"The Omega Man" suffers from a less than ideal score and poor makeup and special effects. The movie starts out strong and relays the isolation of Robert Neville. But the second half is practically incoherent with its dated funky score and the annoyingly cult-like antagonists. From the pancake makeup to the powdered wigs they were entirely disappointing. This movie played like a bad episode of "Night Gallery". It really is an injustice to the novel from which it is based ("I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson).

I would put this closer to deserving _Mystery Science Theater 3000_ treatment over being a sci-fi classic, but to each his own. I'm not sure if it was budget or general lack of interest, but there are certain aspects of this movie that bothered me. First, in the abandoned day time world of post-apocalyptic L.A., you can see people and an occasional car moving far back in the camera shot that are not part of the movie. Second, in the scenes where Heston is on a motorcycle, there was not even a subtle attempt to hide the stunt man. He looked nothing like Heston, didn't wear a wig, had a different build, and the frame was often tight blatantly showing all this. Lastly, the bullet wounds. Bad for 1971 even, ketchup everywhere. I also hated the ending. No spoiler but that was terrible. The story had great potential and I did enjoy the scenes where Heston was bantering with his chess mate but something was missing. BTW, I have not seen _I Am Legend_ so no comparisons between the two.

I saw this movie at a very young age, maybe 8 or 9 years old, and it left an intense impact on me. Objectively speaking, it's not great, I just have a strong bias towards it and will always rank it among my favorites.

Written by Richard Matheson under the title I Am Legend, this was Hollywood’s second rendition of the story. It was more action-packed than the original 1964 The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price and really examined the factor of individual isolationism and the mental ravages it could cause. Col. Robert Neville (Heston) was working on a medical cure against the biological weaponry of an unnamed enemy (presumably the USSR) when his chopper is brought down as he was attempting to begin distribution of the cure. Injecting himself, he becomes the only man immune from the germ warfare. Years later, he is self-tasked with cleaning out the remaining mutated individuals that did not immediately die as they attempt to kill him off; the last remaining individual of a dead age. If you can look past the rough 1970s special effects, you get an enjoyable popcorn evening of late twentieth-century apocalyptical horror. 7 out of 10.

Mediocre flic. That score though!