Confusing introduction, lack of character development and an incredibly bland storyline. The script, cowritten by Shyamalan and Gary Whitta, lays out a futureworld in brisk brushstrokes. Find a guide to this weekend's new theatrical releases and watch all of... Find a complete schedule of movies and TV shows scheduled for release on... Summer Movie Recap: Best Films, Prediction Results, and More. Director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense (1999), Signs (2002), The Village (2004)) made a terrible mistake by accepting to direct a movie that Will Smith wrote. The concept was unique... but like most cases, it was poorly executed. Their distress beacon has been destroyed in the crash. Smith plays a veteran space soldier with the metaphorically overripe name of Cypher Raige. It's not a special effects theme park with a new slobbering space beast behind every tree trunk, but a fully imagined ecosystem, a tapestry of flora and fauna. The design of the spaceship would make Odysseus feel at home: the ribs of its hull seem to be made of wood and bone. This movie has vision, a must see for anyone who has imagination of what the future can hold. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game - Complete Edition, MXGP 2020 - The Official Motocross Videogame, Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Matt reviews M. Night Shyamalan's After Earth starring Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo, and Zoe Isabella Kravitz. Film Review: ‘After Earth’ Reviewed at AMC Empire, New York, May 29, 2013. Humans have fled a polluted Earth and built cities on the distant Nova Prime. In scenes that frame Will Smith's watery eyes and battered, crewcut head in close-up, the star evokes the middle-aged Burt Lancaster: a monument to machismo, worn down by pain and time. Unfortunately, the planet was already claimed by another species that didn't take kindly to the colonists and created predators to kill them. After Earth. Watched this film last night expecting to be disappointed. All of the special effects are barely adequate and not the least bit compelling. It alsa has a lame story and surprisingly bad acting by 2xSmith. This review contains spoilers. You can become the master of an event, the creator of a moment, even if it seems overwhelming, if you've absorbed the wisdom of people who lived through similar tests and told you how they survived them. But by current standards, Aesop's fables and Bible stories are corny, too. I must admit the reviews did prevent me from watching this movie sooner. 4.4 out of 5 stars. The worst thing is that nothing in this movie makes the slightest sense. Read 95 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Thankfully I was in for a I big surprise. His control-freak tendencies magnify both his merits (spooky atmosphere, cunningly staged shocks, virtuoso camerawork) and his flaws (contrived "twist" endings, sub-Spielberg sentimentality, geeky fake-profundity). And that is, essentially, what After Earth is; it is promoting the idea that to become a man, one must stand on his own two feet – whilst fighting a planet full of murderous, brutal and super strong mammals, of course. After Earth is directed by M. Night Shyamalan and stars Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith. The film never builds any real tension or suspense. I expect that Harald Zwart got the best out of Jaden in Karate Kid, but Shyamalan has no clue how to instruct this boy into anything other than a spoiled and irritating brat. and Elliott. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jun/06/after-earth-review His talent was still there, but it was hard to see it behind all that ego. The sad truth about After Earth is that not only is it difficult to find things it does well, but there are numerous examples of outright incompetence dotting the landscape. I must assume that people who give this movie a 0 or a 1, are just not sci-fi people and should just. After Earth is a dull, ploddingly paced exercise in sentimental sci-fi -- and the latest setback for director M. Night Shyamalan's once-promising career. Good job, need more movies with visions of the future. Experience a novelization unlike any other. The camera moves with a purpose: to follow and frame and explain action, conceal or reveal surprises, and deepen the relationship between the characters and their world. They say the story is thin. Seeing the movie will just encourage them to continue. Fern fronds curl in icy night air. And yet no lessons are universally helpful, no rules ironclad. Please enter your birth date to watch this video: You are not allowed to view this material at this time. The younger Smith is a great male ingenue character, unaffected and kindhearted and free of vanity. The website's critical consensus reads, " After Earth is a dull, ploddingly paced exercise in sentimental sci-fi — and the latest setback for director M. Night Shyamalan's once-promising career." Shyamalan didn't originate this project. Kitai's leap from a high cliff is a leap of faith. © 2021 METACRITIC, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. He only has his trusty "cutlass" (a retractable double-bladed weapon), and an environmental suit containing basic supplies and a video-audio system that can let his father guide him from afar. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The film has already come under fire for promoting the Scientology credo – Smith Snr is one of the cult’s supporters – but its alleged agenda is the least of After Earth’s problems. Recommend to all. The film progresses to the point where it feels less like father and son, and more like a young boy listening to an inspirational audiobook. They hunt by smelling fear. The new film, starring Will Smith and his son Jaden, debuted on Friday to a decidedly rotten Rotten Tomatoes score of just 14 percent, making it one of the most critically reviled films of the summer thus far. I wanted to go for Man of steel after reading the reviews on this sight. Cypher's legs are broken. The elder Smith stows the Bel Air badass shtick that makes many of his star performances tedious and gives a restrained, very physical performance, letting subtle vocal tremors and shifts in body language hint at the worries that the father hides from his son. A great choice for a family trip to the movies. Parent and child must ultimately separate because it's the only way to re-create themselves as equals. It's just so dull and unrelenting in its stupidity. M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth may not be the epic that the makers of the film had promised, but perhaps it also isn’t the outright disaster that most critics proclaimed it to be. While the film doesn’t reach the highs of his earlier work, it is worlds better than any of his recent blunders. How are ratings calculated? This movie is crammed with wooden acting, wooden dialogue and a story that is just oddly-paced. "After Earth" is a lovely surprise. 11% TOMATOMETER On some level both characters know this, even though it makes them sad. After Earth is not only boring and uninteresting even for sci-fi fans. Kitai has to make the journey for him. The actor's real-life son Jaden ("The Karate Kid," "The Pursuit of Happyness") plays Cypher's son Kitai, an aspiring warrior who just failed his cadet promotion test. Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism. As the poster says, danger is real, but fear is a choice. They look a like huge versions of Mike from "Monsters, Inc.," only dipped in acid and slime and outfitted with razor fangs and pincers. Some of Shyamalan's images echo classic movie tales of survival and madness in nature: "Aguirre: The Wrath of God," "Jeremiah Johnson," "The Searchers," "The Naked Prey," "The Edge.". Works such as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable cemented his status as one of the most dynamic filmmakers working in Hollywood. After the critical and box office misfires of "The Village," "Lady in the Water," "The Happening" and "The Last Airbender," some thought he was finished as an A-list filmmaker. Review Date October 10th, 2013 by Kevin Yeoman. Thankfully I was in for a I big surprise. The Raiges' ship is damaged in a freak asteroid storm, tossed out of hyperspace and into Earth's orbit, skims across the atmosphere like a pie plate, and is torn in two. The M. 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