A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.
Prepare to cringe and snicker whenever the characters are talking, but gasp when Shyamalan just shows amazing stuff.
He's done it again. M Night Shyamalan has done it again. Again. Done it. Again. He has given us another film for which the only appropriate expression is stammering, gibbering wonder that anyone can keep making such uncompromisingly terrible movies with such stamina and dedication.
Jaden doesn’t have the presence to compensate and the story lacks tension.
The effects are second-hand stuff from Alien and Star Trek, spliced with Shyamalan's regular homilies on Personal Growth.
The new blockbuster from M Night Shyamalan is his most approachable film for ages - but it is still a flop.
The fact that the now incomparably terrible M Night Shyamalan serves as co-writer and director also ensures that nothing is coming to this film’s rescue – not even a vaguely cool scene featuring a band of killer baboons.
By the end, Jaden's lack of talent has been exposed so cruelly that the project seems less like Will Smith's gift to his son than an elaborate form of punishment. Didn't Jaden tidy his bedroom?
It's dull stuff, indifferently staged, with heavy-handed references to Moby-Dick.
Will Smith must share some of the blame (he came up with the story) but After Earth isn't the film that will rehabilitate Shyamalan, exhibiting all his worst habits. Most notably it takes itself far too seriously, wasting Will's natural charisma and easy going screen presence.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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