“If we listen, we can hear God’s plan.” –Anna (Alice Braga)

Despite the tragedy, the loss, the death, the destruction, and the seeming unfairness of life, God still has a plan and His Spirit still moves among people for a reason. Posters in the background of the movie continue to remind us that “God still loves us.”

“I can still fix this... I can save everybody. Will you let me save you?” –Robert

Robert tells the story of Bob Marley’s theory on curing racism by “injecting music and love into people’s lives… the people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. Why should I?” That’s the core message of the movie, that one man can make a difference, can provide hope for a new way of living, through blood and sacrifice to defend the cure. Through sacrificial love, by injecting love to light up the darkness, life can be lived in light of hope, be it a new colony or a new earth, a quieter earth, with the chance to do things right as a legacy to that sacrifice of love. Robert Neville is a Messianic figure that passes into legend.

Will Smith carries the movie through its long silences and terrifying sequences, displaying quite the range of emotions, especially in the scenes with his dog. Thankfully they put away the shaky camera pretty early on. While the desolation of New York after the devastation continue to haunt and the dark seekers terrify, it is the character-driven nature (as Robert wrestles with both his faith and loneliness) and thoughtfulness of the plot that bring this movie home.