The story is interesting enough and the mystery surrounding the post-apocalyptic Earth makes it feel a bit like the classic journey movies of yesteryear (even if some things that happen don't make sense just remember these two words: bird rescue). Night's most watchable film since Lady in the Water.
#About after earth movie movie#
And the fact that the scene involves a far superior actor in Will Smith doesn't help Jaden either.ĭespite its flaws (including predictability- from the moment they mention "ghosting" in the opening scene, you already know how the movie is going to end), After Earth may be M.
The most dodgy instance, however, is when, before the film's final act, Kitai and Cypher get into an argument which causes Jaden to deliver a rather whiney performance on par with Hayden Christensen's temper tantrum in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. To his credit, Jaden fairs better more times than not-his a kid playing a kid, afterall-but since he's the person we see on screen most, it does a disservice to the film. Night Shyamalan is notorious for drawing wooden performances out of his actors to begin with, so when you toss an inexperienced actor into that situation, it's not pretty. Jaden has worked best on screen when he's had good direction, the right role, and the right costars, but one of his lowest points was the troubled remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still. Strong child actors are not easy to come by, but forcing them to be one when it's not necessarily a natural talent doesn't help anyone either. That's an endearing concept but also a somewhat problematic what.Īside from the fact that you watch a Will Smith film for the purpose of seeing Will Smith perform in a movie, too much about After Earth rides on young Jaden Smith's shoulders. It's also clear that, while the theme is occuring in the story, it's also happening behind-the-scenes as Will steps back to allow Jaden to be the star. The film thematically is about a parent training up a child in the way that they should go but needing to accept the fact that eventually they need to let go to allow the child to bloom on their own. It soon becomes up to Kitai to travel across life-threatening terrain to retrieve a beacon that was shed from their crashed ship so they can be rescued. The routine mission experiences trouble when an asteroid field destroys their ship, stranding them on Earth.
Kitai and his father are rather distant due to the amount of time he's spent away from home, and the boy is in the middle of training hard to become a ranger, like his respected father. On his last mission before retiring (doesn't that always seem to be the case?), he decides to take his teenage son, Kitai, along for the mission. Will Smith plays Cypher Raige, an all-star military man who has mastered the art of what they call "ghosting" - overcoming your fears to the point where a predator cannot find you. Night's fault this time.Īfter Earth takes place hundreds of years in the future, after humanity has vacated our home planet of Earth. And I have to admit I'm not entirely sure it's all M. The end result is a film that has its heart and mind in the right place, but all the pieces don't seem to fit well enough to make everything work together just right. While it has the star power of Will Smith behind it, the film hardly makes the best use of it, as Smith clearly takes a back seat to give his son Jaden a chance to take lead. Not surprisingly, After Earth didn't get the warmest reception at the box office. Night Shyamalan" had been a selling point for most everything after The Sixth Sense, you'd discover it nearly impossible to find his name attached to this one it's as if Sony knew it could be the kiss of death. The absolute stinker The Last Airbender tanked in 2010, which brings us to the present with his first film in three years, After Earth. It seemed to lead to his first R-rated venture with The Happening in 2008 which ended up backfiring tremendously. By the time the sorely underrated Lady in the Water released in 2006, most audiences had written him off completely. Signs renewed some viewers' faith in 2002, but 2004's The Village seemed to be the beginning of the end for the thriller director. Unbreakable wasn't quite the follow-up moviegoers expected, and its unexpected comic book themed premise shocked and polarized audiences. Night Shyamalan was being called the new Hitchcock. When The Sixth Sense wowed audiences in 1999, M. Let's take a quick look at the rise and fall of one particular director. Movie Reviews (Main) > Movie Reviews (Main).Indie Reviews (Main) > Indie Reviews (Main).