After Earth
Year: 2013
Author: Peter David
Length: 547 minutes / 9.12 hours
It’s weird how a bit of hindsight brings a work into full focus. I never watched the movie After Earth (2013) because of its critical reception among audiences and critics alike. I figured maybe I would give the novel a try, not realizing it was not some work that the movie adapted, but instead a novelization of the movie itself. This was clearly a Will Smith passion project and never have I seen such blatant self-inserts in a work of fiction.
While the author of this novelization may be Peter David, Will Smith was behind much of this plot. Seeing the home life of the adult character in this book mirroring the home life that we know between Will and Jada is cringe-worthy. What’s worse is that these characters (either the Will or the Jaden stand-ins) were so flat and boring as to be completely worthless. The plot that drives their adventure felt so juvenile that any group of six-year-olds could think it up playing on a playground. It’s almost laughable that there were signs this was meant to be a bigger series.
Ultimately, After Earth is frustrating. It’s a mediocre story with lackluster ideas. But, since a rich and famous person wanted to make it, Hollywood and Random House spent a lot of money to get it made. Thinking of all the fantastic (and nearly hidden) indie stories out there that will never get the amount of exposure that this bomb got makes me sad for the entertainment industry. Sure, sometimes there are breakthroughs, but these are rare as the rough edges of interesting works are sanded off to become marketable to the masses.
A nepotism story with no subtlety, I give After Earth 1.0 stars out of 5.
