After Earth (2013)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Release Date: May 31, 2013 (USA)

My Rating:  ★ ★ ½   (out of   ★ ★ ★ ½)
     (Click here for more info on my rating scale)


My time and money weren’t completely worth the experience, but they weren’t wasted either.

I have to say, as much as I like M. Night Shyamalan, I was unsure as to whether or not he would get any directing jobs after his failure of that terrible Last Airbender movie.  But, despite the negative reviews that After Earth has been receiving, I decided to give Shyamalan another chance and go see it.  It does suffer from several flaws, not the least of which are weak acting and some uneven pacing among other things, but there were some things I liked and will remember about it.  And if you ask me, it’s definitely a step back in the right direction for Shyamalan.

The film takes place a millennium after humanity was forced to leave Earth and settle on a distant planet.  Katai (Jaden Smith) wants to become a soldier like his father, General Cypher Raige (Will Smith), but he fails his test for cadet promotion.  He and his father have an estranged relationship; they are obviously emotionally distant from each other, and they even maintain something of a military-like relationship and behavior even at home.  Eventually, he and his father are on a ship, which is damaged in an asteroid storm and crash lands on Earth, the only survivors being Cypher and Katai.  Since the humans have left, the living organisms of Earth have evolved into dangerous, lethal forms.  Cypher’s legs having been broken in the crash, Katai must travel 100 kilometers across this dangerous terrain to where the tail of the ship is in order to retrieve a beacon.

So yes, After Earth is a futuristic science-fiction film, but it has a morality tale at its core.  It explores themes of fear, courage, coming of age, and the father-son relationship, and it even contains an ecological message.  It also has good visual effects, and a decent music score.  This is definitely a different type of film for Shyamalan; it didn’t even feel much like a Shyamalan film.  However, this film does have some unique and interesting aspects about it.  And, like some of Shyamalan's previous films, it even has a family relationship story (again, the father-son relationship).

The film’s main issues, however, have nothing to do with any reliance, if any, upon the effects.  In fact, if you ask me, it tries to truly focus on the characters, their relationship, and their struggles.  But it stumbles.  It suffers from some uneven pacing and storytelling and some weak dialogue, a few lines of which are unintentionally funny, and its level of intensity and emotion wavers throughout.  There were parts of the movie in which I felt some relatively strong emotion, intensity, and even suspense.  But other parts of the film came up short on it and weren’t as emotional, suspenseful, intense, or scary as they should have been, and instead ended up feeling a bit too dry and empty.

Another thing I thought the movie suffered from was its handling of its backstories and character development.  These should have been fleshed out and explored more, and several things about it could have been interesting and could even have contributed more to the story, emotionally.  Unfortunately, the film didn’t go into this as much as it should have, and instead it went a little over the top with scenes of Katai out in the wild (a few of these particular scenes did feel a bit like unnecessary “filler”).

Another major issue is the acting.  If you ask me, I think it’s a bit obvious that Jaden Smith only got the role because he is Will Smith’s son.  I found him tolerable and mostly effective, but his acting is wooden.  Will Smith’s acting is decent and effective, but even his acting is a bit stiff.

However, the film does make an effort, and while it does come up short on several aspects, I would say that it tries, and it doesn’t completely fail.  Overall, I didn’t much like the film, but I did find it a bit entertaining, and I felt that the effort, themes, and ideas behind it definitely showed through.  Now, again, I didn’t think the film was great; I just thought it was adequate, or so-so; but I’m still a bit glad that I saw it.  And again, it’s step back in the right direction for Shyamalan, in my opinion; maybe there’s still hope for him after all.  My time and money weren’t completely worth the experience, but they weren’t wasted either.



Cast and Credits:
Cypher Raige: Will Smith
Katai: Jaden Smith

Columbia Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment, and Blinding Edge Pictures present
A film directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Running time: 100 min.

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and some disturbing images