After Earth to me is like In Time, either you get it completely and love it, or partially get it and couldn't care much for it.
I'm surprised and am unsure how much of the whole story about "fear is a choice" was from Will Smith, but the storytelling was certainly a Shyamalan's style.
But with Shyamalan, the dialogue part is where he is weakest. Even with another person co-writing the screenplay, this movie still suffered some dialogue problems.
I would have preferred a more seasoned actor than Jayden Smith, his cracking voice was also somewhat distracting but at the same time, added to the realism of the character too. But he definitely cannot be a narrator. I don't know if it's his changing voice or the lack of experience, but his opening narration was quite horrible.
The first act of the movie was where the pacing suffered the most. Especially when the ship crashed, it would have made more sense to see Will Smith's character more, rather than have him suddenly appear again after the crash - creating a vacuum there somewhat.
But what this movie did so well was the relationship between a father and son, from what the father can teach and then letting the son go. "Every decision you make is life and death", and if we value our life that way, every decision human make would be more meaningful.
At the core of the movie was about fear, and this was where Shyamalan shined. Whatever Jaden Smith's character had to face, the physicality of them was only a manifestation of the idea of fear itself. In the most important monologue of Will Smith, he explained so beautifully about how fear is a projection into the future.
And in the end, if the only way to survive was to choose not to be fearful, because fear in itself is only an idea and it isn't real, will you be able to make that choice? That's what the younger Smith had to conquer.
Beautiful movie, beautifully told.
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