Rent After Earth (2013)

After Earth review by Alyse Garner - Cinema Paradiso

When I saw the trailer for After Earth remember being impressed with it’s epic sci-fi fantasy hopes, and the concept of a planet thriving after having been abandoned by man kind appeals significantly to an eco-warrior such as myself. However the elements of potential scattered throughout the story are lost in an ultimately unimaginative premise, flawed lead performance and predictable screenplay.

Starring the charismatic Will Smith as Cypher, a military leader travelling past the now abandoned Earth on a return journey to the new human settlement, an entirely man made planet with a controlled atmosphere, the film begins when his ship accidentally crashes down to now human-less Earth killing all save himself and his son Kital – played by his real son, 15 year old Jayden Smith. Disabled by an injury caused in the crash Cypher watches as his son attempts to travel across 100 miles of the abandoned planet to reach the signalling beacon located in the tail of the craft that broke up as it plunged toward Earth.

Kital, burdened with the guilt of being responsible for the death of his sister and undertaking this dangerous journey at the young age of 13 is understandably shaken by the entire experience; it is the way in which the young Smith portrays this fear and uncertainty that makes much of his journey a pain to watch; swinging between the complaints of a snivelling child and the audacity of an over zealous solider he comes across as less of a tween attempting to navigate his way into adulthood and more like an actor who can’t decide on his character’s motivation or personality.

One mustn’t blame Smith Jr however, as a supposedly skilled and well established director such as M. Night Shyamalan ought to be better at err, directing… Even Smith the elder is given little to play with, communicating with his son through a camera and ear piece set up that provides footage that looks a little bit too much like it came from YouTube and playing a completely stereotypical military dad whose ability to openly emote is nil.

Ultimately After Earth is a disappointing cinematic experiment, the only redeeming features being the imagery of lush forests, beautiful waterfalls, flowing rivers and even the sight of an un-interfered with pod of whales allowed to swim within the threat of humanity. This however is not enough to make up for the poor direction and lack of story that leaves After Earth feeling as human-less as the world it depicts.