After Earth

Plot synopsis:
In the 21st century, an environmental cataclysm forces the human race to abandon Earth and to settle on a new world, Nova Prime.
One thousand years later, the Ranger Corps, a peacekeeping organization commanded by General Cypher Raige (Will Smith), comes into conflict with the S'krell, alien creatures who intend to conquer Nova Prime. Their secret weapons are the Ursas, large predatory creatures that hunt by "sensing" fear. The Rangers struggle against the Ursas until Cypher learns how to completely suppress his fear, a technique called "ghosting." After teaching this technique to the other Rangers, he leads the Ranger Corps to victory. Meanwhile, Cypher's son Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) blames himself for the death of his sister Senshi (Zoë Kravitz) at the hands of an Ursa. Kitai trains to become a Ranger like Cypher, but his application is rejected due to his recklessness, and Cypher views him as a disappointment. Kitai's mother Faia (Sophie Okonedo) convinces Cypher to take Kitai on his last voyage before retirement.
During their flight, however, an asteroid shower forces their spaceship to crash-land on the now-quarantined Earth, near erstwhile Central America. Both of Cypher's legs are broken, and the main emergency rescue beacon damaged. Cypher instructs Kitai to locate the tail section of the ship, which broke off on entry to the atmosphere. Inside is the backup beacon which they can use to signal Nova Prime. Cypher gives Kitai his weapon, a wrist communicator, and six capsules of a fluid that enhances the oxygen intake so he can breathe in Earth's low-oxygen atmosphere. Cypher warns him to avoid the highly evolved fauna and flora, and to beware of violent thermal shifts. Kitai leaves to find the tail section, with Cypher guiding him through the communicator.
Giant baboons attack Kitai, and during his escape a poisonous leech bites him. Kitai administers the antidote, but two of his capsules become damaged and his nervous system shuts down. When Kitai awakens, he narrowly escapes a thermal shift. Kitai lies to Cypher, not informing him of the damaged capsules. That night, Kitai listens to Cypher tell him a story of when he was attacked by an Ursa, how Cypher realized that fear is merely an illusion created by the mind's thoughts of the future, and thus Cypher first began to "ghost" himself from the Ursas, choosing to live rather than to let his enemies - both fear and the Ursas - decide his fate.
The following day Kitai reaches a mountaintop, and Cypher learns about the broken capsules. Knowing that the only way to complete the journey with only two capsules would be to skydive, Cypher orders Kitai to abort the mission. Believing his father still sees him as a disappointment, Kitai blames Senshi's death on Cypher's absence on the day of the attack. He skydives from the mountaintop, but a large eagle captures him and his communicator is damaged. Kitai wakes in the eagle's nest, surrounded by its chicks. Tigers attack the chicks, and Kitai defends, however, he fails to defend the chicks. The eagle attacks the tigers, and Kitai escapes. He reaches a river, and builds a raft to continue along it. Tired, Kitai falls asleep on the raft. He dreams of his sister, Senshi, who reassures him that Cypher's bitterness is just his own anger for not saving her. Senshi urges Kitai to wake up. When he does, another thermal shift catches him by surprise and he nearly freezes to death. Kitai is rescued by the eagle, who sacrifices itself for him.
Kitai reaches the tail section and retrieves the emergency beacon along with another communicator, weapon, and more oxygen capsules. The communicator only allows Cypher to see and hear Kitai, but not for Kitai to hear him. Kitai learns that the ship's Ursa escaped and killed the remnants of the crew. The emergency beacon does not activate, and Cypher realizes that the atmosphere is blocking the signal. Kitai heads to a nearby volcano from which he can launch the beacon, and is injured when the Ursa attacks him. Kitai is able to control his fear and "ghost" himself from the Ursa enough to kill it. He then launches the beacon. A rescue team arrives, and the film ends with the two traveling back to Nova Prime, both agreeing that they would rather work with Faia.

Tags: boring, flashback

Review:
Night Shyamalan's big-budget vanity project for father and son team Will and Jaden Smith turns out to be much worse than the trailer.
In the film, the father and son crash land on the planet Earth a thousand years after the people were forced to leave it.
Father doesn't always know best, the latest result being After Earth, a  vanity project that Will Smith has concocted for his son, Jaden.
