Remake: the art of taking a film and making it again not once,
not twice, but three times. These are not remakes,
they are new adaptations of a book. But that didn't stop me before,
it's not going to stop me now. In 1954 Richar Mathenson wrote a book about a man who finally found peace
and tranquility when all humans died. When he finds other people he chooses to die
rather than socialize again. Four films were made from this book. 'The Last Man on Earth' from 1964, 'The Omega Man' from 1971, 'I Am Legend' from 2007 and 'I Am Omega', by the most parasitic
production company in recent years, The Asylum. Which of these four films
will be the best according to
my less than objective criteria? We'll see. Today in 'Original vs. Remake',
'I Am Legend'. This is the story of Robert, a scientist
who is now the only man on Earth. In the 1964 version he is played
by the legend, Vincent Price, known for such horror films
as 'House of Wax', 'The Raven'
and 'The Abominable Dr. Phibes'. Vincent spends his days sleeping, trying to communicate
with someone by radio, making stakes, buying garlic
and visiting his dead wife's grave. His level of insanity is so great
that he spends all day thinking. At night he must lock himself in his house
because he is attacked by zombies. They are not exactly zombies,
they are zombified vampires... They're a peculiar mixture. In the 1971 version,
'The Omega Man', Robert is played by the legend,
Charlton Heston. He is best known for films
such as 'Planet of the Apes', 'Ben-Hur'
and 'The Ten Commandments'. He spends his days driving around
and watching his hairy chest on TV. His level of insanity is so great
that he talks to himself, argues to himself, talks to a dummy and hears things. At night he must lock himself in his house
because he is attacked by these men with
white faces full of sores. They can talk and reason and have formed an anti-science
and anti-technology cult. In the 2007 version, Robert is played
by the legend... Legend? Is Will Smith a legend? His whole career went down the drain
because of Chris Rock's slapping? I'm not interested
in discussing it now. I don't know if he is a legend or not
but his movie is called 'I Am Legend'. Will Smith, known for films
such as 'Men in Black,' 'Independence Day'
and 'I, Robot' among others, spends his days driving around
with his dog, hunting deer, working out to show off his hairless chest, trying to find a cure for the virus
and sleeping in a bathtub. What a moron! He has all the mattresses
in the world at his disposal but he chooses to sleep there. He could sleep on a mountain of dollars
if he wanted to. But he chooses a bathtub! Anyway, the magic of editing
makes him wake up in a bed His level of insanity is so great
that he talks to several mannequins. Except for the mannequin he likes,
he doesn't dare talk to that one. At night he has to lock himself in
because he is attacked by zombies. Though they are not zombies,
they are zombified vampires. Similar to the ones from '71... Anyway... Let's talk about the other 2007 version. As I explained in another video, The Asylum production company is very alert to the important movies
that are going to come out, so that they can release
a similar but cheaper movie. When they found out
that 'I Am Legend' would be released they released 'I Am Omega',
where Renchard, not Robert, is played by legend Mark Dacascos,
known for starring in 'Double Dragon', 'Kickboxer 5', 'American Samurai',
among others. You may know him from a fight
he had against John Wick. Renchard spends his days
watching videos of his old life, training, training with a stick
and kicking wood. His level of insanity is so great
that he talks to the dead, talks to mannequins, talks to computers and hears voices on the radio. At night he must lock himself in his house
because he is attacked by zombies. He defends himself with a katana. That would earn him a point, but unfortunately he doesn't use it again
in the whole movie. Now that the four main characters
have been introduced, let's proceed with the comparisons. All four actors are very good.
Well, maybe Mark Dacascos not so much, but I'm not here to judge him. Actually, that's exactly
what I'm here for. So Mark doesn't get the point
for best actor. Vincent and Will do a good job, but I'll choose Charlton Heston
because he does a much more complex job. What Vincent does
is much more theatrical. What Will does is more introspective. What Dacascos does is ridiculous. But Charlton not only blends
introspective and theatrical moments, but also has moments of action. Besides, his level of madness
is the highest of the four and he handles it with greatness.
Point for Charlton. Does his sexy hairy chest
have anything to do with this decision? What do you care? Let's talk now about the characters. Vincent and Will embody Robert
through the same path: a depressive scientist
who wants to die more than to live. Dacascos also goes for that depressive side,
bordering on the psychopath. He plants bombs around the city
to blow everything up. The great Charlton Heston approaches
the character from a different place. He enjoys being alone in the world.
He goes to the movies every day. He even dresses up in period clothing
just to cook sausages. I would do the same. I wouldn't sleep in a bathtub,
I wouldn't be silly. For this and for things
that will happen later with the cult and a girl,
Charlton Heston gets the point. How good for Charlton that he
takes advantage of going to the movies since there are no people
to bother him. He could go see
'What Happened on New Year's Eve,' a movie that I wrote and directed. But unfortunately,
it's no longer in theaters. However, it's available digitally
so you can watch it from your home anywhere in the world. You didn't expect this ad now. To do this, you must buy a ticket
by clicking on the link above. I also left it in the video description. And I also left it in this QR code
that you can scan with your phone. You enter, buy the ticket,
and that's it. You will watch it
when it premieres on March 16th. Now let's continue with the movies.
