Set in a future in which Earth is no longer hospitable and aliens dubbed Ursas hunt humans, After Earth is a coming of age story that is a bit predictable. Starring the real life father and son pair of Will and Jayden Smith as Cypher and Kitai Raige the movie offers beautiful visuals and passable performances but little in the way of true ingenuity and lasting appeal.
After Earth revolves around the Raige family and their struggles to survive both the attacking aliens and their own relationships. Cyper Raige(Will Smith) is the Prime Commander of the United Ranger Corps. Cyper leads this group of elite soldiers in protecting the new human settlements from the aliens known as Ursa. The Ursa are different from most manner of beast which hunt humans. Instead of the usual senses Ursa hunt by literally smelling the fear of their pray. Cyper Riage was able to revolutionize their war on these beasts by mastering his fear, creating the phenomena called Ghosting where someone disappears from the Ursa’s senses. Of course these things are all taken on faith and there is no real explanation on why the Rangers battle with these aliens with bladed weapons instead of guns and explosives. Throughout the movie I was thinking that if humans have advanced so far as to conquer space travel where is the advanced weaponry? Why is he trying to kill that thing with a sword?
Logic aside the movie is a coming of age story intertwined with a familial drama. After watching the previews and the first twenty minutes of the movie you can pretty much tell what is going to happen. While there is nothing truly special about the characters or the story the overall movie is watchable.
In After Earth the roles of Cyper and Kitai Raige are key and the father and son duo of Will and Jayden Smith do a passable job of representing their characters. I love Will Smith as much as the next guy however he just doesn’t quite do it for me in this role. While there is nothing glaringly wrong with the performance the hard and disciplinarian character of Cyper Raige doesn’t seem to fully connect with the actor. As far as the job Jayden does it’s a very up and down performance. There were times I just couldn’t understand him and things just felt rushed and forced where other times he does a great job portraying his struggles both within and without.
After Earth is an average movie with its ups and downs. After earth is a predictable coming of age story that has just enough entertainment to keep you interested throughout the movie. While the movie did not resonate with me, this coming of age story should entertain young adults.