Following the success of last year’s Men In Black III, as well as previous blockbusters, I Robot, Independence Day and I Am Legend, Will Smith is turning his hand to yet another epic sci-fi battle in After Earth. This time around, though, he’ll have his son, Jaden, alongside him for the action packed, ferocious ride.
Co-writing the story with M. Night Shyamalan and Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli), Smith Sr. takes a step up into the new territory of being behind the concept behind the film. It’s a big move for the actor, but will the father and son adventure be the action packed, sci-fi hit that it aims to be from the look of the trailer?
After Earth is the story of an abandoned Earth that is revisited by General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) and his son, Kitai (Jaden) a thousand years after it was evacuated due to an extinction level events. Setting out to bond and to teach Kitai not to be so rebellious, Cypher forms a mission to investigate humanity’s former home, which has had time to remove the traces of man and for evolution to move on for the more resilient animals left behind.
However, an asteroid collision brings the ship crashing to Earth, killing all of the other crew members and leaving Cypher badly injured, forcing Kitai to take on the responsibility of getting the pair rescued. However, with crazed super beasts and a deranged robot to face, every turn in the trek to signal back to their home planet of Nova Prime is crossed with pitfalls and perils.
The film also stars Zoë Kravitz (daughter of Lenny Kravitz) who takes on the role of Senshi Raige, Kitai’s sister, building on her previous sci-fi casting in X-Men First Class.
After Earth has a release date of the 7th June 2013, so it’s undoubtedly going to be a contender for the summer blockbuster crown. There’s a lot of weight resting on Jaden Smith’s shoulders, though, so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.
