Review of The Omega Man (1971) by Duane L — 21 Feb 2012

Having read the original Richard Matheson story I Am Legend, I'm always comparing it to the film versions whenever I see them. I hadn't seen this version, but I do I have to say that it's probably the worst of them all.

The title of The Omega Man doesn't do it any favors either. The most difficult aspect of adapting this story is that no matter how you do it, it will always be stuck in a particular time period. It's pretty unavoidable because the world basically ends in the story and everything stops, so it's stuck in whatever time period the film is shot in at the time.

However, certain steps can be taken to not be so overtly reliant on "the times." This film is actually the worst at that. Everything from the wardrobe, music and setting are set in the 1970's and even if you didn't know anything about this story you'd know exactly what time period it was from just by the look of it.

Hell, Charlton Heston is even watching Woodstock by himself at the local cinema. It's so overtly 1970's that it's difficult to take it seriously, which is what the film's tone wants me to do.

A lot of the story has also been changed for the worse. The story, to me, has always been about isolation and prejudice against the outside world... in other words, a metaphor. This film is about fighting the bad guys and survival, and that's about it.

I can see why people enjoy it so much, but for me personally, I really like the story of I Am Legend and I choose to take it a little more seriously than this film does. I'll just go back to watching The Last Man on Earth instead, which is the best adaptation of the story, in my opinion.