Can someone explain to me why this is such a poorly-rated movie? It's a good sci-fi popcorn flick to me. The future world was pretty cool, although they could have fleshed it out a bit more, as well as the characters. Special effects were good. It tugged at my emotions at times, and provided suspense and awe. Sure, there was a lot of suspension of disbelief required, but what do you expect from a sci-fi flick set a thousand years in the future? I'd give it a solid 6/10, but critics hammered it.

10/11/2013 9:58:40 PM

It might be poorly rated, but sometimes ratings rarely factor in what movies gross. I think part of it was timing - maybe blockbuster fatigue was/is setting in with American moviegoers?

10/11/2013 10:12:50 PM

I'm not quite sure why you would expect critics to give this sort of movie a high rating. You pretty much explained it yourself.

"popcorn flick", "could have fleshed it out a bit more, as well as the characters", "a lot of suspension of disbelief", etc. That's not the kind of stuff critics usually go for.

That said, the average user rating on RT is exactly what you rated it. And 40% rated it higher than 7/10.

Oh, and written and directed by M. Night. Shymalan... when was the last time that guy made a movie that critics liked?

And this wasn't probably much of a factor, but I think Will and Jada Pinkett Smith essentially "buying" a movie star career for their son, or at least trying to, is a bit of a turn off.

I think this is a reasonable review:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/after-earth,98361/

[Edited on October 11, 2013 at 11:31 PM. Reason : reworded it so it was clear i wasn't saying they're forcing jaden to be in movies]

10/11/2013 11:17:10 PM

When has Jaden ever said he doesn't want to be in movies?

10/11/2013 11:22:05 PM

Never that i know of. I'm pretty sure he's said that loves it. But that's not what I said or meant to infer.

I didn't mean they were forcing him into acting. What I meant was that they were trying to "force it" in that they were trying to make it happen without him really earning it like other child actors. That they were "forcing" his career into being. Note that they have produced pretty much every movie he's been in. Do you think he gets as big of a role in a movie like this if his dad isn't Will Smith, if Will Smith doesn't star in the movie with him, and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith aren't producers? I don't know, I certainly have my doubts.

You think "whip it back and forth" would have happened if they weren't her parents?

Clearly, their kids have aspirations to be entertainers like them. And they have the resources to give them that shot when most people wouldn't have a chance (contacts, money, and leverage by Will Smith being in the movies he wants Jaden cast in). I get why they do it, and I don't blame them for doing what's in their power to help their kids succeed. But I don't recall seeing many rave reviews of Jaden's performances.

[Edited on October 11, 2013 at 11:34 PM. Reason : .]

10/11/2013 11:23:10 PM

that movie was terrible. it's not a good sci fi film. it's boring. They are trying to force Jaden to be a star and isn't happening.

10/12/2013 12:02:50 AM

^^ But rave reviews and talent have nothing to do with modern popularity. Jaden's movies make money, and when you're making Hollywood movies, that's all that matters.

Miley Cyrus doesn't have a lick of talent. Taylor Swift can write, but can't sing. Doesn't matter, because they're in the profit business, not the talent business.

Yes, Jaden's been handed everything by his parents, but he's also keeping up his end of the deal by delivering acceptable performances in films that are successful.

10/12/2013 1:11:38 AM

Quote :

"Yes, Jaden's been handed everything by his parents, but he's also keeping up his end of the deal by delivering acceptable performances in films that are successful."

You mean film...calling After Earth successful is a stretch.

10/12/2013 1:22:38 AM

Pursuit of Happyness was very successful. Give that to his dad if you want, but success is success.

The Day the Earth Stood Still made a solid amount of money.

Karate Kid made NINE TIMES its budget.

After Earth did poorly domestically, but the international returns are really good and it's at least back in the black.

So that's three of four.

10/12/2013 1:39:21 AM

After Earth did $240 million gross against a $130 million budget, when you factor in the exhibitor split and the p&a budget Sony would be extremely fortunate to break even.

Attributing the box office gross of Pursuit of Happyness to Jaden Smith is silly and he was like 4th billed on The Day the Earth Stood Still.

10/12/2013 1:49:16 AM

He's only been in four movies. I figured I'd list them all.

10/12/2013 2:52:50 AM

Quote :

"That said, the average user rating on RT is exactly what you rated it."

Ha, I think I've been looking at RT stats wrong all along. It said 40% of the audience liked it, but the average rating is 2.9/5. So isn't as bad as I thought, and neither are the critics ratings. Now I'm feeling the ratings are closer to being fair.

I thought Jaden did pretty darn good. Maybe he's not the best young actor out there, but it's nice to have a character who actually looks like his character's father. He did a lot of physical stunts well for being 14 or so. And Will was pretty solid.

I don't care about the movie being a self-indulgent family project either, but I guess others might.

Anyway I think I understand now.

10/12/2013 4:24:22 AM

Quote :

"But rave reviews and talent have nothing to do with modern popularity."

Nor did I suggest that they did.

Quote :

"Jaden's movies make money, and when you're making Hollywood movies, that's all that matters."

Nor did I suggest otherwise.**

Context is important here. I was replying to someone asking why this movie was hammered by critics.

I agree 100% with you in regard to making money vs. talent. --- I have no clue why you may think otherwise ---- But the question is about why critics hammered it. And critic reviews do typically have more to do with talent and a movie actually being a good movie more so than how much money it makes.

Again, context.

If anything, I pointed exactly what you're saying out to OP. I showed that despite poor critic reviews, it has generally good reviews from the public.

