After Earth Re-Review

After Earth

Release Date: 13th June 2013 - Australia


Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

Overbrook Entertainment

Blinding Edge Pictures

Distribution

Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 100 minutes

Budget: $130,000,000

Box Office Gross:

$243,611,982 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

A crash landing leaves Cypher Raige, a legendary general, and his son Kitai stranded on Earth, now a dangerous planet after 1,000 years of cataclysmic events that forced humanity's escape. With his father wounded by the crash, Kitai must journey

across the hostile terrain

to recover their rescue

beacon.

If they are to survive and have a chance to get back home, they must learn to trust each other and work together.

Cast

Will Smith - Cypher Raige

Jaden Smith - Kitai Raige

Sophie Okonedo - Faia Raige

Zoë Kravitz - Senshi Raige

Glenn Morshower - Commander Velan

Jaden Martin - 9-Year-Old Kitai

Sincere L. Bobb - 3-Year-Old Kitai

David Denman - Private McQuarrie

Kristofer Hivju - Security Chief

Sacha Dawan - Hesper Pilot

Chris Geere - Hesper Navigator

Diego Klattenhoff - Veteran Ranger

Lincoln Lewis - Running Cadet

Monika Jolly - Female Ranger

Crew

Screenplay/Producer/Director -

M. Night Shyamalan
Story - Will Smith
Screenplay - Gary Whitta

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

E. Bennett Walsh
Producers - James Lassiter,
Jada Pinkett Smith, Caleeb Pinkett and

Will Smith
Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - John Rusk
Co-Producer - Ashwin Rajan

Military Advisors - James D. Dever

and Quay Terry
Production Designer - Thomas E. Sanders

Art Directors - Robert W. Joseph,

Naaman Marshall and Dean Wolcott

Set Decorator - Rosemary Brandenberg

Property Master - Andrew Petrotta

Costume Designer - Amy Westcott

Costume Supervisor - Lisa Lovaas
Director of Photography - Peter Suschitzky

"B" Camera Operator - John S. Moyer

Second Assistant Directors - John R. Saunders

and John Nasraway

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Chad Stalheski

Stunt Coordinator - R.A. Rondell

Aerial Stunt Coordinator - Tim Rigby

Stunt Coordinator: Second Unit - Brad Martin

E2 Coordinator: Jaden Smith - Darrell Foster

Aerial Helicopter Pilot - Cliff Fleming

Special Effects Supervisor - Tommy Frazier

Special Effects Coordinator: Second Unit -

Richard O. Helmer
Visual Effects Supervisor - Jonathan Rothbart

Digital Pipeline Supervisor - Craig A. Mumma

Visual Effects Supervisors: Tippett Studio -
Blair Clark and Aharon Bourland

Visual Effects Supervisor: DIVE - Mark O. Forker

Visual Effects Producer - Jenny Fulle
Visual Effects Producer: DIVE - David P.I. James
CG Effects Supervisor: Tippett Studio -

Scott Singer
Animation Supervisor: Tippett Studio -

James W. Brown

Digital Environment Supervisor: Tippett Studio -

Craig Barron
Editor - Steven Rosenblum

Assistant Editor - Luke Ciarrocchi

Supervising Sound Editors - Steven Ticknor

and Charles Maynes
Sound Designer - Randy Thom

Sound Mixer - Tod Maitland

Re-Recording Mixers - Paul Massey,

David Giammarco and Deb Abdir
Music - James Newton Howard

Score Recordist and Mixer - Shawn Murphy

Review

I originally reviewed AFTER EARTH in 2013 and didn't care for it. I couldn't wait to turn it off because I thought it was a below-average film. The flick was the brainchild of Will Smith, not M. Night Shyamalan. He wanted to make this coming-of-age story into a post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure. AFTER EARTH had great potential to be a solid sci-fi survival movie, but due to setbacks like poor acting, weird accent and the misplaced jungle setting, it would've been better if it wasn't a sci-fi film, given its original idea. The visuals were old school in some scenes. The people of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) must have declined an offer to work with Shyamalan after The Last Airbender.

While still different from his early sci-fi/action film roles, Will Smith's acting is not on par with his previous outings and portrays a stern and cold authority figure. The reason why Will had to act emotionally distant is that that's part of his character. Smith's offspring, Jaden, proves to be ill-suited for the lead hero. I admit it's Will's fault for casting Jaden in a serious movie that was his vanity project. If that isn't nepotism, I don't know what that is. There are a few elements that keep the movie half-intact. The more noticeable was the music by James Newton Howard.

The movie should not be AFTER EARTH. Instead, it'd be called Escape from Earth. This title would have made more sense and related to the plot. It is a far less forgiving movie, given its low re-watch value. But to be fair, M. Night Shyamalan is still a step away from his directorial comeback.

Star rating: (3/10) Disappointing

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