Movie Review - After Earth

After Earth *½  (PG-13) Sometimes sci-fi flicks fail because the premise falls apart. Time travel sagas are particularly prone to that sort of flaw. Others may take themselves too seriously, giving us a slow, ponderous product, instead of the adrenaline rush we crave. In this case, the problem seems to be an excess of familial pride, as Will Smith and his son Jaden play astronauts from 1,000 years in the future, descended from those who colonized another planet after rendering Earth uninhabitable. Will became a superstar soldier, helping to fight the huge, fear-sensing creatures who resented humanity’s arrival on their turf. Jaden is a wannabe Ranger, not only trying to live up to dad’s legacy, but to purge a few devils from his own past. 

A training flight with one of those monsters on board crashes onto a forbidden planet that just happens to Earth. Only those two survive. Jaden has to trek 100 km of hostile air and life forms to find the device that will send an S.O.S. Will is badly injured, and can only follow the boy electronically. Stuff happens that seems to take much longer than its actual running time. The producers (including both Will and Jada Pinkett Smith) crafted a few splendid f/x elements, including some that would have played well in 3-D. But the plot plods, and the characters just aren’t interesting enough to sustain the project, making it like the Smiths’ home movie from a sci-fi fantasy camp, rather than a commercially-viable summer action flick. (5/31/13)