As I am sitting here watching my daughter eat her toaster waffles and watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks" for the umpty hundredth time, I am shocked at how many bad movies I have watched lately. I'm seriously jonesing for a really well acted, written, and shot movie. Of course, when you have a 4 year old, you are stuck watching a lot of children's movies. I am not sure who decided that all kids movies need to suck, but finding a decent kid's flick is harder than finding a hipster who doesn't think they started the movement.
Bah... let's move on...
After Earth (2013) (PG-13) Sci-Fi/Adventure
Starring Will Smith, Jaden Smith, and Sophie Okonedo
Overview - Cypher Raige (Will Smith) is a legendary alien hunter. His son, Kitai (Jaden) wants to follow in his father's footsteps, but he lacks the courage to do so. In this future Earth has been abandoned and the animals have evolved into rage-filled man hunters. On a by-the-numbers mission to a nearby planet, Cypher and Kitai's transport ship is hit by an asteroid and sends them careening toward Earth. Now it's up to little Kitai to step up and save the day.
Review - In the original writing of this movie, Will and Jaden were supposed to be camping. Their car goes off the road and little Jaden has to brave the forest to save his father. Actually a really good plot, if you ask me. Will spotted the potential of a "bigger plot" and decided to re-write the script in the Sci-Fi vein. Now, no one can argue that Will is one of the best actors of his generation. So I can only assume he wanted to try and impart his ability to his son, which he actually accomplished in their 2006 co-starring role in "Pursuit of Happiness". My guess is that Will wanted to give Jaden the reigns and let him be the actor he assumes he can be. *clears throat* uh, swing and a miss there Mr. Smith.
Even though M. Night Shyamalan is billed at the director, Will Smith actually shadowed Jaden and had a very direct hand in the movie's outcome. He personally hired Shyamalan to direct the film because he's been wanting to work with him for a very long time. Let's dissect this decision. Will Smith, one of America's best actors with a VERY impressive resume, has a 15 year old son who he wrongfully assumes is ready to fill his shoes and take on the next generation of inspired actors, hires Shyamalan to direct the movie. A man who hasn't had an impressive movies since "Signs" in 2002. On top of this, he decides that the best way to let his son "shine" is to act as robotic and emotionless as possible. He may as well have featured a life-size cardboard cu out of himself and animated the mouth.
Will and the writers have also been in the process of creating a series of books that would dig deeper into the history of all characters of the film. Because that's what we need. More information about characters no one really cares about.
This tid bit won't spoil any plot points. I just have to comment on this. After the ship crashes on Earth, they show that everyone on the ship, except for Cypher and Kitai have died. Men and women who were strapped in, held up in compartments, and anchored down. But Cypher, who gets thrown all over the ship, survives with just a broken leg. And his son just happened to be in the 3' X 5' part of the ship that wasn't mangled on impact. Right......Right..............Yea......No.
During the film we get to watch baby Jaden go from being this stoic rookie recruit in the futuristic "army" that his father is part of, to a whiney little "I can't do this" punk, to a hunter/woodsman, back to a whiney brat, and eventually become his father. That makes sense. I mean, I find that anyone can accomplish the impossible in a matter of 24 hours if put under pressure that they physically can't handle. Oh wait.....no. No they can't. I'm sorry Jaden. I don't mean to be such a "hater", but you might have been able to pull this role off in 3 or 4 years when someone would actually believe that a new punk recruit with an overbearing father could survive on a carnivorous planet he's never been to. Especially since the whiney brat never had a minute of survival training. Or are we supposed to assume that you did because you were training to be a soldier? Go back to making movies about 15 year olds for a few years and then give this another shot when you're 18 or 19. I promise not to give up on you completely. Also, if you could slap your dad really hard and say "Wake up bro!" for me, that would be great.
Alright, I can't go on. I'll give this a 1.5 our of 5. I only kept watching it because Will has never let me down, and I was hoping for some big break where his character stops acting like a tool and breaks down and cries or screams or something. No such luck. If it were any other actor, I would have turned the movie off at the 20 minute mark. Please avoid this movie, and maybe try and send Will and Jaden some hate mail. :-)
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