The short version of it is this: Will has no personality in this movie whatsoever, his non-talented son Jaden is absolutely laughable as a lead figure, the plot drags along for seemingly unending hours with little or no excitement or humor or intrigue to keep our attention or interest, and the underlying themes and tone is nothing more that pure hype for the scientology church.
However, that apart doesn't hide the fact that this over-hyped and quite frankly terrible plot with so many holes it would take an eternity to list them all, is quite possibly the worst film I have watched this year and some of them were low budget.
Was it the effects that ruined it, was it the lame story, the extra-lame acting of the second Smith in the movie, the directing of someone who got after Signs too much credit and couldn't deliver since (with the exception of the low budget Devil).
Probably because of Will Smith.The year is not over, but I do not think that After earth will be topped in the category for "the worst movie of 2013"!.
I feel like they made a movie just so Will Smith's son could star in it.
As the character he is dreadful, but that's not his fault - I got the sense he was trying to make something of it, but it just doesn't work.Jaden Smith cannot act.
A low point in both M Night Shyamalan and Will Smith's careers, with one of the worst child performances I've seen for any film.
Of the movies that get a lot of hate The Village was the least bad, not great but pretty decent(while Shyamalan didn't direct but produced and wrote Devil, that also applies here).
The Happening and The Last Airbender suffered mainly from having such potential but falling hard big time, Happening did have some unintentional comic value(mainly because Mark Walhberg's acting was so laughably bad) and Airbender had great visuals and score.After Earth didn't have as much potential as those two but didn't have any of the things that raised the other two up a slight notch.
Will Smith is a likable actor and guy, but has never been this one-note or disengaged before, maybe his character was meant to be like that but it didn't mean that Smith had to take it to extremes.Jaden Smith, Will Smith's own son, was even worse, and along with the story his performance was probably the worst thing about the film.
Seriously, it's that bad...(the first 5 mins of course).So, gut assumptions tell me the rest of the movie(if one would want to call it a 'movie') is more or less like the first 5 minutes of Crap.I couldn't help but notice, also, that the movie poster is dominated by two large heads of presumably Jayden and the other on the right of whom I can't place a name is a good indication that the movie is all about them and them alone.
Since seeing it though, I have read the reviews and I agree with the majority of people who say that After Earth is crap...There is pretty much nothing that Will Smith has starred in that I didn't like.
I was so disappointed that next time Jaden Smith's name comes up, I'll wait and read the reviews before going to see it.
Perhaps mr Smith should keep out of movies like "I am Legend" since bad scripting obviously impairs his judgment.
Previously, I had a hard time deciding what was the WORST movie I've ever seen but thanks to AFTER EARTH, I now have a definitive answer.
Really, your better of spending your money by bury it under a tree, and watch that tree for 2 or was it 3 hours, you will see better acting and a more entertaining story then what you see in this lame excuse of a movie, some movies are funny because they are bad, this one even fails in that.
Jaden smiths has the acting talent of a brick wall, and i'm offending the wall right now, some people already pointed out that he better would serve the movie world by serving popcorn or selling tickets, 1 out of 10 is actually more than it deserve, there is still room in the desert for burying it next to E.T the game (not the movie ET, because that one is a great movie)..
And that includes all B and C movies I have ever seen in my lifeThis whole movies evolves around 1 persons (wills Son) and he is put on the spot whilst not able to carry a child role in Karate Kid he is definitely not up to the task for this movie.First of all the whole script is one big mess and not at all explanatory it worse even when Wills Kid shows up, supposedly one of the top of his class but not even able to perform a simple tasks when he's on his own..Acting was Terrible, Plot awful, script somebody wrote in his backyard whilst looking at his neighbor kid (1 year old) trying to stand up on his/her own feet.
Night Shyamalan could make another interesting movie, that the visuals would leave me in shock and awe, and that Jaden Smith could make a decent performance, unfortunately none of these hopes actually took place.
It sounds like a kid reading reluctantly for his high school English teacher.His acting also had much to be desired, but in all honesty I think this movie would have been a hundred times better if Will Smith would have been the lead character, or at least the narrator in the beginning.
Their homes are basic, and the opening story is boring, and seems forced, they don't make you feel for characters and the CGI showing the frozen wasteland of Earth looks beyond half-assed which is unfortunate as the rest of the movies CGI is actually decent looking.
