After Earth seemingly has a lot of things going for it that would get me to buy a ticket. I love science fiction, in particular post-apocalyptic stories (which is why I continued watching Revolution, despite the downturn in quality). I’m a big fan of Will Smith; I had a poster of him from Independence Day on my wall when I was young, I still think Men in Black is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, and his performance in Ali is spectacular. I’m also a big M. Night Shyamalan fan, even enjoying Lady in the Water and The Village. And while I was more enthusiastic about Oblivion than I was about After Earth, I still planned on seeing both.
At this point, though, I think it’s safe to say that I no longer have any enthusiasm to see it. That’s not to say that I won’t. Continue reading
I wish Hollywood would make more movies like Oblivion. That’s not to say that Oblivion is great, but just that it’s the sort of film that feels like it has been abandoned lately. The current state of the science fiction film genre consists of either indie dramas like Moon or Another Earth, or big budget spectacles that turn out to be pretentious messes like Prometheus or Inception, with a special category set aside for superhero movies. (One of the few exceptions is Super 8.) However, Oblivion is the sort of sci-fi movie I love. It’s got an interesting plot and setting, great effects, a good cast and stellar visuals. It may fail somewhat on the execution, but I have to give them full credit for the attempt.
The Love Pirate 