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Will Smith proves that he is still cool, returning for an action film that brings more than action to the big screen. Blending drama, horror, science fiction, and action with stunning special effects, excellent cinematography, and great casting, I Am Legend may put enough summer blockbuster into December to melt the chill. But for me, it wasn’t what the movie sells overtly as much as what you see if you pull back from the film—or more appropriately, turn the light on. Here are my five observations for your consideration.

The sickness that turns everyone into zombies is actually a result of humanity’s ambition. While initially intended to cure cancer, the serum developed ends up backlashing on all of humanity and killing most of the earth’s population. There’s certainly a commentary on pride here: not to say that we shouldn’t work to cure cancer (!), but there is obviously some reading between the lines that shows the scientists who broadly delivered the drug hadn’t completely examined all of the effects.

The movie stresses the imagery of light and darkness. It’s a zombie movie so it has to, right? Well, besides the “bad guys don’t come out during the day” schlock, it’s more than that somehow. Smith’s Robert Neville is reminded that there’s an opportunity to be a light in the darkness, similar to the phrasing of John 1:5. There, the word of God, the gospel, or Jesus all serve to be more truth, more power, and more good than evil can overcome. There’s an understanding that the good Neville tries to do will matter; and that leads me to my next point…

The movie puts an emphasis on hope. Neville doesn’t give up, against all odds, and in the face of insurmountable corporate and personal losses. He’s battling on for a cure, and when there is that one moment when he finally seems about to quit, then the next point comes into play.

The movie provides a belief in God, and hinges on one man finding his faith. Neville obviously has faith (witness the prayer in the helicopter,) and gets to a point where he doesn’t (his claim to Anna that there is no God). It’s as if because of the billions of deaths that there couldn’t be a god, because a god wouldn’t let that happen. I believe that’s called “the problem of evil”! Thankfully, Anna stands up for God, providing evidence of God’s existence, through the still small voice who urges her to go to the pier, the fact that the day she arrives is the day that Neville is at the point of breaking, and that at the moment of impending doom, the solution is made clear. Neville’s decision to believe allows for the second and third point to be perpetuated, and the fifth to close the deal.

The movie finds a cure that results in the shedding of blood by one man. Either the movie was going to be a complete and absolute downer or there was going to be a moment of victory at the end. Because of Neville’s work on his own immune blood, and persistence in trial on animals and zombies, he finally discovers a cure. As I commented to a friend on the way out of the theater, there’s not much more of an apropos Christian sci-fi response: the power is in the blood. So, not only does Neville’s sacrifice of time (and a little blood at a time) provide the cure, but also, his sacrifice of his life (blood) to defeat the hives attacking them provides the means for protection of Anna, and the healing serum. Neville becomes a Christ figure in a multi-faceted way that defies any other explanation, wrapped up in his own acceptance of faith.

I hate scary movies, but as I mentioned in my preview, I went to I Am Legend because Will Smith is cool. Yet, once again, I find myself realizing that the gospel shines through in the darkest, most unlikely places. Jesus is more than legend, though; he’s the real deal, defying myth, providing hope and shining light that the darkness cannot overcome.