The Omega Man

Nothing beats your first time with The Omega Man. I first saw it as an impressionable pre-teen back in the 70s, and it immediately made it up there with James Bond, Evel Knieval and Bruce Lee as THE coolest thing I'd ever seen in my life. Time hasn't been all that kind to this film, and it seems a bit croaky all these years later, but c'mon, Charlton Heston fighting albino bikers has gotta be worth SOMETHING! The Woodstock scene is priceless, Zerbe makes a wonderful baddie, and remember Paul Koslo? What a dude. This movie is a hell of a lot of fun.

A vampiric cult called The Family the result of biological warfare, lay siege to the refuge of the last man left alive in a dead post-apocalyptic city.

This is the second cinematic outing for the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend with Charlton Heston as Robert Neville immune to the plague & fighting for survival. This is an entertaining film if not on a par with some of Hestons other sci-fi movies such as Planet Of The Apes & Soylent Green. Again he gives us an isolated, cynical man who never sets out to be a hero but becomes one.

How would you cope as the only man alive? The superior opening act of this movie answers that with the protagonist wandering through a dead city. Constantly reminded of the past with every step along every street & talking to himself, trying to retain his sanity. Indeed one of the best scenes of the whole movie is here when he watches Woodstock in an empty cinema, reciting the dialogue. Just how many times has he done this? Then the film goes down familiar action movie routes with The Family a bizarre religious anti-technology cult & Nevilles attempts to combat their attacks.

The Omega Man doesn't have as much depth amongst the action as Planet Of The Apes but has a great & tangible sense of isolation. The Family may not be the most threatening bad guys ever (one of the films flaws) but look good in their cowls & capes, a religious theme which is played out in the wonderful final image at the films climax which offers hope for the future.

Overall this film is enjoyable with its slightly comic book sensibilities, good score & strong religious overtones. A good slice of 70s sci-fi fun!

This movie rocks, right from the opening scene where our hero leaps from his car and sprays mutants with a machine gun, to the final frame where... but enough of that. A great flick, one in a line of Charlton Heston post-apocalyptic movies. If you like this you'll love Soylent Green and, of course, the first two Apes films. Heston's like John Wayne in space. Nobody does it better. In this one disease-ravaged mutants stand in for the hippies- that fixes up society's problem with the riff raff, and Charlton has an inter-racial relationship. So there are mixed messages. Charlton Heston chews the scenery in every frame. Oh well, damn you all to hell.

Such a good 70's flick with many flaws. Just enjoyable on many levels

I have watched this sci-fi flick at least 5 times and enjoy it every time. I like how innovative he was in setting up his residence to keep The Family at bay. I have always wondered what he would do when his food stash ran out and the stuff in stores started expiring. I also don't understand how he kept putting himself in harms way by staying out until dark. Another thing that puzzled me was why he did not kill The Family when they came around at night? He had a sniper rifle with night light. He could have been rid of them in a couple of evenings. Still this was a very good story about "the last man on earth".