I mentioned the bit about them trying to make him a movie star because almost every critic review I've read for After Earth mentions something along the lines of his parents making these movies as starring vehicles for him. It's clearly on their minds when they watch the movies/write the reviews. It was also the last, and least, reason I mentioned for critics not liking it.


**The movies Jaden has been in have made money. But that doesn't mean he's a draw. Miley Cyrus is a draw. Taylor Swift is a draw. The draw to the movies that he's been haven't really been him. So I don't think he fits into that category as well as you're suggesting.

Pursuit of Happiness -- People went to see "the new Will Smith movie" which happened to also be very likable. After the fact, they said "oh, that was his actual son". Jaden wasn't a draw there.

The Day the Earth Stood Still was a remake, albeit altered, based on a story that was proven to work to a certain extent. i.e. not a guarantee, but not a huge risk. And it was starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly at a time that she was pretty well known to audiences. Jaden was extremely replaceable in that movie. Again, not a draw.

The Karate Kid -- You have to give him Karate Kid to some extent just because he was the actual lead. But it was a Karate Kid remake! You could put just about anyone in that role and it would make money as long as the trailers didn't look like complete shit. And I don't recall the original needing an international martial arts star to help carry it. Who do you think was the bigger draw in the asian markets, Jaden Smith or Jackie Chan? Here, I'll give you a hint:


Jaden just didn't screw it up. Which you're right about that being all that's necessary sometimes. But the movie/title/story was the draw much more so than Jaden.

After Earth -- It's probably fair to say that the first time he had to really carry a movie. The Karate Kid carried itself as long as he didn't suck. But After Earth was still promoted heavily as "a Will Smith movie".

I agree that some entertainers just have more "star" power or are more of a draw/more popular than they are talented. But I'm not sure Jaden falls into that category or should be compared to the likes of Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift. I'll buy that when I see a movie he's in promoted as "a Jaden Smith movie".

Miley gets stuff for being Miley, talented or not. Taylor Swift sells out arenas without having someone else headline. Does Jaden get stuff for being Jaden? I think he get's parts in movies that his parent's make because he's Jaden to them. I'm not convinced at all that he gets parts for being Jaden to the general public. And that's all fine. But those movies aren't doing well because of him (talent or draw). It's apples and oranges.

[Edited on October 12, 2013 at 10:59 AM. Reason : /]]

10/12/2013 10:54:41 AM

YOU NEVER DREW A DIME.

10/12/2013 2:27:59 PM

I watched it last night, and, while it was mildly entertaining, I don't think I could recommend that anyone pay money to watch it. And this this coming from someone who usually loves anything remotely sci-fi.

10/13/2013 11:29:10 AM

Since when did entertainment become TSB

10/13/2013 11:45:21 AM

scientology trash.

10/13/2013 2:55:45 PM

what a god awful movie on so many levels

10/13/2013 3:37:19 PM

Saw it this weekend. It being a M. Night Shamalamadingdong movie, I half expected a twist where some humans didn't leave, evolved in some way, and with their 12 fingers and toes helped save Will and Jaden.

Problems with it (spoilers)










1. If the aliens engineered those things to kill humans, why did they not just engineer them to smell blood rather than fear. You can tame fear, you can't get rid of your blood.

2. They have the technology to do something similar to warp speed, yet they can't detect an asteroid field until it is too late? I mean it sounds like they tried to reason why they didn't pick up on it until it was too late, but I don't think the reasons made much sense.

3. I'm sick of these movies with an environmentalist twist where earth is destroyed because of us. Only way that really makes sense, to me, is some kind of nuclear holocaust. If they have the technology [i]to move to another planet[u] then they should have the technology to fix whatever horrible things we did to the earth in the first place. Shit, Al Gore is trying to single handedly fix global warming.

10/21/2013 11:17:00 AM

just watched, did not like.

The southern twang accent was just weird. When he did his sky jump, he fell forever, down a sheer cliff. Right before the sky jump, he was crying and screaming about how he wasn't a coward...but no one had accused him of being one. He made friends with a bird...a bird. He scaled a volcano while being chased by an ursa. This molten volcano had pools of water. "Everything on earth has evolved to kill humans" line was just stupid. A movie called after earth took place almost entirely on earth. Ursa can't see, smell, hear anything related to humans except for their fear.

Just horrible. I took a chance since it was M. Night Shamalan and had Will Smith, but thank god it was only 90 minutes long. I was hoping for a crazy ending to make it worthwhile, but nope.

10/22/2014 11:33:26 PM

I believe duro982 won this thread.

[Edited on October 23, 2014 at 12:23 AM. Reason : .]

10/23/2014 12:21:08 AM

Quote :

"The Day the Earth Stood Still was a remake, albeit altered, based on a story that was proven to work to a certain extent. i.e. not a guarantee, but not a huge risk. And it was starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly at a time that she was pretty well known to audiences. Jaden was extremely replaceable in that movie. Again, not a draw."

I didn't even realize he was in that movie. And thinking back now, I still can't remember him being in it.

10/23/2014 10:38:36 AM

To be fair, he was 10 in that movie. You simply may not have realized it was him.

He was the little kid... you know, the little kid that is running around with Jennifer Connelly the entire time. If there were three main characters in that movie, it was Keanu, Jennifer Connelly, and Jaden Smith.

http://monstermoviekid.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/klaatu-helen-jacob.jpg

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/day_the_earth_stood_still12.jpg

http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/10300000/Keanu-Reeves-as-Klaatu-2008-the-day-the-earth-stood-still-10318812-580-739.jpg

11/13/2014 11:02:15 PM