After Earth

As promised, here are my thoughts on After Earth (the main feature of this week on Sky Movies Premier). All in all, I feel it wasn't a bad film at all. Not in the slightest. Not bad at all...And that's about it really.
No I'm being unfair there. It's just that broadly speaking, After Earth did not really blow me away. As well as Sky, I did see this one at the cinema, and I remember the build up was huge. M.Night Shyamalan directing, big sci-fi epic, Will Smith starring, and he even brought his son Jaden along too. Yet I do wonder again whether this is a case of an over-hyped release, and whether or not it truly deserved it.

There are aspects of this film I greatly enjoyed each time I've seen it. The visuals are pretty stunning, there are some good lines in there, James Newton Howard's score is powerful enough to be noticed greatly, and the concept for the film is an incredibly interesting one. Quickly, in essence - In the distant future, a father and son are stranded upon an Earth that was abandoned by humanity 1000 years ago, and must survive aliens, adversity, and a planet that has evolved to kill them. Not boring by any means, I think you'll agree. And they even have some imagery, fictionalized technology, and gadgets that sci-fi buffs will love.

But a lot of the core of this film, a core that it was greatly sold upon, is sadly lacking for me. In essence, this is a tale of a father and son, played by Will and Jaden Smith respectively. Now make no mistake, I think Will Smith is a brilliant actor, musician, star and entertainer, who has had a career that has lasted decades, and is one of, if not the most bankable star in Hollywood. And in my view, he deserves all the praise he gets. His character is that of a General of legendary ability and reputation, who has to to help his rebellious and ambitious young son to come into his own when he is incapacitated. I can't help but feel life imitates art a little here. A lot of critics have panned this film, many stating apparent casting nepotism as a key reason. They say that while Will Smith does his very best from his high and deserved position to support and boost the career of his son (which of course, no one can really blame him for; they would be right to admire him for it) he sadly cannot help to boost Jaden Smith's performance which for many is severely lacking. I'm afraid I cannot help but agree mostly. Yes Will Smith is a main star of this film (how could he not be?) but his character is mostly sat in a chair for most of the time, communicating to his son through a comm unit (or some other such thing). Of course, you might say this does not matter, as this is Will Smith, and usually you'd be right. Yet a film filled with a tad too many predictable cliches, a questionable accent for the two characters (which for me Will Smith only just pulls off but Jaden does not) and a poor co-star performance to bounce back off and from, and even Will Smith couldn't totally save this one.

The fact is I feel that Jaden Smith, whilst not being overly bad by any means, is just a tad too wooden, carrying not nearly enough charisma or watch-ability, especially in a film which centers upon him so much, even with his father to back him up. Ah, I may hear you cry! But what about the Pursuit of Happiness (the pair's first outing together in film, which was met with wide acclaim) surely they worked well together then? Well yes, but: a) Jaden was little more than a toddler then, thus his performance may have been good, but it would not involve so much riding on it I think. Also b) Will Smith was very much the center and driving force of that film and the family pairing, and he was great in it. After Earth very much feels like Will Smith is remaining a presence, but is also trying to relinquish and pass on a lot of that driving force, that main hero, star quality to his son. And unfortunately, I think it's failed. Even without Smith Senior in the picture, I don't believe Smith Junior's performance would have been enough to carry this film through to it's full potential, which I feel is a great shame.

Other casting? Well it was nice to see Brit Sophie Okonedo, and the beguiling Zoe Kravitz (though the latter only being in flashback and/or dream mode). Again, these two are prime examples of actress and character potential that I for one would have liked to see develop in the film. But also again, the Will Smith/Jaden Smith story and relationship that this film was seen and promoted as thriving and hinging on, overshadowed even other cast members, which again, given the outcome I feel is a shame.

As I say, the potential for After Earth is all there. I felt with just a few tweaks, a few more subtleties and the odd change in direction here and there, and After Earth could have been a great film, maybe a future sci-fi classic who knows? This is just my view, maybe many have opposing ones, but I do feel that whilst After Earth is a good watch, in terms of a sci-fi/action & adventure film, it is sadly not much more.