It s not giving away too much to explain that the futuristic technology (which is imagined thinly but with verve) involves a Naviband a device strapped to Kitai s forearm that allows Cypher to see everything taking place around the young man and to communicate with him in effect a super cell phone and that the drama kicks into high gear when it s disabled and Kitai has to make his way through Earth s dangers on his own. The future features advanced versions of other contemporary child safety paraphernalia such as the EpiPen and the asthma inhaler.
Kitai s journey of initiation subject to a set of rules (each inhaler lasts twenty to twenty four hours he has six inhalers each leg of the journey takes a certain amount of time ) plays out like a live action video game and as the movie progresses new rules present new challenges their changing demands even posted on screen in the protagonists video arrays. Whether or not the similarity is intended it s worth noting as I discovered just now by clicking around on IMDb that the co scenarist Whitta was editor of PC Gamer for several years as well as a writer for the games Prey and The Walking Dead. It s an aesthetically neutral matter regarding the film (though these elements do seem foregrounded in a way that is occasionally unintentionally comical) but I wonder if there s an actual After Earth game on its way. I suspect it would be a lot more fun than the movie itself.
After Earth is also an allegory of the family business a public affirmation that Will Smith is yielding the spotlight to Jaden and letting him run free as an actor. Since Jaden spends much of his time on screen as the only person in the frame the responsibility of performance does fall squarely on his young shoulders.
Unfortunately Jaden though agile and skillful isn t a charismatic actor he doesn t put a lot of personality into the part and he doesn t have a deft way with the dialogue. Meanwhile Will Smith doesn t give himself very much to do and what he does do is close to a parody of set jawed war movie determination. As drama After Earth offers no surprises as action it s rarely stimulating (there s exactly one shot from Kitai s point of view as he s being dragged to safety by a hidden benefactor that reflects visual imagination) as a parenting manual it seems that Will has thrown Jaden into water that s a little too deep. For all the free range plotting Will does play a large role in the movie suggesting all too clearly that Jaden isn t quite ready to go as far out on his own as the story suggests Kitai must.
Of course it s too soon to tell what kind of acting chops what kind of allure beyond the childhood cuteness of The Karate Kid Jaden Smith has. He may prove to be formidable but I suspect that to become so he ll need to work in a wider range of movies perhaps a smaller scale movies that allow him to cultivate on screen relationships with a variety of actors including ones his own age and away from his father s spotlight and counsel.
As for Shyamalan his direction is impersonal efficient and clean even too clean resulting in an action film that doesn t move. It s worth comparing his blandly clear images with the kinetic frenzy that the director Gary Ross working with the cinematographer Tom Stern created for The Hunger Games. I wonder whether the placid stolidity of After Earth is intended to showcase the actors as if in a picture gallery a sort of favor returned or service rendered. (Andrew Stewart reports in Variety that It was Will Smith who hand picked Shyamalan to direct After Earth. )
I ve seen a couple of reports (here and here) speculating that After Earth is inspired by Scientology. I don t know about that but I do know that Will Smith performs with an unappealing and constrained earnestness. The movie offers no trace of Will Smith the mercurial and hearty comedian or Will Smith the introspective and fierce dramatic actor of Ali. I have no idea whether it s dogma paternal sentimentality or mere actorly choice that burdens him in After Earth but the result is the diminution of a superb performer his self reduced to a celebrity emblem that advertises the movie from within.
Credit After Earth Official Site.
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