“Danger is real. Fear is a choice.”
The impactful and ambitious tagline for the newest Will Smith film clearly states the cinematic mission of “After Earth.”
Throughout the sci-fi action drama, the aforementioned advertised theme is reiterated loud and clear. It seeks to inspire viewers to move beyond being bound fear – and discredits its very existence. According to “After Earth” fear is nothing more than a useless, time wasting emotion that is the ultimate impediment to truly operating in the realm of one’s purpose.
The theme resonates, but runs the risk of being lost – or quite possibly abandoned – due to a predictable format, shallow story line and non-action sequences that all but drag along.
“After Earth” attempts to create a space-age variation of the often revisited tale of a young man attempting the seemingly insurmountable task of filling the shoes of his father’s legacy.
Co-written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film visits humankind 1,000 years after being forced to escape planet earth for Nova Prime. The Ranger Corps – a galaxy peacekeeping organization – is led by General Cypher Raige. His son Kitai seeks his father’s approval as one of the organization’s trainees.
Encouraged by his wife, Cypher allows Kitai to accompany him on his next mission. The assignment takes a tragic detour that lands Cypher and Kitai on the now uninhabitable planet Earth.
They must lean on each other and apply trust, faith and courage if they are to survive and ultimately be rescued.
“After Earth” is a family affair in more ways than one – in front of the camera and behind the scenes. It is co-produced and co-written by Will Smith. His wife Jada Pinkett Smith and Jada’s younger brother Caleb also serve as co-producers as real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith star in the film.
The upside of the film is found within the genuine connection that Jaden and Will convey on screen. But the authenticity in their roles is often interrupted – and even threatened – by inconsistent accents that can only be described as a weird blend of British with a robotic cadence that annoyingly fade in and out over the course of the film.
Another strength of “After Earth” resides within the cinematography and editing. The sequence of action scenes are perfectly aligned to create edge-of-seat responses.
But the melodramatic downtime labors along and undermines the captivating moments; coupled with flashbacks inserted to add character depth and insight that only lend themselves to chopping the flow of “After Earth” to pieces.
Even as the film falls short of potential – and more than likely many expectations – the hope, strength and power of the conveyed message prevents the “After Earth” from being all for naught.
After Earth opens in theatres nationwide on Friday, May 31. The film is rated PG-13 with a running time of 100 minutes.