We've to compare the zombies. I don't like the zombies
from the 2007 version at all. They scare me a bit when they run,
but I don't like the CGI. These parts where they open their mouths
as if they were at the dentist are horrible. The ones from the 1971 version
are not zombies, they are some old anti-vaxxer gamers
who have very sensitive skin from spending
a lot of time in a basement. They want to kill Robert
because they believe that scientists are responsible for the apocalypse,
but I don't care. The ones from 1964 are the zombies I like.
Real zombies. Actually, they are vampires,
but well, they are true zombies. In fact, they were the inspiration
or Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead'. So, they get a point. I'm also going to give a point
to the 1971 version because I love their aesthetic. The costumes, makeup, the cult vibe,
and the anti-science ideology. Everything seems beautiful to me.
One point for the 1971 version. And it would be unfair not to give a point
to the Asylum version because they had good zombies. They don't look like vampires at all,
but they are well executed. Point for the Asylum version. But why are they the last men on Earth? They explain it
in three out of the four movies. In the 1964 version,
a virus appears out of nowhere. It causes people to die
or turn into zombies, which are actually vampires. Robert's daughter and wife
get infected and die. They burn the daughter, but bury the wife,
who later returns as a zombie. Although she isn't a zombie,
she's a vampire. A tough story. A tough story. In the 1971 version, it's also about a virus
that appears out of nowhere. It causes people to die
or their skin to rot. There are no vampires, and Robert
doesn't have a wife or daughter. He only has the cure, and when he was transporting it,
he crashes with a helicopter. He survives and decides
to inject himself with the cure. It's unethical, but that's what people
with hairy chests do. But it's not a tough story,
it's a mild anecdote. In the 2007 version, the apocalypse
was caused by Emma Thompson. As those following the 'Original vs. Remake'
video series may know, the presence of Emma Thompson
is worth a point. She created the cure for cancer,
which is good news. However, the bad news is
that she also created a virus that killed almost everyone. Those who didn't die
became zombies. Will Smith had a wife and daughter
whom he put on a helicopter to safety. Unfortunately, the helicopter crashed.
It's a doubly tough story. A tough story. In 'I Am Omega',
they don't explain anything. In fact, there are more people on Earth,
he is not the last man on Earth. We know that in his past
he had a wife and a son who were one day eaten by the creatures.
Another extremely tough story. A tough story. These three stories are very similar but I found Will Smith's story
to be very ridiculous. Too much bad luck. I think it's crueler that
they set your daughter on fire and your wife comes back as a zombie. So the point goes to the 1964 version. The true tough story
of Will Smith is when his dog, his only companion, his best friend,
dies defending him from the vampires. And that's not all. Because the dog turns
into a vampire dog. And that's not all. Because Will Smith has to kill him. This is a quadruple tough story. A tough story. Because of this drama,
I give a point to Will Smith. The lives of our heroes change completely
when they meet a woman. In Vincent Price's case,
he takes her home. He distrusts her condition
when he attacks her with a bunch of garlic and she gets scared. Vincent thinks she is a vampire but
doesn't realize that what he did was gross. Imagine going to the vegetable store and
the vegetable seller greets you like that. Although in reality,
she is the rude one, because she is a member
of a group of survivors that has a vaccine
that prevents the virus from spreading and she set a trap for Vincent
to kill him. On the other hand, Will Smith,
depressed by the death of his dog and frustrated because even
his favorite mannequin doesn't give him attention,
decides to commit suicide. But believe it or not, he is saved by another survivor
who finds him just in time. Will Smith wakes up in her house
and 'Shrek' is playing on TV. Sorry for the bias,
but this means a point. The woman tells him that there's another
group of people who are not infected, but Will doesn't believe her
and stays to search for the cure. In the version of The Asylum, he meets a girl through a video call,
and he gets really scared. She asks him to come and find her because
the cure for the virus is in her blood. When he goes out, he meets these other guys
who are also looking for the girl, and the three of them
go to find her. Something different happens
to Charlton Heston. He chases the girl with his hairy chest, but she escapes
and he is caught by the cult and put on trial. He is declared guilty
and sentenced to death. They are about to kill him when the girl,
who is obsessed with Charlton's hairy chest, reappears and saves him. They jump on a motorcycle,
a pursuit ensues, and they jump over
a conveniently placed ramp. He goes with her and discovers
that there is a community of survivors. There, Charlton confesses his truth. This and his hairy chest
seduce the girl and they kiss. Charlton is the only one
who gets laid in these movies, learn something, rookies. It is very important to know that
this was one of the first interracial kisses in the history of cinema. Today it may seem like a small thing,
but at the time it was a revolution. So it earns another point
for his contribution to the world. Several years later,
Whoopi Goldberg interviewed Charlton Heston, asked him about this issue,
and they shared a kiss. But there's no time for hookups
because things get difficult. But before that,
which of the four girls is better? Vincent Price's girl doesn't do much. She appears briefly
and looks depressed all the time. Will Smith's girl doesn't do much either,
she just puts on the 'Shrek' DVD. That speaks well of her,
but it's not enough. The girl from The Asylum
doesn't do much either. She has few appearances
but they are very boring. But Charlton Heston's girl is great. The first time we see her,
she's pretending to be a mannequin. Why did she think that would work?
