In this film, the father and son tandem plays a father and son tandem who gets stuck in the one place in the Universe that they shouldn't be in, and that's planet Earth. The movie's entire plot was conceived by Will Smith [who not only wrote the story and starred in it but also produced the flick]. The movie works for me to some extent. The father and son story is a relatable one. Disapproving fathers and overachieving sons looking for some appreciation from their fathers are not so rare in society today. IMHO, this is one of the things that Smith wants to talk about.
The visuals are OK. It's not groundbreaking as James Cameron's Avatar but serviceable. What irks me though is that the Ursa, the film's main villain/monster isn't as terrifying as it should. For a creature that see's fear in people, it's not as menacing after a good minute or so of getting a good look at it. Where's H.R.Giger when you need him. That and the ligers are horrible.
I don't see why people hated the other creatures in this movie. Does it not strike them that the setting is an hyper evolved Earth thus it's just going to update any and all existing creatures on Earth.
Will Smith as usual is charming and effective actor. Too bad though that he seemed lazy in this film. He literally just sat through everything here, letting his son do all of the stunts. Sure, you can argue that he's injured but I believe that there are a couple of ways to execute his scenes with more physicality involved.
As for his son Jaden Smith, I still can't get over the fact that he was the kid in 'Pursuit of Happyness' and that tweener kicking Chinese bully ass in 'Karate Kid' [which should have been renamed Kung Fu Kid]. The younger Smith tried hard in this one but its really more of hits and misses, with the later more obvious than the former. Also what the hell is up with that accent. During the first few minutes I was trying to readjust my hearing to comprehend what he says, it's like a mix between the Southern drawl and hiphop talk. Could've done better if he just used a naturalized accent.
Also Zoe Kravitz as Senshi. beautiful. Not much role but she was eye candy here.
One major think that really annoyed the hell out of me is the design for the ship, homes and other stuff in this film. You never really pay much attention to futuristic sets until you see a movie that's not following the trend. In AFTER EARTH, almost everything in the film looks like its made out of bamboo and timber and cloth and glass. Nothing metallic. It's supposed to be okay but looking at it and comparing it films like Oblivion or Star Trek Into Darkness and you get this feeling of 'flimsiness'.
Kudos to the guys that conceptualized and executed the other stuff in the movie such as Kitai Raige's suit (which turns to black when danger approaches) as well as the Ranger's weapon of choice, which i'm not certain is named a 'cutlass'. It's a pretty bad ass weapon due to the multiple options and weapons you can form from it, much like how Lorkhan Koganei's weapon works in the anime and manga series Flame of Recca.
Finally, there's another thing and theme that needs to be pointed out. It's the 'ghosting' bit in the film. In the movie Will Smith beats the alien invaders together with the Ursa after he discovers the ability. Since the
Overall, AFTER EARTH could've been a great movie. But there were some elements that were off which gave us this finished product. I wouldn't call it a bad movie but I would call it spectacular. 'Just OK' will suffice for this one. Oh and I heard that it opened number here in the Philippines, so congratulations are in order for Columbia Pictures Philippines.
Verdict: 6/10
AFTER EARTH now showing. Distributed by Columbia Pictures Philippines.
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