I Am Legend is now 16 years old, and though it’s always worth a rewatch, the years have revealed some uncomfortable truths about the 2007 film.

After 16 years, rewatching I Am Legend may mean facing a few harsh realities. The action film starring Will Smith is precisely what you would expect for a 2000s action movie, and that is far from a bad thing. The idea of a global zombie apocalypse is something that will always be appealing in Hollywood, and I Am Legend beautifully explores the effect that the absence of humanity would have on the world. Then there is Smith’s performance as Robert Neville—the actor truly managed to capture the anguish of solitary confinement, which was a significant asset to the film. Overall, there is a lot to love.

Enough time has now passed that sitting down to watch I Am Legend feels like settling in for a classic, and with I Am Legend 2 on the way, there is even more reason to revisit the 2007 film. However, after all these years, there are a few details that are sure to stand out upon a rewatch, and these can be a little hard to swallow. From how the ending was handled to the unfortunate use of CGI, these uncomfortable realities do nothing to lessen our love for I Am Legend, but they do seem to get a little worse with every passing year.

10. I Am Legend Should Have Used The Alternate Ending

The alternate ending for I Am Legend has aged better than the official cut.

I Am Legend‘s original ending certainly had a high impact, with Smith’s Rober Neville sacrificing his life to save his companions, but this was somewhat lessened with the release of the DVD version of the film. The special features came with an alternate ending, which saw Neville realize that the alpha Darkseeker was in love with the female zombie he had captured. This proved that I Am Legend‘s protagonist had entirely misunderstood the infected beings and had been experimenting and killing sentient creatures capable of love. Ultimately, the fact that I Am Legend 2 will follow this alternate ending proves that it should have been in the official cut from the beginning.

9Knowing The Dog Dies In I Am Legend Makes It Even Sadder

No amount of rewatches will make this I Am Legend scene any less devastating.

I am Legend is full of tragedy, including the death of Neville’s daughter during one of the flashback segments of the film. However, the most devastating scene of the entire movie is when Neville’s dog, Sam, gets infected with the Krippin Virus and begins to turn. Smith’s character does everything he can to save her, but he ultimately is forced to kill his very last companion. Sam had been the puppy Neville had given his daughter as a gift and the only piece of his family he had left. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how often someone watches I Am Legend; this scene will always hurt too much.

Sam’s death is even worse with the reveal that a cure was possible in I Am Legend.

8. I Am Legend 2 Should Have Happened A Long Time Ago

There was always a lot of room to extend I Am Legend’s story.

Since Neville died at the end of the official cut of I Am Legend, it makes sense that a sequel wasn’t initially part of the equation. However, once people began seeing the alternate ending, the calls for I Am Legend 2 began. So many questions were left unanswered, especially regarding what would happen to civilization after Neville realized that the Darkseekers were intelligent beings capable of love. Additionally, it was captivating to see what had happened to New York only a few years after civilization collapsed, so future decades are worth exploring. There’s always been room to expand this universe, and it’s only a shame that it hasn’t happened until now.

7. The Zombie Vs. Vampire Debate Is Never Ending

I Am Legend’s Darkseeker changed the books vampires into zombies.

Though often lumped in with zombie apocalypse movies, I Am Legend isn’t technically one of them. The Darkseekers are more like vampires, which is how they are described in the original book by author Richard Matheson. Still, it can’t be denied that the film put a more zombie-like spin on the creatures. The ambiguity here led to a fierce debate that has continued these 16 years. Now, I Am Legend 2 will surely add fuel to the fire as it can either lead toward one end of the argument or the other.

6. Themes Of A Global Pandemic Hit Differently Today

The world has been through a lot since the release of I Am Legend.

Unfortunately, in the years since I Am Legend was released, the world has faced an actual global pandemic, which has created a new perspective on the film’s events. The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 saw devastating effects all around the world, which means that the ideas presented in I Am Legend aren’t as difficult to imagine as they might have been 16 years ago. Of course, the world has never faced anything like a zombie/vampire-creating virus, but the panic and confusion in the film still bring back some uncomfortable memories.

5. The Darkseekers’ Transformation Makes No Sense

The Darkseekers’ bodies changed in impossible ways.

Regardless of whether the Darkseekers are zombies or vampires, their physical transformations in I Am Legend make very little sense. Sure, it’s reasonable that their skin would become pale and transparent since they can’t be in the sun, and losing all their body hair is believable. Even their improved strength and endurance could be explained. However, when the Darkseekers “roar,” their jaws seem to stretch several inches, and the sound they emit has no reasonable explanation.

4. The Changes From The Book Ruin I Am Legend’s Title

The book’s title no longer makes sense for the I Am Legend movie.

I Am Legend is named after the book it is based on, but since the plot is so heavily changed, the title no longer makes sense for the film. In the novel by Richard Matheson, Robert Neville’s death means the very last of the uninfected humans. In the final moments before he is killed, the character thinks about how, to the vampires, he had been like a monster of legend who prayed on and killed their kind. His death meant the end of his specifies, but none of this is true in the I Am Legend movie. After so many changes, it’s unclear what the film’s title even refers to.

3. I Am Legend Misses The Moral Themes Of The Orginal Book

The ending change for I Am Legend alters the themes of the book.

Especially in the official cut, the I Am Legend movie completely misses out on the concepts explored by the book. In the original novel, Neville realizes that the infected vampires he had been hunting and killing were capable of love and society, and when they organized themselves against him, he realized the wrong he had done. The movie is more focused on the profound impact of Neville’s loneliness and his willingness to end his life to save humanity. Though this is undoubtedly entertaining, there is far less moral impact, and it gives little for audiences to think about once the credits roll.

2. The CGI Zombies In I Am Legend Have Aged Poorly

The CGI zombies in I Am Legend looked bad even for 2007.

Sometimes, bad CGI is part of the charm of watching an older film, but the problem with I Am Legend stems from the fact that the CGI was only really bad for the zombies. The overgrown city looked pretty spectacular, and the escaped zoo animals, though not perfect, were fair for 2007. However, the zombies looked horrible. This ultimately came down to the last-minute change from actors in prosthetic makeup to full CGI monsters, which meant the end result looked unfinished. Hopefully, I Am Legend 2 will be able to redeem the original film with some much better-constructed Darkseekers.

1. I Am Legend Has A Confused Plotline (Thanks To Its Contradictory Endings)

The changes in I Am Legend’s ending meant for unresolved storylines.

As entertaining as I Am Legend is, the ending change meant that several questions presented throughout the film went unanswered. Neville’s realization that the Darkseekers were capable of organizing a trap for him was meant to lead to the reveal that they weren’t as mindless as he thought they were, but the ending change meant this never happened. Similarly, Neville determined that the Alpha Darkseeker had lost all sense of self-preservation by going into the sun, and this was supposed to foreshadow the truth that the infected creature was desperate to get his lover back. I Am Legend is always worth the rewatch, but the plotline faults are a little easier to see after all these years.