I have heard some people complain that the Smith children–Jaden and Willow in particular–are (so far) largely beneficiaries of their parents’ success.
I say: So what.
Hell, if my dad were, let’s say Stephen R. Donaldson (the creator of “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant,” The Gap Saga, among many others) and he offered me the benefit of his years of writing experience, would I take it?
Of course I would, and would stupid if I didn’t.
Now back to the trailer. It really worked for me. I don’t happen to be a fan of most of M. Night Shyamalan’s films, though “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” kick all sorts of arse.
Sadly, he became a victim of his own success, and seemed unable to make a film that didn’t have a ’twist ending’ and played like an overlong, weak “Twilight Zone” episode.
He also hasn’t directed a project since 2010’s “The Last Airbender,” a film that was accused of being racist by some (which that’s interesting when you consider that Shyamalan himself was born in India, though raised in the United States).
“After Earth” could be his comeback. As I said, it looks really good, and I was hooked until Jaden felt the need to imitate Rocky (from “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show”).
Other than that, it not only seemed to rachet up the tension, but worked significantly better than the “Oblivion” trailer that I posted last week.
There’s talk about a sequel, starring Will Smith, to Francis Lawrence’s version of Richard Matheson’s story, “I Am Legend,” which is an interesting since Smith’s character dies at the end of the film. Now, if the story takes place prior to “I Am Legend,” I could see the logic, though logic would dictate that Will Smith wouldn’t play a significant role in the sequel because (I don’t recall) there was no indication that he played a such role in the lead-up to whatever caused people to turn to CGI monsters.
Sounds like a blatant money grab, and something that Francis Lawrence and Will Smith would be better off avoiding.
Marvel Studios upcoming “Thor” and “Captain America” look to be huge hits, but there’s no way of knowing before the films are released into theaters. No one wants to be known for an unsuccessful film, which can potentially follow them their entire careers (John Travolta, no matter what he does, cannot shake the sheer, unrelenting badness that is “Battlefield Earth“). So, while there’s no such thing as a sure thing, many actors won’t venture outside their comfort zone for projects. For example, Clint Eastwood was originally considered to play Superman in Richard Donner’s 1978 film, but didn’t accept the role.
