“After Earth,” Starring Will Smith And Son Jaden, Disappoints At Premiere

Will Smith tends to bring audiences to theaters in packs when he stars in a new movie. But will "After Earth," after getting poor reviews, still draw movie-goers?

The new sci-fi film co-stars Smith's son Jaden and is directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Shyamalan is known for his popular films "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs," but recently hasn't received the same success with his newer movies.

"After Earth" is a movie about Cypher and Kitai Raige, played by Smith and Jaden respectively, who are two space-travelling humans. Their ship crashes on Earth, a planet abandoned a thousand years ago. Cypher has two broken legs from the crash, and it is up to his son Kitai to take on an adventure to save them, the LA Times reports.

Reviews show that critics were not impressed. Smith, Jaden, and Shyamalan are all bashed, as well as the script and pacing of the film. Perhaps the only praise critics gave to "After Earth" was its stunning visuals.

Steven Rea, from the Philadelphia Inquirer, said: "With a production design that mixes futuro-tech with a hippie Pier 1 aesthetic, this [is a] beautifully shot tale.... [It's] refreshing in that it's not rife with fast-cuts, whooshing camera shots, and overblown visual effects. The Ursa and the baboons, a pack of predatory feline beasts, and a giant condorlike bird are all rendered in expert CGI, seamlessly embedded in the action," reports MTV News.

Rolling Stone writer Peter Travers comments on Jaden's acting: "The young Smith has energy, but not the acting chops. And he's no miracle worker. The burden of carrying this dull, lifeless movie is just too much."

NPR's Mark Jenkins said, "'After Earth' doesn't play to the strengths of any of its major participants." Smith's character is "devoid of the bantering wit and easygoing demeanor of his trademark roles," Shyamalan "struggles with a surprise-free plot and a trial-by-fire moral so earnest it suggests a circa-1944 World War II flick," and Jaden, "in the movie's tissue-thin principal role, is called on to act. He'll start losing viewers with his wooden opening narration," the LA Times reports.