This is one of this summers many sci-if flicks, starring Will Smith and his son Jaden. Will Smith has been in many good films that have in the past faired well in the box office. Will this be one of them or will it at least be worth watching? Let’s find out. I had very low expectations going into this film, having seen it was at 12% on rotten tomatoes and with poor reviews coming in. I think they may have been tempered with personal opinions regarding the church of Scientology. I researched the film’s language and noted this film had virtually no bad language. It wasn’t until the credits rolled that I realized it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Perhaps this had something to do with the poor reviews. What this film does have going for it is its relative simplicity. Here’s how it went. Will Smith’s character is the captain of a ship, a thousand years in the future, that crash lands on earth on which the planet’s creatures had all evolved to eradicate all human life forms. After the two of them assessed their situation they figured out they needed the homing beacon located 100 km away from their current location. The caveat, was the air quality was so poor they only had 6 days worth of air-breathing devices. Will Smith was injured, therefore his son had to make the trip alone, in six days, fighting off who knows what and having to take detours at night to find the warm spots. All the while daddy is watching him giving him warnings of rapidly approaching predators. Sounds stupid right? Well, it kind of is when you think of it that way, especially given how far he really need to travel on foot in six days. However, for me, it worked, and I enjoyed how it played out. The other thing about this film that escaped me was, why were they transporting a creature that eats humans and can only see human fear pheromones and nothing else. One of them ate Jadens mother. Sounds kind of stupid again right? Well, it kind of was, but I was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy it for what it was. A popcorn eating thriller.
One of the things I really enjoy about sci-fi films is the way they imagine future technology. This film was no exception. One of the problems I had with the tech was the way Will Smith could watch his son in a 360 panorama with no visible cameras in sight and with no good explanation. Forget about the faster than light speed warping, that’s a gimme. Then there was the homing beacon that could shoot into outer space and shoot out a distress signal in all directions. Despite all this, I found the film enjoyable. I believe Jaden Smith is well on his way to becoming a good actor, thanks in no small part to his father.
****
