Survivor: Planet Earth

Being the son of a big Hollywood star can be a curse as well as a blessing, as Jaden Smith found out in ‘After Earth,’ a sci-fi movie about survival, father-and-son bonding, and mastering your own fears.   Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who hadn’t had anything resembling a hit since ‘Signs’ over 10 years ago, ‘After Earth’ departs from his usual formula in that it comes without the trademark Shyamalan twist in the end.

 

Certified ‘rotten’ on Rotten Tomatoes with a 12% score and negative pre-release buzz, ‘After Earth’ was declared DOA before it even hit theatres.  So why did I bother to see it?  Because my morbid curiosity demanded it, and I wanted to see for myself if it really is, as some critics said, even worse than ‘Battlefield Earth,’ perhaps the worst big budget sci-fi movie of the last 25 years. 

 

So with my expectations thus diminished, I found that ‘After Earth’ isn’t as bad it’s made out to be.  I’m not saying that it’s good, mind you, but it wasn’t horrible.  Jaden plays a young Ranger cadet (Kitai) whose father is General Cypher Raige (Will Smith), a living legend in the Ranger Corps. because he’s the only one who mastered the art of ‘ghosting' in the face of the 'Ursa,' a monstrous creature unleashed by an alien race to conquer Nova Prime.   When their ship crashes on Earth (now a 'Class 1' quarantined planet inimical to human life) enroute to a training mission with a captured Ursa, it is up to young Kitai to save not only himself but his gravely injured dad.

 

‘After Earth’ isn’t really the apocalyptic sci-fi film as portrayed by its marketers but a wilderness survival story with sci-fi trappings.  If you look at it as such, you will find the movie more enjoyable.  It is also a tale of a son’s struggles to live up to his father, perhaps echoing their relationship in real life.  Though Will Smith took great care not to overshadow his son, acting rather woodenly on limited screen time and leaving his son the spotlight, Jaden just couldn't take advantage and step out from his father’s shadow.  With furrowed brows and a youthful petulence, Jaden seems to be rebelling against the role as much as his overbearing dad in the movie and makes me wonder if he truly wanted to be an actor, or just doing what mum and dad expected.

Grade: C