Overall I feel this movie was an excellent idea it was just poorly executed, instead of jumping right into the action and making the movie last an hour and forty minutes, there should have been some well needed dialogue scenes in the beginning to allow the audience to gain an understanding for the characters.
However both Will's and Jaden's dialogue is terrible in the movie, the only thing that feels real is the connection they share as father and son which is obvious since they are just that.
This movie is definitely not worth the money to make it, but all those idiot will smith fans will claim otherwise no matter how bad it gets !
That's not like her to not want to watch a will smith movie, but this must be his first huge flop.
Wills trying to push his kid off on the public so they can keep a cash cow going, and someone please slap will across his face, to tell him the truth about how badly acted, written, and could have been a good movie idea, but 100% a flop !
The films is really poorly written and paced with a script that is so thin and derivative, it feels more like a generic video game than an actual movie.
I will say there is some good cinematography here and there, but the film offers nothing new and ends up being one of the most dull and boring viewing experiences I've had this year.The worst part of After Earth though might be that it's only a further reminder of how low the once promising Shyamaln's career has sunk..
For those who don't know, this is the first lowest-rated movie for Will Smith since 1999's disappointing mess "Wild Wild West," one for Jaden since "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and another bomb for Shyamalan.After Earth feels like a re-cut of "Battlefield Earth" (Ya know, the Travolta movie we don't even care anymore) and sometimes half-"I Am Legend" and half-"Hunger Games." But to me, maybe it's the whole Scientology thing that starts to ruin the whole story.The story is ridiculous, poorly acted (Smith sounded like James Earl Jones), mediocre sci-fi elements.
Will Smith is also just going through the motions then collecting his pay in this one obviously just being a good dad and getting his kid a blockbuster movie role.
I'm sure it's hard to act with CGI monsters anyway but the effects in this are surprisingly bad, much worse than in Will Smith's other sci fi film.
Today i seen this movie and i don't understand why this movie is receiving so many negative reviews and poor ratings.In my opinion its a more emotional driven movie than a sci-fi.It could be made more better but still its worth a watch and i enjoy watching this movie.Acting of Jaden Smith is okay.But i really wish Will Smith should have contribute major part in this movie.Art direction is not upto that mark, the interior design of space ship is really not that good as compare to those that we usually saw and expect from sci-fi movie but some scenes and cinematography of capturing earth's nature is spectacular.In my opinion its 6.5 out of 10..
However, even though I sincerely do not expect anything great from Shyamalan at this point, I found it a bit hard to believe that Will Smith would fall so low, so suddenly and make a very bad movie.
I believe the whole bad feedback about this movie comes from the fact that it was directed by Shyamalan and that Smith senior was not the main star.
OK, yes the movie have some big loopholes, yes they could have made really more interesting story, yes it is as predictable as it can possibly by, yes will smith is limited to a supporting role, yes the acting may not be academy award deserving, but the movie is still pretty watchable.I chose not so watch it because of the reviews, and I was bored as hell this weekend and a friend which shares my movie tastes went to see it without reading the reviews and he said it was at least entertaining, that got me curious, and out of curiosity and boredom I went to watch it.
I have to admit that despite the stuff mentioned above and in other reviews it was entertaining.I think people was going to this movie waiting for other Avengers only to be as disappointed as I was with Iron man 3, but if you just want to see an entertaining movie with a good production, good CGI and a rather common story, instead of another Avatar, then I think this movie deserve at least 6/10 I'm giving it 8/10 just to try to boost the ratings a bit and because I actually like it (I'm no movie critic so I rate based on how much I liked it, couldn't care less for the technical/critic part of the movie).
This is why the time is took to built the pace seemed long, but the actual time devoted to Earth felt short and rushed.Talking about performance of Jaden, real son of Will Smith, I have to say he needs much to learn.
But unlike that film After Earth wasn't a Will Smith movie.
After Earth can be said as Jaden's role as a first billed star cast.One thing I liked about this movie was the Soundtrack.
But neither of them could save the movie, after watching it and learning the Scientology background of this film, i really hope it cripples Will Smith career, just because he thought he was the blockbuster king until he made and wrote a stupid script like After Earth..
Save your money, stay home, and watch a good Will Smith movie like Independence Day or I, Robot..
