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After Earth
Two Disc Combo: Blu-ray / DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy
Actors: Jaden Smith, David Denman, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo, Zoë Kravitz
Director: M. Night Shyamalan

1hr 40min

Earth isn't exactly an afterthought in After Earth, but based on the 1,000-year backstory that takes up all of five minutes in the movie's prologue, there's no particular reason for humanity's former home world to be the p... more »lace where this sci-fi family survival story is set. You get a sense that a lot of exposition about exactly why humans had to abandon Earth millennia ago was cut to get right to the adventure and bonding as Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his father Cypher (Will Smith) struggle to find their way off the now hostile but otherwise randomly chosen planet. A dramatic and devastating spaceship crash-landing has left them lone survivors, with the militaristic General Cypher gravely injured and the 14-year-old cadet Kitai the only one who can find the distress beacon that will save them. He'll have to cross 100 kilometers of harsh terrain inhabited by dangerously evolved species that resemble scary baboons, jaguars, giant birds of prey, and lethal leeches. Even the environment is a hazard, with nightly temperatures that plummet to sub-zero levels and are escapable only in strategic geothermal hotspots. The worst danger young Kitai must face is an escaped alien creature the ship was transporting for a training mission. It is a fearsome "ursa," one of the blind, deaf monsters that track and kill humans on their new planet, Nova Prime, by homing in on the fear pheromone we all emit. All but a disciplined few, that is, including Cypher, who has learned the practice of making himself invisible to the ursa by completely obliterating fear. Kitai may have the gene for this ability, known as "ghosting," but he hasn't mastered it yet. So when he sets off on his quest under the stern direction of Cypher, he's a fumbling furrowed brow of panic and fear. Along the way he faces the demons of Earth, the trauma of his childhood (which comes to us bit by bit in flashback), the conflict of his daddy issues, and ultimately a showdown with the ursa. The only defenses in his arsenal are his wiles, his growing moral strength, an awesome suit that changes chameleon-like as it adapts to his environment, and a magical sword that has more blades than a Swiss Army knife. The movie is beautifully shot by former A-list director M. Night Shyamalan, and it includes some lovely CGI effects as well as a background of technology that isn't quite like any sci-fi futurism we've seen before. Though some of the elements may be too intense for some young viewers, After Earth is primarily a family movie. Jaden Smith is still a little bit light on acting chops to carry the whole load. Fortunately the commanding presence (both literally and figuratively) of his über-movie-star father gives a bit of balance. Will Smith conceived the story as a vanity project for his son, and it seems likely that with more experience and training Jaden will grow to fill his father's charismatic shoes. In the meantime, the generic but entirely serviceable story world of After Earth is as much a gift to its young star as it is to undemanding, genre-loving moviegoers. --Ted Fry

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