shaquanda36
Joined Dec 2001
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Reviews23
shaquanda36's rating
The critics have been unnecessarily harsh in blasting this film. It is not the disaster that many people are labeling it. It is at least mediocre and perhaps even decent.
After Earth's story is simple--in the future, a military general and his aspiring military son crash land on a no-longer-inhabitable Earth and the son must retrieve the distress beacon from the separated tail of the ship. The screenplay is wise in not over-complicating the simple story, but I would have appreciated just a little bit more character and world development.
M. Night Shyamalan's direction is right for this movie. He is more deliberate than typical sci-fi fare, but it works for this movie since it is such a simple, linear plot. The tone is somber, but given the gravity of the situation, I would expect nothing else. I found his choice to make all of the actors speak in a made up "future" accent a little off-putting at first, but I quickly got over it. I also thought the prologue was a little clunky and perfunctory, and I would have liked a more satisfying resolution.
The visual effects were convincing and effective enough. They did not break new ground, but they blended well with the on-location scenery. I felt thoroughly immersed in the world. Moreover, I enjoyed the design of the architecture on Nova Prime, and I found myself wanting to learn more about their culture.
Much has been made of Jaden Smith's performance. I thought it was serviceable for the role--he needed to be physical, afraid, angry, and resolved, and he was effective in each of those elements of performance. Sure, he does not show the charisma that his father has shown in previous roles, but this role did not require charisma. It is also worth noting that he father showed very little charisma in this film as well, which indicates that it may not be Jaden that is lacking, but that the script and direction took charisma off the table.
All in all, this movie was decent enough escapism for a short, simple, sci-fi flick. It might have been more successful as an early March or October release when there is less competition and people have lower expectations. If the trailers made you interested in seeing it, then go ahead and check it out.
After Earth's story is simple--in the future, a military general and his aspiring military son crash land on a no-longer-inhabitable Earth and the son must retrieve the distress beacon from the separated tail of the ship. The screenplay is wise in not over-complicating the simple story, but I would have appreciated just a little bit more character and world development.
M. Night Shyamalan's direction is right for this movie. He is more deliberate than typical sci-fi fare, but it works for this movie since it is such a simple, linear plot. The tone is somber, but given the gravity of the situation, I would expect nothing else. I found his choice to make all of the actors speak in a made up "future" accent a little off-putting at first, but I quickly got over it. I also thought the prologue was a little clunky and perfunctory, and I would have liked a more satisfying resolution.
The visual effects were convincing and effective enough. They did not break new ground, but they blended well with the on-location scenery. I felt thoroughly immersed in the world. Moreover, I enjoyed the design of the architecture on Nova Prime, and I found myself wanting to learn more about their culture.
Much has been made of Jaden Smith's performance. I thought it was serviceable for the role--he needed to be physical, afraid, angry, and resolved, and he was effective in each of those elements of performance. Sure, he does not show the charisma that his father has shown in previous roles, but this role did not require charisma. It is also worth noting that he father showed very little charisma in this film as well, which indicates that it may not be Jaden that is lacking, but that the script and direction took charisma off the table.
All in all, this movie was decent enough escapism for a short, simple, sci-fi flick. It might have been more successful as an early March or October release when there is less competition and people have lower expectations. If the trailers made you interested in seeing it, then go ahead and check it out.
The reviews for this film have been embarrassingly bad, just as they were for "Lady in the Water" and "The Village." For my money, they were deserved for "Lady" but completely off the mark here.
Despite what detractors are saying, the leads turned out some solid performances and Shaymalan shows an interesting blend of restraint and gratuitousness. He demonstrates that he can create and maintain tension while revealing the disturbing visuals that he avoided so carefully in Signs and he crafts an environmental disaster movie that required no flashy special effects.
Thematically, this continued Shaymalan's common theme that nobody is an island - everyone is connected to the world around them. This was also Shaymalan's most overtly topical film, unless you believe "The Village" was about the post 9/11 Bush administration.
There were, of course, some mis-steps, especially the overuse of wind as a potential threat.
Overall, this is worth a look if you are a Shyamalan fan. If you did not like "Signs" or "The Village," then this is not for you.
Despite what detractors are saying, the leads turned out some solid performances and Shaymalan shows an interesting blend of restraint and gratuitousness. He demonstrates that he can create and maintain tension while revealing the disturbing visuals that he avoided so carefully in Signs and he crafts an environmental disaster movie that required no flashy special effects.
Thematically, this continued Shaymalan's common theme that nobody is an island - everyone is connected to the world around them. This was also Shaymalan's most overtly topical film, unless you believe "The Village" was about the post 9/11 Bush administration.
There were, of course, some mis-steps, especially the overuse of wind as a potential threat.
Overall, this is worth a look if you are a Shyamalan fan. If you did not like "Signs" or "The Village," then this is not for you.
Here is a movie that has taken a lot of heat. Looking back on it after having watched the new final film in the series, Rocky Balboa, I believe some of the extreme negativity came from two places - the fatigue that comes from watching a fifth installment in a movie series, and the belief that this would be the last movie in the series.
As the final film in the series, this movie was a disappointment - Rocky is a boxer, and he never steps into the ring. Also, it is a stylistic departure from the film that immediately preceded - V looks and feels much more like Rocky I than Rocky IV, which may have been jarring to some.
Rocky V works better as a fifth installment rather than as the final film. We can overlook the fact that there is no training montage and that Rocky does not step into the ring. We can accept the stylistic departure from Rocky IV because Balboa continues in the vein of Rocky V. We can get past the unrealistic plot point of Rocky losing all of his fortune, because we see he finds a way to get by in Rocky Balboa.
There are still some things that are simply bad in Rocky V that Rocky Balboa does not make acceptable, namely the fight at the end. Rocky V does not build naturally to a fight - this is a movie that is ultimately about overcoming hardship and the complexities of family life. The fight did nothing to conclude that story - it seemed contractually obligated. It is also strange that his son magically ages several years during the few months that Rocky is in Russia.
Still, it is an acceptable installment in the series, if not an acceptable ending. Stallone gives a better performance than he did in III or IV, and it develops the father-son element of the greater story quite nicely.
As the final film in the series, this movie was a disappointment - Rocky is a boxer, and he never steps into the ring. Also, it is a stylistic departure from the film that immediately preceded - V looks and feels much more like Rocky I than Rocky IV, which may have been jarring to some.
Rocky V works better as a fifth installment rather than as the final film. We can overlook the fact that there is no training montage and that Rocky does not step into the ring. We can accept the stylistic departure from Rocky IV because Balboa continues in the vein of Rocky V. We can get past the unrealistic plot point of Rocky losing all of his fortune, because we see he finds a way to get by in Rocky Balboa.
There are still some things that are simply bad in Rocky V that Rocky Balboa does not make acceptable, namely the fight at the end. Rocky V does not build naturally to a fight - this is a movie that is ultimately about overcoming hardship and the complexities of family life. The fight did nothing to conclude that story - it seemed contractually obligated. It is also strange that his son magically ages several years during the few months that Rocky is in Russia.
Still, it is an acceptable installment in the series, if not an acceptable ending. Stallone gives a better performance than he did in III or IV, and it develops the father-son element of the greater story quite nicely.