AFTER EARTH(PG-13)
*1/2 (out of 5)
May 31, 2013
STARRING
Jaden Smith as KITAI RAIGE
Will Smith as CYPHER RAIGE
Sophie Okonedo as FAIA RAIGE
Zoe Isabella Kravitz as SENSHI RAIGE
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
BY KEVIN CARR
Listen to Kevin’s radio review…
Before I start tearing this movie a new Earth hole, I have a confession to make: I can’t stand Jaden Smith.
I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice kid, but his entire career feels like an overblown Christmas present from his father. Jaden Smith has earned nothing in Hollywood, with movie roles literally given to him for no other consideration besides his bloodline.
The kid’s not a terrible actor, but frankly, he’s not that great either. Just because you can cry on screen does not mean you’re a strong actor. And considering Will Smith is a one-in-a-million type of star, it’s no big surprise that his son doesn’t have nearly the same amount of charm as charisma on screen as he does.
Maybe if Jaden Smith would emancipate himself from his dad’s career management rather than just from his dad’s house, he could have a shot. Maybe in five or ten years, he can show up in some smaller production playing the villain. If he took a path similar to that of Kiefer Sutherland, in which he didn’t try to become a Mini Me version of his dad and just made a name for himself, this could be a positive end. However, having Jaden Smith forced down moviegoers throats as pubescent leading man material is not going to end well for anyone.
Is it fair for me to dump on a fourteen-year-old kid like this? In this context, it is. We’re not talking about people taking a hands-off approach to Chelsea Clinton or the Obama girls when they just happen to be the President’s daughters. Will Smith is using his clout to make a $130 million movie for his son to star in, and he’s throwing him to the wolves.
In this sense, “After Earth” is no better than Rebecca Black’s “Friday” video. It’s a bought-and-paid-for vanity piece for a spoiled teenager who probably doesn’t know any better. The only difference is that Rebecca Black’s family did theirs for a limited audience before it went viral. Will Smith is actually trying to make Jaden Smith a bona fide movie star.
“After Earth” comes off as exactly what you’d expect from the players involved, an in-kind payment due from Sony after Will Smith brought them more box office gold by doing another “Men in Black” movie last year. Sadly, it’s a story conceived by a non-writer movie star, featuring nepotism casting for the lead with an actor who hasn’t earned his stripes, directed by a guy who has become a joke in Hollywood.
But for all the bashing that M. Night Shyamalan is receiving from this film, I don’t necessarily blame him. He was a hired gun for this movie, and the trappings of “The Last Airbender” aren’t the same problems here. On the whole, “After Earth” actually looks decent, with some cool special effects and slick (if not ridiculous at time) set design.
However, the problem is the needlessly convoluted story. The general concept is simple: A father and son crash land on a hostile planet Earth 1000 years after humanity left. In order to survive, the son has to make a 100-kilometer trek to find an emergency beacon so they can call for help.
However, too much set-up in the story is a mess. Why did humanity leave earth 1000 years ago? Why were genetically-engineered creatures hunting humanity across the galaxy? Why were these creatures made to smell the pheromones we exude when we are afraid? Why were these creatures not given eyes once select soldiers learned to “ghost,” which is to suppress any fear and become invisible to them? Why do people eat with three-pronged chopsticks with a cheater rubber band around the end? Why do people all sleep in hammocks in the future? Why does everyone speak like a bad Peter Stormare impersonation?
Elements that could be cool in a better science fiction movie just seem out of place here. A lot of these questioned are given half-hearted answers in a dullard opening narration by Jaden Smith, but unfortunately it plays like a bad Syfy movie rather than a major motion picture.
But all of these questions are moot because the film hinges upon the journey of Jaden Smith’s character. He has to learn to “ghost” and remove all fear, leading the movie to a painfully misdirected message.
The tag line of “After Earth” reads: “Danger is real. Fear is a choice.”
But, it’s not. Fear is a very real thing. It’s a product of evolution that has kept many species alive for tens of thousands, if not millions of years. It’s what keeps humanity safe. The entire supposition of the movie is that a person is brave if he is without fear. And that is flat-out wrong.
The truth is that a person without fear is too stupid to recognize danger. If you’ve ever watched a dog dart into traffic while chasing a squirrel, this is apparent. That dog isn’t brave. That dog is just too stupid to recognize the danger in running across the road.
True bravery comes from how one handles his or her fear. True bravery happens when a person does something in spite of his or her fear. Fear is a real, undeniable human emotion, and this movie trivializes it into some poorly written tag line.
