The Mythology Of M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth
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Sony has since released a video illustrating the history of Earth in a Facebook Timeline feed. The video introduces us to the world of After Earth by recounting the history of the Raige family, a family of prominent scientist who developed Lightstream Technology in 1908, which leads to humanity’s mass exodus to the distant planet Nova Prime in 2066. Before leaving Earth, colonist placed perimeter beacons that orbit Earth to warn those who might come across the deserted planet.
Watch…
After Earth takes place with General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) as he and his son Kitai (Jaden Smith) crash land on the cursed Earth after trying to avoid an asteroid storm, with their ship damaged and General Raige dying inside, Kitai must brave the unfamiliar landscape to locate a rescue beacon, giving them a chance to be saved.
M. Night Shyamalan’s name has become synonymous with bad moviemaking as his trademark “twist” endings lose their effect. It’s been a long time since Shyamalan has had a critical and commercial hit, and although most of his films make heaps of money at the box office, discerning audiences seem put off by his antics. Shyamalan’s next project, After Earth, finds the filmmaker working with one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood, Will Smith.
As much as people would like to dump on M. Night Shyamalan, there’s plenty to look forward to with After Earth. It actually might be a good movie. The script was written by Stephen Gaghan (Traffic, Syriana) and Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) and NOT Shyamalan, and the film has a very interesting premise and world around it. Shyamalan is taking the approach of making After Earth as “a documentary about Earth’s future.”
After Earth will be released on June 7th 2013.