Considering Will Smith had near full control of this project - writing the script, coaching his son's performance, personally hiring M Night Shyamalan (but only for basic directing) - this film is good for what it is.Had it come before Star Trek, Oblivion and Cloud Atlas this year and if M Night Shyamalan didn't have a bad rep then I think this film would be at the 6.5/10 rating that I think it deserves..
The good news is that if you are watching this as an in-flight movie at least the sick bags are handy.I could sit all day commenting on where this film went wrong but it all comes down to a single factor.
The poor boy isn't that good an actor and does not have his fathers charisma so asking him to carry this film sets him up to fail, so really not fair.Even if he did have the talent, if you look at how the father-son movie partnerships launch great careers look at where it got John Wayne's son Patrick, who did have a certain amount of talent.
i just wanted to see this one , because it is Will smith , and OK his son plays in it , so it would have been some obvious stupid movie, i just knew it.
I decided to watch the film without any prejudgement to find out that this is actually a very good movie.
I like the smiths,but they were a bad choice for this movie.
m night's creativity shows a bit in this movie but not enough to fix the unbalance.Although the Smith franchise will no doubt remain, the bad smell hanging over Shyamalan won't lift any time soon.
When I first saw "The Pursuit of Happiness", I assumed that he was going to become hugely successful and amaze people with his massive talent and charisma, much like his dad.Sadly, his next big role (in the remake of "The Karate Kid") was much less impressive, and you could see that the dude is getting a big head and not working very hard to cultivate his acting abilities.Well, his latest role is probably going to be the end of his acting career (unless, of course, daddy keeps pushing him though).I can name most movies with Will Smith, but this one is so forgettable that I can't remember the title as I type this.
Pros: - fresh and innovative - 2 man father-son acting is nice - its not 10000000 soldiers dying - emotion is apparent - characters develop - stunning visuals - tense moments - dramatic scenes - grand dialogue Cons: - how they arrive on earth is silly - it's 2 man, what do you expect - the ending is predictable but what, did you want your protagonist to fail.(1 con imo)I say congrats to the Smiths, i saw the father son connection, the acting was fantastic (for a seasoned and 14 year old) and i hope M.
I just read a review saying that Will Smith didn't show enough emotion, and that the movie wasn't funny enough.....WHAT TRAILER WERE YOU WATCHING!
I have no idea who is sending these bad reviews, nor where their expectations come from, but my wife and I just saw this movie, and both of us thought it was quite good.The acting was NOT "wooden" as one review I read stated.
At times I did not like them, either, but that was the CHARACTER and the WRITING, but NOT the acting.The special effects were quite good, as well.
This movie suffers from an uninteresting plot and story that was somehow made by Will Smith and a good cast that just seems to sleepwalk in their roles with no memorable characters or moments in the film,that just makes it very boring.
I don't like the scared boy, overly emotional and suddenly not, Jaden Smith look scared all the time or actually more confused in this part, this is not a good role for him.There are some cool sci-fi moments, great cgi, a big world of deadly creatures and beautifully created landscapes and sceneries.
Your role in After Earth is that of the work of someone trying way to hard and will go down in modern movie history as having one of the worst accents committed to film.
M. Night Shyamalan jumped on the bandwagon to prove that.After the Pursuit of Happiness, this is the second movie in which Will Smith and his son (yes, he has a son if you haven't noticed) play the central (father-son) characters.
Will (Smith) he finally accept the fact, that it's not a good idea to put his son into movies?
This movie shows that even the stars who we like to see as one of the good ones, Will Smith, will use their position to waste everyones time and money.
I'm sorry too, Jaden Smith's acting in this movie is bad and I actually liked him in the Karate Kid remake.
Don't get me wrong, I like Will Smith but never thought he was that great of an actor although he was good in I Am Legend.
I do like Will Smith but the movie just looked generic and boring.
Most of the bad acting comes from Will Smith's son; Jaden Smith who just does nothing but wains like a fifteen girl, I never find him much of a good actor after Pursuit of Happiness.
I have never seen a sci-fi movie like this.people just want their entertainment, they don't care about spending money....but today I do care and worry for what I spent.the main crash for the film is the story line visual effects was pretty good.average background music.could have changed the plot...
I think Will Smith has been in some of the worst movies to come on screen.
Surely a movie that Will Smith has written to really push his son's career has to be good, right?