Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan’s I Am Legend 2 is Ruining Itself on its Own: Here’s How
Trying to stay true to the original story elements of the book, I Am Legend 2 can risk ruining Darkseekers. Unlike the book by Richard Matheson, the movie followed a narrative that was tried and tested. Will Smith’s character, Dr. Neville, was responsible for saving the world from a pandemic. Despite many predictable elements, the movie appealed to the masses because of the action scenes that were slam-bang.
With the ending where Dr. Neville was killed in the book, there’s provided an alternate ending to I Am Legend wherein Neville survived. This change kept the possibility of a sequel open. While it’s appreciated that I am Legend 2 will be adopting the first film’s retconned ending, marking the return of Dr. Neville, it creates an issue with Darkseekers that could ruin the film.
Original Darkseekers of I Am Legend
I Am Legend’s portrayal of the Darkseekers largely differs in the book and in the first movie. They are shown to be creatures with signs of intelligence. They even outsmarted Dr. Neville, played by Will Smith, by putting in some traps, which were well-thought-out throughout New York City. The film even confirms that even though the aggressive attacks on animals and humans, Darkseekers just craved blood.
In the novel, Darkseekers are different. It portrayed them to be the vampires who sucked blood. They were allergic to the sun, and they could be repelled by mirrors and garlic. Darkseekers were like regular vampires who could be killed by driving a wooden stake through their hearts.
The movie on the other hand takes a leave from this idea of Darkseekers and shows them to be way powerful. An intersection of zombies and vampires, where Dr. Neville had to bring in military-leveled arms to control them.
I Am Legend 2 Threatning its Predecessor’s Plot
I Am Legend sequel is risking to make Darkseekers seem weak and tamer by showing them more or less like how they were shown in the movies. It can diminish the impact of the first movie. It can make Dr. Neville’s efforts to fight Darkseekers look silly. As the movie will now reportedly align with the book and bring some changes in how Darkseekers are portrayed, it will make a lot of events of the previous film insignificant.
However, it’s hoped that the sequel could bring in some logical explanations for the changes seen.
The sequel has been generating much buzz, but some fans are concerned about how the movie continues to ruin itself. Fans believe that casting Michael B. Jordan as a Darkseeker won’t be it. The actor will be seen playing a human character. Some even believe that the sequel would be quite similar to the original movie, with filmmakers trying to replicate its success, but if that’s the case, it can be derivative and quite uninspired.
It might be too early to say if or not I Am Legend 2 will succeed, but the concerns being raised are valid. Only time can tell if or not the movie will be able to overcome the challenges.
I Am Legend 2 is expected to hit theatres sometime next year.
Source: Screenrant
