Vincent Price version is probably the closest. One thing they all get wrong is to make Robert a scientist so he can explain things and work on a cure. In the novel he's just an ordinary worker and has to work things on his own.
sharePrefer the Price version (played against type, too).
shareI Am Legend: Adaptation Showdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW5pasjZBXo
Which adaptation of I Am Legend follows the original book by Richard Matheson most accurately? And which is actually the best film?
0:00 Intro
1:06 Setting
2:32 Protagonist's Name
3:01 Is He A Scientist?
3:36 Hunting Monsters By Day?
3:56 Why Is He Immune?
4:51 Depression, Isolation, Loneliness, and Alcoholism
7:58 Does He Invent A Cure?
8:44 Hallucinations?
9:21 Flashbacks?
9:54 Vampires?
11:55 How Did Virus Spread?
13:13 How To Kill Monsters?
13:52 Burning Pit
14:29 Monster Leader
15:39 Ben Cortman
16:17 Difference Amongst Infected?
16:56 Dog
18:38 Woman's Name?
18:58 How Woman Is Introduced
20:15 Does She Betray Neville?
20:52 The Winner Is...
21:09 Best Film?
22:55 Random Fun Details
25:20 Shrek
Agreed the Price version is my favorite, and the closest adaptation, but could have been closer. As mentioned, he played it pretty straight, i.e. against type, so it could just be my favorite role of his.
The Will Smith version did the best job at portraying his loneliness. Thankfully it was the only one I saw prior to reading the novella, so I wasn't disappointed at how much they Hollywood-ized it. Saw it in the theater and more or less had a fun time.
I wish I had seen an MST3K version of the Charlton Heston vehicle, for surely one existed. Alas, I saw it raw and found it ironically campier than Price's.