A lot of great movies come out but I don’t usually see them until they come out on DVD, and Netflix told me from the start that I had a very long wait! To my surprise, the film came this week and I loved it.
Being a follower of Christ, I found in the film some amazing parallels to the mission and work of Christ… not sure that was the intent of the writers and producers, but I see it. The main character, Robert Neville, finds himself all alone in the world, immune to a disease that, if it did not kill you right off, turned you into humanoid-type beasts. This is a type of Christ, one who is sinless in our sea of humanity.
The beasts feared the light, so nighttime was pretty scary; (the Bible mentions men love darkness more than the light – John 3:19), but Neville was working on a serum that could cure the disease, and transform the beasts back into regular people.
He later finds out that he is not alone; there are other people who are immune to this disease, which he finds it hard to believe. The woman tells him that she was sent by God because he is going to save the world. Imagine that, a savior of mankind. Even though he prays out loud early in the film, a time comes when he is very doubtful that there even is a God, exclaiming loudly, “There is NO God!” A heavy scene but it is understandable since Neville has seen a lot of suffering over the past three years, (earlier he reminds us that “God did not do this, we did” referring to the “cure” for cancer mentioned at the beginning of the film, which turned out to be the cause of the disease).
After much experimentation, he finally appears to be successful. His latest captured beast is becoming more human, so the serum works. But the beasts are attacking his lab and are breaking through into the strong room. He pleads with them that he has found the cure, he can save them, but they refuse to understand or listen. He takes a vial of blood and sends the woman away. Then Neville sacrifices himself so she can get away from the beasts.
The woman arrives at her destination, which could represent heaven in a way. There are huge gates that need to be opened. She brings the vial of blood so it can save the human species. As the gates open the first thing one sees is a church at the end of the little road.
At the end, the narrator mentions that Robert Neville will become a legend, the one who gave his life for the salvation of mankind. If that is not our story, what is?
How can we help people to know and understand that there is a Savior who came to cure them, to set them free from sin? But men love their darkness more than the light and refuse to acknowledge the Savior. They want to try self-medication to find their own cure. The road to destruction is broad but the way to life is a narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14). Scripture promises that the seeker of truth will find God when they search for him with all of their heart (Jeremiah 29:13). As the old song goes, “there’s power in the blood.”
Now for the parts where the parallel breaks down:
- Neville often looked at the beasts as less than human, (possibly, we too are less than human when we are enslaved to sin).
- Neville killed a lot of beasts throughout the movie, (whereas Jesus doing the same seems appalling).
- Neville seemed to seek a cure out of a sense of guilt, (more so than out of love).
- Neville took out several beasts when he sacrificed his life, (the very beasts he wanted to save).
- Neville is dead and became a legend, but he is not a resurrected Lord (unless they intend to make “I Am Legend 2”).
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