Movies in Review: "After Earth"

I can't say I was overly excited to see this movie. The theatrical trailer was just ok, I think I was more so looking forward to seeing Will Smith in another film. Smith has yet to disappoint me, so although it seemed there was very little interest by movie goers to see this film, I knew I would find myself making a ticket purchase. Word is that Smith developed the concept to give his son the opportunity to take on the leading role in a film. Now that's a loving father...Unfortunately Jaden doesn't have the acting chops yet to take on such a role.

I have enjoyed Jaden in all of his earlier movies. I felt like he has a natural acting talent that didn't take much effort. So I was very surprised to be disappointed in his performance in After Earth. It seemed that the direction from Shyamalan did not bring forth Jaden's best efforts. It also didn't help that it sounded like he was also in that awkward stage boys go through when their voices change from soprano to tenor...smh.

The trailer was way more interesting than the actual film was. The wasn't great, and lacked strong character development. It seemed as though the movie was rushed just to get to Jaden Smith taking his place as lead in the film. Will appeared to downplay his abilities to let his son shine, which was uber disappointing. The only acting I did enjoy came from Zoe Kravitz. They should have shortened Jaden's ship adventure and made Kravitz's storyline a bigger part of the movie. This movie had great potential, but that's about it.

I never thought I could say anything bad about Will Smith, but today I can't say that I enjoyed this movie. The story was weak, the action boring, and the acting lack luster. If you miss seeing Will Smith in a movie, then my recommendation is that you sneak in to see this one. You will be pissed spending your money on it...D+ :(