clips and trailers: After Earth (2013)

March 8, 2013 // No Comment

After Earth is the latest collaboration between Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith. Outside of the family home. In a professional capacity. On film.

You all know that post-apocalyptic / alternate future dystopia is my favourite genre of fiction right? No? Hmm… Well… it is. Which sadly didn’t stop me from being disappointed by The Road but does leave me looking forward to anything that has a hint of it in the plot synopsis.

After Earth has more than a hint. Cypher (Smith Sr.) and Kitai Raige (Smith Jr.) crash land on Earth 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to leave…

Stop right there. After cataclysmic events you say? Sign me up.

I’ve mentioned it from time to time but the reason I love the genre is that the good ones give you an insight into how people think. The concept of how individuals and/or societies would cope after something completely destroys the functioning of normal day to day life is fascinating. Fiction created around it invites you to think about your own life and how you would cope, as well as showing you another person’s vision of what would happen. Could positive change come out of? Or are we all just going end up cannibals, wandering around, looking for shoes?

Actually from what I’ve seen, After Earth looks more like a survivalist drama. But that’s ok, because Will Smith is involved. I know he had that hiccup at the end of the ’90s, but for the most part, everything Will Smith touches turns to gold in my mind. Even Men in Black III turned out pretty well, and that seemed like one of the worst ideas I’d ever heard.

Now, he might have met his match here, since M. Night Shyamalan is directing… and I hear he’s pretty crap, but I like to believe that Will Smith will shine through. Take a look at the trailers below and let me know what you think. If anything it seems like what could be the twist at the end has already been revealed in the title, so maybe Shyamalan has abandoned that quirk this time.

On the whole, I’m… hopeful? But this does mainly look like a Smith Jr. vehicle. Let’s hope some of his father’s gold touch has rubbed off on him.

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