Before I watched 'After Earth', I read and heard negative reviews of it, so I went in with low expectations... and was pleasantly surprised.
James Newton Howard's score, although not as grandiose as most of his previous work, was quite effective and higly enjoyable. There was some top-notch acting from Will and Jaden Smith, and Sophie Okonedo. Jaden Smith has become a consummate actor at such a tender age -- it's unbelievable, the young man is a brilliant actor. I wonder to what extent, if at all, Jaden (Kitai Raige) drew from his real life relationship with his father Will (Cypher Raige), for the scene in which Kitai berates his father for being a coward who was "never there". Will Smith's performance was quite engaging, despite him being stuck in a single location for almost all of the film. His performance was beautifully subtle and yet rich with emotion. The same goes for Jaden's performance.
I was quite intrigued by the appealingly unusual production design of this beautiful 'coming of age' story. The sets, props, costumes and other elements seemed to me to have been deeply inspired by Mother Nature.The shapes, colours and textures of the clothing, dwellings, vehicles and weapons, all echoed Nature, they were 'organic'. It was this huge homage to Nature, exquisitely combined with cutting-edge imagery and technology. You had these beautifully rendered cutting-edge images, overlaid on or popping out of these very naturalistic, organic-looking devices -- an absolute triumph of design!
Will Smith is a natural fit for the Science-Fiction genre. There's something about seeing him in these imaginary environments, surrounded by all of that super-advanced pseudo-technology, that's just right e.g. 'I, Robot' and 'Independence Day'.
The writing was impeccable. The themes explored -- guilt, fear, coming of age, the nature of reality, self-mastery, the father-son relationship -- held a great deal of resonance for me. At the end of the film, When General Cypher Raige, asks the medics attending to his broken legs, to stand him up so that he can salute his son Kitai, my eyes welled up.
There were echoes of Joseph Kosinski's 'Oblivion' and James Cameron's 'Avatar' in this immensely enjoyable film. I look forward to watching 'After Earth' again... and again.
What did you think of this film? Do you agree or disagree my take? I am curious to know.
