into a more sentient feeling being.

What is more emotionally powerful? Both of the survivors living and just giving the girl back, or him dying to save Anna and Ethan? I prefer the sacrificial ending.

My TWO Cents I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but it wasn't the "I AM LEGEND" anyone familiar with the novella would expect. The Vincent Price version was closer to the book. For this movie to proceed to the "blaze of glory" ending, several clues had to be discarded. That trap that Neville walked into, wouldn't he have recognized it? Where did the random puddle come from. What a strange place for that cab to be. How did the woman happen to be in just the right place at just the right time? If she were more like the evolved vampire in the book, her presence would have made more sense. They had to keep the vampires bestial and superhuman in the movie because it's the Hollywood way. Both endings work,but both fall apart. Would the woman and boy really have lived through that explosion in the theatrical ending? Would the head vampire (as a bestial vamp that the movie portrayed) really have been so forgiving as to not only let Neville live, but to make the other vampires let him live? The alternate ending hinted that maybe some vampires weren't totally insentient killers, but it would have taken a longer or different movie to work this out. Like I said: a decent movie, but crippled by Hollywood using the title "I AM LEGEND."

although i didnt like either endings i think the origional cut out ending would have made less money but satisfied the people that actually like "i am legend" because it followed the book more closely with the vampires becoming intellegent. in my personal oppinion i didnt like Richard Matheson's ending either. maybe im picky about endings i dont know but i think the ending they used would have made more money because it has vampire killing and grenades in it but any way they do the ending someones not gonna be happy

all in all it's a visually pleasing movie, but not very good. this alternate ending is much better than the one they used. If you set something up, you have to knock it down. Throughout the movie, there are hints that the vampires are not merely mindless creatures, that some humanity still exists, they embody these hints in the lead vampire character. but the ending they choose never addresses this other than with hints. it's much more satisfying to have this idea flushed out as in the alternate ending. still a more believable ending would have that aspect and Will Smith and the girl and kid still die. They were annoying, shallow, boring characters anyway. liberal use of deus ex machina and jesus syndrome make this movie boring.

I saw this film and the original one (L'Ultimo uomo che visse sulla terra, The last man who lives on the earth) made in italy (by Usa producers) and i must say that the original one is more similar to book and really Claustrophobic... is in black and white but really powerful. Without this excess of CG and with the same sense that Matheson research with his story. I think they could call the Will Smith one in other ways, like Bad Infected Boys or something similar. Is a good action movie for the rest.

As knowing what it takes to transfer a story into a screen play, i was fairly upset at how much the story deviated from its original premise. In the book it was clearly demonstrated how much the vampires had not become less human, but instead were altered into a new type of human. It was also too much of a change to make Neville instead of being something of a horror story type legend to the vampire society, to having his death being legend among the other human survivors. So i guess what im saying is the alt. ending was more moving, and made it seem more like Neville was a legend to the vampires, especially as we see the wall of all the vampires that had been killed by him. I still think he should have died, and the book was better than the movie, and the alt. ending was better than the theatrical.

WOW that is the ending we wanted not that rubbish one they did in the theater release. Its as I said it should have been to the other half. BANG ON!!

whats the title for? (i am legend) if will smith did not die! the 1st ending is much better than the new one!! @@

As a person who saw the movie then read the book i did enjoy the alternate ending much more because i picked up on all the human traits the vamps. still showed throughout the movie and i think this endign would suit alll of us better because it shows that you have ot look beyond just the cover to fully understand things in life. But hey what do i know im only 16 and one of the movie industries main targets

Better, but still a bit like the awful movie "Signs".

while i think that this ending is great, i still believe the cinima version of I am legand is better with the ending seen in theaters. No, it doesnt corrospond with the book, which is a drawback, but the version seen in theaters makes the veiwer think more about what they're seeing. While if it would have been a happy ending, anything that average veiw desires, the movie would most likely have been forgotten easily. The version seen in theaters will be remember for a very long time, even if the majority of the people think it was suckish. Everyone makes a good point.

I think either ending would have been acceptable if they didnt include the woman and the boy, this was a story about the last human on earth, and the moment we found out he wasnt the last human the entire story fell flat.

This almost cover up of the ending by WB has inspired me to read the book, i thought i am legend was truly awesome. but only thought of it as another zombie/vampire film for example 28 days later.... I never realised the diversity of the plot!!! ( i also thought the theater ending was very wastefull of Will Smiths' acting skills which he premoted brilliantly in this film, probally his best so far)

This ending is far better than the cinematic version. Im sick of the steriotypical "happy ending", which leaves the viewer with the implication that there is hope and humanity will find a way to progressivly survive.

When I first saw the movie I Am Legend I wasn't particularly moved by it. What I probably disliked most about the film, in fact, was the ending. This alternate ending has actually changed my view of the movie. I really enjoyed watching this.

Thank you for the alternate ending. I haven't read the book, but I could see that the ending was not right. This alternate ending was more like I expected. It seemed fairly obvious to me that the lead dark seeker was trying to get his mate back. Earlier when Neville concludes that "because he was overriding his self preservation instinct the dark seekers had lost all that it meant to be human", he was just wrong. The vampire was expressing love. Anyway, I though the conclusion would be that they would reconcile and work on propogating the cure. But this ending works too. And much better than the theatrical release.

Well that would have been fantastic on the big screen. I always thought the film was great and Will Smith's performance brilliant but the ending always niggled at me. I think WB made a mistake on this one. The alternate ending would have book ended the story brilliantly. So tense and so much more rewarding.

This ending truly makes this movie amazing. the WB ending just made the movie dull and boring but this ending brings thoughts and questions to me....

i think the ending in the movie was better... this ending was really great, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't...seem...realistic enough these 'vampires' are starving, consumed the population, along with animals, and both of these characters in the movie have killed many of them your telling me this vampire could convince the starving ones to not eat (or whatever) him with a shout, because he wants to be with another dead one, which by the way is she dead or not? if he made her normal again wouldn't that do nothing? why not just give her back normal? well...normal to them tell me one movie with any kind of monster where they >brush up< against a human??kill em and get that girl back! and this movie is also supposed to be a different view isn't it? this ending seems too cheesy... we all agree on liking the radio broadcast, then they have to do a rip off and have ana do it?why? o and the cheesy smiling at each-other was a nice touch, too... i personally think that the movie-theater ending was MUCH more realistic, and showed a new view, which was what the movie was about, but, if they could've pulled off a "will smith to the rescue" and he cures things that would've been better oh and i-robot???? seriously?? your insulting his intelligence when you cant see OBVIOUS differences between an entertaining movie and an emotional movie? i robot brought up the point that AI could form opinions and things of that nature and this is a vampire-ish movie about someone trying to survive uhm...tell me ONE SINGLE similarity in these two movies, other than will smith plays in them