'After Earth' - A Review

"Danger is real; fear is a choice."

Only a few weeks after seeing Star Trek Into Darkness, I found myself at the theater once more for another summer blockbuster: Will Smith's After Earth. After recently reviewing Oblivion, I remembered writing this article but never posting it, so here it is (albeit a bit late).

Will Smith plays a strict, high-ranking military general, Cyper Raige, who rarely sees his family and, therefore, has been unable to build a strong relationship with his son Katai (Smith's real-life son Jaden). The pair soon find themselves crash-landed on Earth, long-abandoned a millennium prior after Humanity managed to destroy the environment and pollute the air. Katai soon finds himself on a dangerous mission to retrieve a device to signal for rescue, battling fear, the elements, and predatory creatures along the way.

 In some ways, I can see why some people didn't like this movie. It's definitely not the sci-fi action films Independence Day or I, Robot were, but more of a drama/survival film about a father and son bonding. Even so, this really wasn't a bad movie at all; I think it's just not what people were expecting from a summer sci-fi blockbuster. Kudos to the producers for trying to do something a little original and different from mainstream sci-fi movies.

The producers of the film did an interesting job depicting technology 1,000 years from now. For example, while the interiors of the transport ship definitely has a military feel to it, the technology and aesthetics almost feel 'non-human' or alien. But then again, we have trouble predicting where technology will be in a few years or a decade, let alone ten times that. Overall, I think this gave the setting an interesting flare that's not typical of sci-fi movies set in the far-flung future.

The movie isn't without its flaws, the biggest of which is the writers do a poor job of providing any substantial back story. Many modern films seem to be like that, but it can make the movie a bit difficult to understand. We learn very little about the war humanity is fighting in this future and the alien creatures who are somehow able to 'smell fear'. Fear plays a big role in the film, as Katai is forced to overcome it to complete his mission. The movie is clearly trying to drive home the point that fear is an allusion, something that can be overcome if we work hard enough and are willing to face that which scares us. If nothing else, that's a great take-home message we can all benefit from.

Is After Earth worth seeing? I think so. It's by no means a summer blockbuster, but if you like survival films and sci-fi dramas, I'd definitely say check it out.