After Earth is directed by M. Night Shymalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Happening), whose last film was The Last Airbender was widely panned by critics worldwide. It is a science-fiction film which I like to sub-categorize it as the 'apocalyptic' type film. Example of 'apocalyptic' type films are the Terminator films, The Book of Eli, I Am Legend and many more. Can the director Shyamalan win over his critics? Read on.
SYNOPSIS:
Somewhere in the future, Earth was struck by an environment catastrophe which forced the human race to abandon the uninhabitle Earth and seek a new home on the planet Nova Prime. A group of rangers (like a group of soldiers) of the planet is led by General Cypher Raige (Will Smith). On a mission to deliver a secret cargo to another planet, General Cypher and his son Kitai encountered turbulenece and crash lands on an unknown planet. They soon find out that it is Earth, now a planet with no humans and poses environmental danger. Having being the only two crash survivors, they must battle the odds in order to get back home.
SCRIPT:
I like the premise of the story. Having to depend on teamwork and trust to survive. However, I feel there were too many scientific jargon which doesn't engage the audience to follow. You need to pay close attention to what the dialogue is otherwise, you might get lost. Writers Shymalan and Gary Whitta should have kept it simple but the underlying themes fascinated me.
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| Will Smith headlines the film as General Cypher Raige |
ACTING:
It is obvious that Will Smith headlines the movie but the lead of the film is Jaden Smith. He gets more screentime than his dad who plays a supporting role. I am impressed with Jaden's performance as the film is on the weight of his shoulders throughout.
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| Jaden Smith pondering the next course of action. |
FILMING:
Most of the movie is filmed outdoors. Cinematography was pretty good. The visual effects were well made and kept at minimal. I felt there could be more creative shots to enhance the feel of the film. The production design was impressive.
PACING:
The movie started aggresively into the plot. However, the middle was slow and felt draggy. The ending is a little predictable but felt light-hearted and sweet.
TONE (MOOD):
Teamwork and survival. Triumph and fear.
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| Jaden Smith in a climactic scene of the film. |
DOWNSIDE:
Movie is filled with scenes either both Will and Jaden or them separately. Slow pacing in the middle.
UPSIDE:
Some good CGI and moral underlying values.
OVERALL:
Althought this film received many negative critical reviews in the United States, I liked it. I guess many critics gave bad scores because the film basically has two people throughout, but that didn't bother me. Tom Cruise's Oblivion was even worst. Simply because it had underlying moral themes which can teach the audience a thing or two.
RATING:
7 out of 10
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
I had the pleasure of attending a press screening at the invitation of KLIPS, Malaysia's Movie Community. You can check their website here or follow them on Twitter by clicking here. Thank you very much!
Althought this film received many negative critical reviews in the United States, I liked it. I guess many critics gave bad scores because the film basically has two people throughout, but that didn't bother me. Tom Cruise's Oblivion was even worst. Simply because it had underlying moral themes which can teach the audience a thing or two.
RATING:
7 out of 10
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
I had the pleasure of attending a press screening at the invitation of KLIPS, Malaysia's Movie Community. You can check their website here or follow them on Twitter by clicking here. Thank you very much!
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