The Omega Man

PG

Released Aug 1, 1971

1h 38m

Sci-Fi

List

65%

34 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Led by a former TV newscaster (Anthony Zerbe), light-sensitive mutants stalk the last normal man (Charlton Heston) on Earth.

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Critics Consensus

It may not live up to its classic source material, but The Omega Man transcends its limitations often enough to offer some mildly entertaining post-apocalyptic thrills.

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Ian Nathan

Empire Magazine

In adapting Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend, the film loses the original's quiet paranoia and rethink of the vampire theme, but it has quite a lot of gritty flair.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 29, 2008

Full Review

Chicago Reader

Not bad, but far from a classic.

Dec 10, 2007

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Variety Staff

Variety

An extremely literate science-fiction drama.

Sep 19, 2007

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

The second screen adaptation of Richard Matheson’s haunting novel ‘I Am Legend’ stars Heston as the last man on Earth (or so he believes) after a plague turns the populace into night-dwelling albino vampires.

Aug 19, 2023

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Filmmaker Boris Sagal, working from a script by John William and Joyce H. Corrington, delivers an erratically-paced yet generally entertaining sci-fi endeavor that benefits from Heston's commanding, ingratiating performance...

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 11, 2020

Full Review

Chris Alexander

Alexander On Film

The film s a pretty terrible direct translation of what is one of the easiest-to-adapt-to-screen books I've ever read. But it doesn't want to be the novel. It has something else on its mind.

Dec 16, 2019

Full Review

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kevin o

...Heston is perfect for this kind of role, and the film not perfect is very good start to finish. Corny sure, so what, if you like the description you ll love it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

Full Review

Steve D

It has lost most of its effectiveness and is now cheesy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/01/23

Full Review

Anthony J

A barely B-level picture with a major star trying not to look embarrassed. Truly awful, post-apocalyptic pic with terrible script, plot and special effects.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/30/23

Full Review

Taylor L

The Omega Man is one of three film adaptations of the classic Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend, and somehow none of them have really delivered on the source material's cutting premise - an apocalyptic survivor with a final revelation that in trying to save the world, he's essentially become a reverse Dracula. Granted, The Omega Man is the only version that gives the changed survivors some actual intelligence (the others are basically just zombies), but they're treated more as goofy cultists than as a living reminder of humanity's mistakes; they're not much more tan nocturnal psychos that look like albino Jawas, and they don't have enough empathy to make them much more than scrapped antagonists for a Mad Max ripoff. It's a shame, because the early scenes of Charlton Heston stumbling his way through an abandoned LA, struggling to find some sort of normalcy in his routine, is pretty great and a lot of it was done practically with several city blocks shut done and scattered with debris. There's some solid production value in the smaller sets (Heston's reinforced townhome in particular) and the action late in the game, but once the other characters roll in there's just a generic romance (with the '70s standard weird age gap) and unfocused action, plus Lisa's heel turn is just silly. Someday we'll get a really compelling iteration of this story that involves all the self-reflection and unusual perspectives of the novel, but until then decent production value is probably the best we can hope for. (2/5)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Pierre L

the model : the reality in big cities, not a fiction

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Shioka O

Another 70s leftist sci-fi. It's less memorable, I more enjoyed soylent green.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/19/22

Full Review

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Boris Sagal

Director

Charlton Heston

Robert Neville

Anthony Zerbe

Matthias

Rosalind Cash

Lisa

Paul Koslo

Dutch

Lincoln Kilpatrick

Zachary

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Synopsis

Led by a former TV newscaster (Anthony Zerbe), light-sensitive mutants stalk the last normal man (Charlton Heston) on Earth.

Director: Boris Sagal
Screenwriter: Richard Matheson, John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros. Television
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: PG
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 1, 1971, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 6, 2010
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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