After Earth

Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Sophie Okonedo, Zoe Kravitz
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A father (Will Smith) and son (Jaden Smith) are stranded on the planet Earth decades after the planet was abandoned. They now must fight to survive in a hostile, alien environment.

Review:

Tim: It's not really a surprise that M. Night Shyamalan's After Earth pretty much bombed at the box office. The film just didn't look very compelling, and certain aspects of the film were completely misguided. Plus, Shyamalan has been ice cold for a long time, and this is the latest film of his to disappoint both financially and critically. I have to admit this film was better than I expected, but After Earth still isn't a very good movie at all.

One of the biggest problems with this film is that it casts Will Smith, an actor beloved by audiences, and it makes him a supporting player. Instead, we spend the bulk of our time with Jaden Smith. The younger Smith is fine for an actor of his age, but we want to see more Will Smith. This leads to another problematic aspect of the film- Will Smith's greatest strength is his personality- he's charismatic, funny, and instantly likable. That is one of the biggest reasons so many people love him as an actor. And so, we cast him as this stern, cold, distant character with no personality at all. This film took Will Smith, removed his top quality, and wondered why people didn't love the film. Jaden Smith is fine, but he's not his dad, and we wish we could spend more time with the elder Smith.

Surprisingly, I thought there were some very interesting ideas positioned in the story. I love the portrayal of technology- allowing someone to see everything we see, to monitor our condition. As the movie went on, I actually liked the father-son exchanges. The father is experienced and wise, but immobile. His son is young and naive, but able to embark on the trek to save both their lives. I thought this dynamic was interesting, and there were quite a moments when I got caught up in the story. Unfortunately, there's severe limitations to all this. Jaden Smith isn't at the point where he can hold our attention for an entire film. I quickly grew tired of him and wished Will Smith had something more interesting to do.

The basic quest to find the rear of the plane was fine. I'm not sure how much setting this story on Earth helped the film. It could just as well have been any planet. The creatures our heroes face are sometimes interesting, sometimes not. I did like the concept of "Ghosting", of letting go of all fear. It did come across as a little silly in the film, especially with how easy it eventually is to lose all traces of fear. Still, it was an interesting concept.

The biggest problem with this film is probably the direction of Shyamalan. I've never been one to pile on the negativity for no reason, because he's given us some truly great films. Unfortunately, this film just came across as a bit too bland, a bit too forgettable. It wasn't a terrible movie, it was just average in every single way. While a few scenes were very engaging, most of the time I just felt barely into the story or the characters. This whole film was designed to start a franchise. At the end of the film, I was just glad I survived and that the film wasn't as bad as I expected. I have no desire to see the continued adventures of these father and son characters. I'd much prefer Will Smith to make movies where he actually has some personality.

After Earth is not the train wreck many expected, but that's the end of the good news. This is an average film that will quickly fade from our memory. I'm not sure what Shyamalan needs to do to break this funk he's in, but this is another lackluster effort. This movie wanted to be one of the best, most exciting of the year. It's a weak effort all around, unfortunately.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Last Airbender, The Karate Kid