Film review: After Earth The torch is passed

MANILA, Philippines -  Columbia Pictures’ After Earth may have been directed by M. Night Shyamalan of Sixth Sense fame, but checking the credits reveals that the film is very much a family affair. It stars Will Smith and his son, Jaden, and is based on a story of Will’s, who also doubles with wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith as co-producers. In fact, if anything, the film can be seen as a passing of the torch, as it’s Jaden who really carries the film and takes on all the action sequences of note.

As with many other summer blockbuster releases of this year, the film is set in the far future, when thanks to man’s folly in ignoring the warning signs about the environment, the human race has had to resettle on another planet, leaving Earth as a hostile world where all the mobile, living creatures have evolved to basic survival mode, and pose as mortal enemies of man should he ever resurface on the planet. As fate (or Will’s story) would have it, that’s exactly what transpires, when Will (Cypher Raige) and Jaden (Kitai Raige) survive an asteroid shower by force-landing on Earth. Severely injured in the crash that decimates all the other passengers, Will’s character is forced to depend on his fellow survivor son to retrieve a beacon found in a section of the plane wreckage that lies some distance from where the two crashed. A baptism of fire ensues, and Jaden’s character faces numerous tests and challenges to prove himself worthy, and more importantly, “find himself” in the process, expunging old nightmares and traumas.

While much is made of creating a future Earth, verdant and teeming with flora and fauna, and the marvels of future technology does astound; the film does take its sweet time in bringing us back to “Earth.” On this aspect, the pacing of the film, some improvement is wished for. M. Night purposely has Will play an almost robotic, emotionless character, and this takes away much of the charm we associate with Smith’s film portrayals. This then leaves the burden of the film’s success squarely on the shoulders of Jaden. Fortunately for us, Jaden does pass the test, despite all the minor criticisms I would raise about the film’s structure. If anything, this film, more than films like The Karate Kid remake, marks Jaden as someone to really watch out for. Now if only he’d star in more films without his father.

As for M. Night’s direction, I’ve often said that his films after Sixth Sense never captured my imagination like that breakthrough film did. While After Earth will not displace Sixth Sense, it is far better than Signs, Unbreakable or The Village. Ultimately, this may be looked back as Jaden’s breakout film.