In the 2007 film *I Am Legend*, audience rooting interest is intentionally shaped by the film’s structure as a survival-horror drama, though this perception shifts dramatically depending on whether one watches the **theatrical release** or the **alternate ending**.
### The Character the Audience Roots For: Robert Neville (Will Smith)
Robert Neville is the definitive protagonist, and the audience roots for him due to his deep vulnerability, his sense of duty, and his tragic personal losses.
* **Actions that build sympathy:**
* **The Routine of Loneliness:** Neville is shown as deeply isolated, talking to mannequins (most notably "Fred" at the video store) to maintain his sanity. This makes him relatable and evokes pity rather than judgment.
* **The Bond with Sam:** His relationship with his German Shepherd, Samantha, is the emotional anchor of the film. When he is forced to kill Sam after she protects him from infected dogs and becomes infected herself, the audience’s bond with him is solidified through shared trauma.
* **Scientific Dedication:** Despite being "the last man on Earth," he spends his days in a basement lab trying to cure the Krippin Virus. This frames his actions as noble and altruistic—he is trying to save a world that is already gone.
* **The Tragic Backstory:** Flashbacks of the chaotic evacuation of New York, culminating in the death of his wife and daughter in a helicopter crash, establish him as a grieving father, making his survival feel like a burden the audience wants him to overcome.
* **Self-Sacrifice (Theatrical Ending):** In the version most audiences saw in theaters, Neville sacrifices himself with a grenade to save Anna, Ethan, and the cure. This "heroic death" validates the audience's investment in him as a martyr for humanity.
### The Character the Audience Roots Against: The Alpha Male Darkseeker
The Alpha Male serves as the primary antagonist. For the majority of the film, he is portrayed as a predatory, animalistic monster that represents the death of human civilization.
* **Actions that cause negative perception:**
* **Predatory Aggression:** The Darkseekers are presented as mindless "vampires" who hunt Neville in the dark. Their first major appearance—huddled in a dark room, breathing heavily—is designed to trigger a primal fear response in the audience.
* **Killing Sam:** The Alpha Male is responsible for the death of Neville’s dog. He releases infected hounds to hunt Neville and Sam; this act is the primary reason the audience roots for his destruction, as harming a loyal pet is a classic "hate-sink" trope in cinema.
* **Intelligence as a Threat:** The Alpha Male shows a disturbing level of intelligence by setting a trap for Neville using the mannequin "Fred." Because the audience views the Darkseekers as monsters, this intelligence is perceived as "cunning" or "malice" rather than a sign of humanity.
* **The Assault on the Lab:** The final siege on Neville's home is a frantic, violent attempt to kill the hero the audience has spent two hours bonding with.
### The Complexity: The "Legend" Twist
The audience's rooting interest is challenged by the **Alternate Ending** (which is closer to the original Richard Matheson novel).
* **The Perspective Shift:** In this version, Neville realizes the Alpha Male isn't attacking him out of mindless rage, but to **rescue his mate** (the female Darkseeker Neville kidnapped for experiments).
* **The Hero as the Villain:** Neville looks at a wall of photos of the "test subjects" he has killed and realizes that, to the Darkseekers, *he* is the monster—a "legendary" boogeyman who captures them while they sleep and kills them in a lab.
* **Audience Reaction:** Test audiences famously **hated** this ending because it forced them to realize they had been rooting for a "villain" (or at least a deeply flawed man) and against a species just trying to survive. This negative reaction was so strong that the studio reshot the "heroic" theatrical ending where Neville dies as a savior.