I recently watched two films that feel remarkably alike. Both are set after the end of the world, and both place one man and one dog in the middle of an abandoned city. One is Will Smith’s I Am Legend, and the other is Tom Hanks’s Finch.
The first two-thirds of I Am Legend are excellent. The film is tense and gripping, with the main character moving through a deserted city while matching wits with vampire-like zombies. Several scenes are genuinely nerve-racking: the dog running into the dark place where the creatures gather during the day, and the moment when the protagonist falls into a trap and is left hanging there, waiting for night to come. It is hard not to worry for him in those moments.
For quite a while, I really believed the whole city had been reduced to just this man and his dog. Then a woman and a girl suddenly appear, heading toward a rumored place where humans might still be living. From that point on, the later part of the story feels less connected to what came before. The tone changes, the theme no longer feels quite the same, and the earlier sense of tension fades. Even so, the film is still very good overall. I have never been especially interested in zombie movies, but this one turned out to be surprisingly satisfying to watch.
There are apparently two versions of the ending of I Am Legend. In one, the protagonist leaves with the woman and heads toward that supposed place of hope. In the other, he dies along with the zombies. Personally, I find the first ending easier to accept. After everything the character has already suffered, leaving even a small trace of hope feels like a kind of comfort for the audience.
Finch, on the other hand, feels almost impossible to watch without thinking of I Am Legend. There are too many similarities: the post-apocalyptic setting, the central characters, and the scenes of going out during the day to search stores for food. But Finch has very little real conflict. Most of the film is about the emotional exchange between the man and a robot, and about the robot gradually learning and growing. The robot is almost like an immature human being, while the dog ends up feeling less important than expected.
Unlike I Am Legend, Finch does not have those exciting scenes of the hero fighting or outsmarting zombies. The film is much quieter overall. There are still a few tense moments, such as the tornado that nearly blows away the RV, the attempt to avoid being followed by another human-driven car, and the scene where a hand is burned by ultraviolet light. But these threats are mostly invisible, which makes the danger feel different and less immediate.
I also do not think Finch is as engaging as Cast Away, another Tom Hanks film from more than a decade earlier. That film is about one man, one volleyball, and one island, but the conditions of survival themselves become the greatest enemy. The character has to struggle against a harsh environment, and his desire to stay alive is always clear. As a viewer, you are constantly worried about whether he will survive, so the film remains tense. Finch lacks that same strong dramatic pressure and conflict, which makes it feel weaker by comparison.