After Earth

This is a movie that just appears to be missing something right off the start. I think, because the movie takes place in the future, and the story doesn't want to waste time explaining things to you with back round information, the movie is very vague and narrow in its delivery. That is to say, instead of expanding the story (my preference) the movie drags out a single idea and focuses on it for the whole movie. That idea is in the father and son story, which is, lets face it, the story behind the story and likely the only reason Will Smith pulled his weight for the project. The only reason that I find that relevant (other than proof that Will's a great dad) is that the movie was too much of a 'Smith family project' and didn't seem to really have a professional writer driving it. There was a lot of untapped potential in this movie: having Will Smith play an authoritarian with no comic relief or emotion. The director M. Night Shyamalan managed to get some of the most unflattering shots of Will Smith I'd ever seen, but did okay with the rest of the movie. This movie would have been perfect as a subplot to a super epic 4 hour sci-fi adventure.