Opening 6 Jun 2013
Directed by:
M. Night Shyamalan
Writing credits:
Gary Whitta, M. Night Shyamalan, Will Smith
Principal actors:
Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo, Zoë Kravitz, Glenn Morshower
How can we control our fear? In this scenario it is “a must” in order for mankind to survive, since every living thing is programmed to destroy us. Both fear and its counterpart, the control of fear called ghosting, has a strong role in this film. As humans we are no longer permitted to live on Earth which has become hostile to use due to our destructive nature. The human race is now living on another planet where the humans have again tried to eliminate the native species that now has become aggressive toward us. You would think at some point we would learn something, but, no, it continues on, and therefore the art of ghosting is born: a way to protect us against all the damage we have done.
Now, I don’t know what you think, but this film seems pretty egocentric to me. One of the nicer aspects of this film is the relationship between father and son, but that is not a surprise since the film was written and produced by Will Smith, and both he and his son have the major roles. It seems pretty clear that both actors have also had practice in this arena of fear with Will Smith’s work in Men in Black and his son Jaden Smith’s work in The Karate Kid. Unfortunately this script has large gaps in the logic and tries to make up for it with wondrous and over-the-top action scenes. It is a shame that After Earth isn’t worth the money spent, but maybe it wasn’t about us, and maybe it has brought the Smith family closer together. (Shelly Schoeneshoefer)
