After Earth

Sometimes, I feel some people are too hard on some movies. The internet has made everyone and their mother a cynic and has given them a platform to express their cynicisms. Hell, I used to be one and every now and then my cynical side comes back out, like a relapse for a recovering alcoholic. But mostly, I try to find the good in things and try to enjoy them for what they are. M. Night Shyamalan is a big target for the cynics. And apparently, his new film "After Earth" is no exception.

Not even The Fresh Prince can save him.

I feel as though M. Night Shyamalan is the Nickelback of the film industry. Everyone makes fun of him, but only a handful know why they do. The rest are just followers of the pack. Now, I'm not saying all of his movies are amazing. I'm just saying he was dealt a crappy hand. His first two major movies, "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" were arguably both masterpieces. I tend to agree with that sentiment. But since his two movies were fantastic, everyone expected every movie he made to be fantastic. And that is just statistically impossible. I mean, even Spielberg made "1941" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

Although, I mainly blame George Lucas for that one.

P.S. This was the tamest picture of this episode I could find.

Perhaps I just have a soft spot in my heart for M. Night Shyamalan. He's a fellow Philadelphian, and I first decided to do something with film as my career while watching "The Village". 

Yes, I like that movie. Deal with it!

I don't think any of his movies are as bad as everyone says. I also believe whoever did his marketing between "The Village" and "The Happening" was the worst marketer in the history of films. If you watch "The Happening" with the minds set that it is an homage to B-movies, it becomes much better.

However, there is no excuse for "The Last Airbender". That's just terrible.

Anyway. Where were we?

Oh, that's right! Thanks Will!

"After Earth" is a coming of age story of Katai, the son of a legendary soldier named Cypher. Katai and his father find themselves left on Earth, now inhabited by wild life and an atmosphere that has evolved to kill humans. Their already strained relationship is tested as Cypher, unable to walk, guides his son through the landscape to the tail of their ship where he must retrieve the beacon that will send a distress signal back to their home planet.

Once again, pre-maturely sabotaged by poor reviews, "After Earth" is yet another one of M. Night Shyamalan's decent films that is attacked by the cynics of the world. I mean, it has a 12% on Rotten Tomatoes as of June 3rd, 2013, while "Oblivion" has a 55%. At least "After Earth" isn't a blatant rip off of a movie that was released less than 5 years ago. This movies got off to a slow start, but once it got going, it became very suspenseful.

This movie won't be the best movie of the year. It probably isn't even the best movie of the week. (I still have yet to see "Now You See Me") But it is far from deserving of the hate it is already receiving, much like most of Shyamalan's previous projects. But I guess people hate you when you make movies you want to make rather than being told by the studio what movies you should make.

LEAVE M. NIGHT ALONE!!!!!!

My Grade: B-