After Earth
It’s almost too easy to join in the bandwagon and slam M. Night Shyamalan’s latest directorial effort, After Earth. Afterall, its not really that good.
But then again, I don’t think it deserves the 11% it’s currently ranking on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sure, there’s a lot that could have been done better, but at the end of the day, After Earth was actually… decent. Will Smith as Cypher Raige literally has a sit-down role, as he guides his son Jaden Smith / Kitai Raige through a 100km series of obstacles to earn his badge as an action star.
When I grow up, I wanna be just like my dad!
A lot of criticism was levelled on Jaden Smith for not having the screen charisma his father has, but I thought he did a good job, plus, he’s only fifteen.
The plot of the film is painfully simple. A spaceship crash lands on Earth (1000 years after humans evacuated it). Everyone dies except Will and Jaden. A rescue beacon sits 100km away, in the tail section that broke off in the crash. Will is injured, and Jaden has to make the perilous journey alone to retrieve the beacon.
However, if you’re interested, there’s a huge backstory to be unearthed.
Ultimately, the Shyamalayan twist in this film, is that it did not suck. Too badly.
Rating: 5/10