I don't know, but it works. Then she saves the guy,
gives him a motorcycle, and kisses him. She has much more prominence
than the others, so she earns a point. The survivors chase after Vincent,
who defends himself with a little gun. Bang, bang! The vampires chase after Will Smith,
who defends himself with CGI explosions. The cultists chase after Charlton Heston,
who defends himself with a machine gun. With a machine gun
and real explosions! No CGI!
Real explosions! Nobody has
a hairier chest than Charlton. Here's your point, champion! Do you know why I am
so impartial with Charlton Heston? Because I feel like it. But Mark Dacascos also deserves recognition. He defends himself with guns,
nunchucks, a wheel, a stick, and even with his own hands. For this variety of weapons,
he deserves a point. I have to subtract a point
from Will Smith's movie because in the final fight
he fights with a vampire and the vampire, who could have
killed him several times, instead of killing him,
throws him aside. One thing is to be a vampire
and another thing is to be an idiot. I subtract one point. Will Smith's situation becomes complicated
as a bunch of vampires show up. He must hide with the girl
and the child in the lab. Vincent's situation becomes complicated
as the bad guys corner him in the church. Renchard's situation
becomes complicated as the villains want to kill
the girl who has the cure. Charlton's situation becomes complicated
as the girl turns into a vampire. Vincent dies, but before he does,
he delivers a beautiful monologue. Charlton dies without saying any monologue,
but leaving behind the cure. Will Smith dies
without saying any monologue, obtaining the cure and sacrificing himself
to save the cure, the girl, the child, and the 'Shrek' DVD. This makes no sense. It wasn't necessary for him
to sacrifice himself, it would've been enough
to throw the grenade. I understand that he got used
to being alone and hates people, but it wasn't that extreme. Because of this meaningless ending,
the 2007 version loses a point. This is the official ending
of 'I Am Legend,' but there's an alternate ending where Will Smith realizes that
the vampires are chasing him because they want to rescue
the kidnapped vampire. This wasn't the official ending,
but now it seems like it is because they're making a sequel
and they need the protagonist to be alive. It's so confusing
that it doesn't gain any points. Vincent Price gets the point
for the better ending due to his great monologue. Before he dies, we discover
the other side of the coin. Just as we saw Vincent Price
killing zombie vampires and believed him to be a hero, that society saw him
as a killer of his own people. Vincent believed himself
to be the only man on Earth, but the Earth was already occupied
by another type of people. Vincent was the threat. The same thing happens
with 'I Am Legend' when we discover that Will Smith
is the odd one out. The new society
is the CGI vampires. It becomes much clearer
in the alternate ending. In 'I Am Omega' this doesn't happen,
there is no double meaning. Everything ends when Renchard
blows up the city and kisses the girl. That's it. In 'The Omega Man', which deviates greatly
from the original novel, there is something similar. But the important thing is in the debate
between science and modernity and religion. So I believe that in terms
of the film's message, the one that is clearer
and more forceful is that of the 1964 film. Therefore, it earns a point. Does anyone mind if I give another point
for the final shot of the movie? The 1964 version ends with a wide shot
of the girl leaving the church. Meh. The 2007 version ends
with a shot of the new city. Meh. Get ready for the 1971 version. It ends with a beautiful shot
of Charlton dead in the red-tinted water in a biblical pose.
How beautiful! Do you see the aesthetic superiority
of this film? And just like that,
the winner is 'The Omega Man'. Additionally, I'll give it an extra point
for being the only one of the four movies to be parodied on 'The Simpsons'. For all these reasons,
'The Omega Man' wins. Congratulations! Well... So, the 'Original Vs. Remake' week
has come to an end. I hope you had a good time. If you didn't have a good time,
I'm sorry. Don't leave without liking the video,
commenting, subscribing... Watch other 'Original Vs. Remake',
buy the movie ticket, and listen to my Aunt Marta. Subscribe to the channel
and go tell all your friends. Period. XOXO
BYE BYE Summing It Up
Original Idea by Don Jorge Pinarello Good night.