Jaden Smith
Will Smith

Gary Whitta
M. Night Shyamalan

100 mins.
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
May 31, 2013

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and some disturbing images. (MPAA)

“After Earth” is a typical coming-of-age story set in a future when Earth is inhospitable to humans. Will and Jaden Smith star as father and son: The father’s some sort of army general, and the son’s a soldier trainee. Their ship crash lands on Earth, which resembles a blend of a tamer version of Pandora from “Avatar” and Earth from the “Planet of the Apes” remake that starred Mark Wahlberg.

There’s even a hostile creature, formerly imprisoned on their ship, that escapes. Of course, at some point, Jaden must confront that creature, which looks like something from Mordor … I guess.

This film hinges on the believability of its father-son relationship. (Will and Jaden, I’m talking to you.) The viewer must believe that the son desperately wants to emulate his father and that the father wants the same, even as the father refuses to let that influence his treatment of his son as a trainee.

I don’t buy any of this, at all. “After Earth” never really got started for me; no, it didn’t. The acting, if that’s what you want to call it, isn’t even close to being acceptable. I didn’t even believe that the Smiths were related, a dubious accomplishment.

While Will Smith has never been that convincing, the surprise is that Jaden Smith is just as bad (he may be worse). Jaden showed promise as a young child actor, but he’s out of his depth here. He indicates his way through this one, which he must’ve learned from his father. He should look for guidance from his mother, Jada Pinkett Smith, instead.

In addition, the dialect of these future humans is laughable. It sounds ridiculous at times, and there’s no reason given for its existence. Sophie Okonedo, who plays the mother of Jaden and wife of Will, makes the dialect work somehow. But, unfortunately, she has a bit part. They should double whatever she was paid, because she had to endure acting with the Smiths, if even for the briefest of moments.

I can’t even judge this film’s story, which seems to be a re-hash of plots from other films, or its execution by director M. Night Shyamalan, because of the failure of the Smiths to do their jobs. After “The Happening” and this film, I’ve learned that Shyamalan needs to work with actors who can really act. His actors must be able to stand on their own. The Smiths wouldn’t be able to stand with the support of 100 directors.

“After Earth” is as bad as this kind of movie can get without going into camp. Actually, that might’ve yielded a better result.

Verdict: Horrible

About: (Source: facebook.com/AfterEarth)

A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.