So this off-kilter message is shouldered by Jaden Smith, who is woefully out of his depth, and we’re left with a dud. “After Earth” isn’t the worst movie I’ve seen, but it has nothing in it that is memorable or comes close to being even mediocre. And the twist ending that M. Night Shyamalan is famous for turns out to be that it’s a terrible movie from beginning to end.
I hope you all liked “Men in Black III” last year, because we’re paying for it with this movie now.
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Oh Kevin, Kevin, Kevin…. Things were going so well until you revealed your own lack of intelligence with this little slice of idocy; “If you’ve ever watched a dog dart into traffic while chasing a squirrel, this is apparent. That dog isn’t brave. That dog is just too stupid to recognize the danger in running across the road.”
No, a dog runs across the road because, from an evolutionary view, he has no reason to fear being hit by a car. It’s not part of their instictive make up because it wouldn’t have any natural benefit as far as protecting them. Are they stupid because they’re not afraid of guns, either? They are afraid of snakes and fire, which is, from an evolutionary point of view, a perfectly understandable reaction as far as survival instinct goes. The only thing more embarassing than your stupidity is that you used said stupidity to “prove” your intelligence. Duhr…. I’m Kevin Carr… Carrrrrr….. Vrooooom…. My mommy likes my facial hair. Duhr….
Dogs don’t think they just follow their instinct, like the makers of this movie.
UH…hang on. a dog has not evolved to fear a large, heavy and fast-moving object speeding towards it?? that sounds damned stupid to me.
bijo, please tell me you are making a joke rather than actually believing a wild animal will evolve to develop an instinctive fear of a car? Please. You can’t be that dumb, can you?
What makes you think a dog can even comprehend what a car is? have you gone inside a dog’s body, understood their thought process, and came back out to type your moronic comment?
This discussion about dogs and innate fear and evolution is now more interesting than “After Earth.”
My curiosity piqued, I did, in fact, go inside a dog’s body, study its thought processes, and re-emerge to type this comment. It is less difficult than you might think to put on a dog. The zipper is very hard to find (front right paw, behind the third pad,) but once you figure that out, you’re golden… or a Golden, as the case may be. As the dog chased the squirrel, he thought only of the squirrel, and did not see the car. At this point, I exited the dog. And so here I am. Wearing a car.
Er, Hank. You are the stupid one here I’m afraid. The point you have failed to grasp is that bravery is not the absence of fear. Stupidity in your case is the absence of fear of speaking before thinking…
Spot on with the “Friday” analogy!
Kevin Carr…you, sir, are a complete moron. Who the hell made you a critic…you’re opinion is as retarded as the picture you have of yourself, not to mention biased as all hell.
You’re*.
Oh wow. lol
Which Smith are you again? Or are you one of their multidimensional math students who is working on the new mathematics that will take into account all of the meanings that their ultrapowerful statements can take?
I have no idea what that second sentence meant but it was fun to read
Horrible movie. Will Smith plays a robot. Why is Jayden Smith in my life? You can find a better actor in most little theatres around the country.
To criticize the movie is one thing but to get personal regarding someone’s child is a choice. A choice to be a HATER. Im not a writer but im going to say a little something here. When you get the $$ the Will has then we will see just how much of it you’ll use to either promote your childen in whatever dreams they may have or to get them out of some crazy trouble. Corporate CEO’s do this all the time. Kevin, were you not taught to pick on someone your own size? Or are you ok with allowing your words/reporting tare a young man down and take away his joy just to promote your own career? Kevin, you are a HATER. Don’t be(yes, I said it just like that) HATIN’! Be a better person. Ok?
I’m getting pretty tired of people calling other people “haters” simply because they criticize someone or something. It shows a basic inability to judge emotional engagement. In order to hate someone, one must have extremely strong antipathy for the person. Kevin clearly does not hate this young man. It’s not enough to say, “Well, he could have used a softer tone,” and conclude that because he did not, he must hate someone.
Doesn’t that attitude make you a HATER! yourself?
Though I will say that anyone that uses the word “Hater” as a character judgment has already announced the emptiness of their own head…
I remember seeing his son shoehorned into “I Am Legend”. Horrible acting. Will Smith really needs to stop with the nepotism.
I didn’t think this movie was as bad as the reviews i’ve read. Yeah, i felt embarrassed at times where i had to look away with my face tightly pressed against my palms (when Papa Raige salutes his son at the end for example) but i must say i quite enjoyed it and had a pretty good time watching it. The taglinee ending with “…fear is a choice” doesn’t hold up though, fear as pointed out in the review is necessary.
Isak from Sweden