There are a lot of people out there that are just not going to give AFTER EARTH a chance. They are going to watch this trailer, see who is involved, and decide that it is not a good movie. Years from now people are going to say that this movie sucked even though they never actually saw it. The first reason this is going to happen is because it’s being directed by M. Night Shyamalan. People love to hate on this guy so hard because he has taken a lot of risks with his career and they have either come out on top or the very bottom. He seemingly has no middle ground with audiences. I’m sorry, but I can’t forget how awesome THE SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE, and SIGNS actually are. Sure THE VILLAGE, THE HAPPENING, and THE LAST AIRBENDER kind of sucked, but at least he took some chances with the story telling. There is no way every film Shyamalan takes on will be perfect, but at least you know they will be different. The second reason this movie will be hated by most is that it stars Will Smith and his son Jaden. I know a lot of people who loathe the Fresh Prince and his son. While I am not convinced Jaden has any real talent just yet, I am willing to give the little guy a shot. I hear he was good in the remake of THE KARATE KID, but I have yet to check that out in full just yet. As for Will, I am a pretty huge fan. I really love a lot of the films he is in including I ROBOT, I AM LEGEND, and HANCOCK which is one of my favorite movies of all time. Yes, I loved HANCOCK that much. Eat it!
Before this turns into a “Nerd Rant” post, let’s get to the film at hand AFTER EARTH. Check out this brief plot synopsis along with the official trailer to see if it’s worth giving a shot.
One thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind’s new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige (played by Will Smith) returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai (played by Jaden Smith). When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai’s craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aanhrAnGqPY[/youtube]
I’m always down for a cool science fiction story with kick ass action sequences sprinkled in. While this trailer doesn’t knock my socks off, it was pretty interesting and looks promising enough. I have faith that Shyamalan still has a few hits left in him and I enjoy Will Smith’s screen presence enough to get me into that theater seat opening weekend. Let’s hope this one is a winner and all I ask is that all you haters out there go into this with an open mind!
AFTER EARTH crash lands into theaters June 7th 2013.
