History Film / AfterEarth

[[caption-width-right:330:Take a knee.]]

The original story idea comes from Smith himself, though he hired a screenwriter to develop the idea more thoroughly. The film's director, Creator/MNightShyamalan, also made a few passes at it, although his involvement is so downplayed that it isn't mentioned in any of the trailers. It was ravaged by critics and wound up as one of Will Smith's worst-performing movies at the box office.

* StarDerailingRole: The movie is clearly designed as a vehicle for Jaden Smith; instead, the generally poor reaction to his performance and frequent allegations of nepotism in the script seem bound to hold him back for some time.

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: All the humans speak in a strange quasi-Boston affected accent that's supposed to be some sort of "future English."

* BadAss: General Cypher. In the beginning of the film, he becomes the first Ranger capable of ''ghosting'', showing no fear whatsoever, and thus rendering himself invisible to the Ursa.
* BearsAreBadNews: Well, it's not really a bear, but "ursa" is the Latin word for bear and the Ursa is certainly bad news.
* BigBadassBirdOfPrey: A giant eagle is one of the inhabitants of the new Earth. It fights off an ''entire pack'' of predatory cats!

* {{Retirony}}: The mission that led to Cypher and his son crash-landing on Earth was supposed to be Cypher's last voyage before retirement.

!!This film contains examples of:

* RealitySubtext: Several reviewers have noted the likely unintentional parallel between Cypher in the background pushing his son Kitai to perform in a situation he is ill-prepared for, and Will Smith having his son Jaden as the star in his pet project.

* StillbornFranchise: Smith hoped to launch a new franchise for his son with the film, but its abysmal performance killed any hope for that. Funnily enough, it was the [[Film/TheLastAirbender second of these in a row]] for Shyamalan.

* MorphWeapon: The Cutlass; its unique design extends it's sharp bladed ends in a variety of shapes which can be chosen by the holder, each blade shape seemingly fitting a different style of attack.

* StillbornFranchise: Smith hoped to launch a new franchise for his son with the film, but its abysmal performance killed any hope for that. Funnily enough, it was the [[FilmTheLastAirbender second of these in a row]] for Shyamalan.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Kitai tells his father he is reading Moby Dick, a novel about a crippled captain pursuing a monster. [[spoiler:Guess what happens to the commander of the ship?]]

The original story idea comes from Smith himself, though he hired a screenwriter to develop the idea more thoroughly. The film's director, Creator/MNightShyamalan, also made a few passes at it, although his involvement is so downplayed that it isn't mentioned in any of the trailers. It was ravaged by critics and wound up as one of Will Smith's worst-performing movies domestically, although it was able to turn a small profit internationally.

The original story idea comes from Smith himself, though he hired a screenwriter to develop the idea more thoroughly. The film's director, Creator/MNightShyamalan, also made a few passes at it, although his involvement is so downplayed that it isn't mentioned in any of the trailers. It was a huge bomb in the eyes of critics but a moderate financial success.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Kitai tells his father he is reading Moby Dick, a novel about a crippled captain pursuing a monster. [[spoiler: Guess what happens to the commander of the ship?]]

* Foreshadowing: Kitai tells his father he is reading Moby Dick, a novel about a crippled captain pursuing a monster. [[spoiler: Guess what happens to the commander of the ship?]]

* RuleOfDrama: Because being on a dangerous planet on a dangerous mission by yourself is a great time to start arguing about the past with the person helping you/you are helping.

* FinaglesLaw: Cypher estimates that the chances of the ursa surviving is the least likely. Guess what actually happens.

* RedshirtArmy: Most of the crew of the transport ship.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Kitai finds a cave with primitive cave paintings on the wall. Never brought up again.

* KidnappingBirdOfPrey: It's never quite clear whether the eagle wanted to feed Kitai to her chicks or [[adopt him.]]