History Film / AfterEarth

* InformedAbility: For a world where "everything has evolved to kill humans", there is remarkably little that's actually hostile. Apart from the Ursa, and the wildlife doesn't seem any more dangerous than what we have today. (This may be Fridge Brilliance - while most predators didn't evolve to SPECIFICALLY kill humans, because they CAN if given incentive, you may as well treat them as if they did.)

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Smith was reportedly inspired by an episode of the RealityTelevision/documentary show ''Series/IShouldntBeAlive''. The episode in question featured a father-and-son duo who crashed their car in a remote area, with the son having to go for help alone.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Smith was reportedly inspired by an episode of the RealityTelevision/documentary show ''I Shouldn't Be Alive''. The episode in question featured a father-and-son duo who crashed their car in a remote area, with the son having to go for help alone.

* IdiotBall - If Kitai didn't REPEATEDLY panic and completely ignore his father's very simple advice, this would be a much shorter film.

* AFatherToHisMen: General Cypher Raige is respected and looked up to by his fellow rangers, including one who was apparently saved by him from an Ursa.

''After Earth'' is a science-fiction film starring Creator/WillSmith and his son Jaden Smith, the second movie to star both Smiths after ''Film/ThePursuitOfHappyness''. It was released on May 31, 2013.

* DissonantSerenity: Cypher Raige has to spend his entire time calming his terrified/angry/idiotic son with nothing but his tone of voice. It's obvious he is near weeping with fear for the life or death predicaments his son is in, but has to keep repeating simple instructions tosalvage the situation.

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Smith the Elder's character's name: ''Cypher Raige''. However, many note that it's such a ridiculous name that it loops back around to being WhoNamesTheirKidDude.

** Subverted with regards to the giant bird. [[spoiler:After Kitai attempts to protect the bird's chicks, it follows him, and ultimately sacrifices itself to keep him warm after he passes out from the freezing temperatures.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:The giant bird that took Kitai to its nest earlier in the film saves him after he fails to reach a hot spot. Most likely because of his attempts to save its chicks from the cats earlier. It dies in the process of keeping him warm.]]

* RealityIsUnrealistic - would all evidence of human civilisation disappear in only a thousand years? You bet it would. Ironically the neolithic cave paintings Kitai finds would survive as just as depicted as well, for the same reason they survived until the modern era - they were in a sheltered place.

* DoNotTryThisAtHome: Do not attempt to be outside in an ash cloud, especially without a breathing apparatus. Volcanic ash particles turn to cement when they are inhaled, causing rapid suffocation.

%%* ClimacticVolcanoBackdrop

* DissonantCalm - Cypher Raige has to spend his entire time calming his terrified/angry/idiotic son with nothing but his tone of voice. It's obvious he is near weeping with fear for the life or death predicaments his son is in, but has to keep repeating simple instructions tosalvage the situation.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Evolution does not work that fast. Biological changes on the scale depicted take millions, not thousands of years, and most plants and animals would have gone extinct trying to adapt to temperatures that fall far below freezing each night. In the time it would take for animals to change that much, humans would have changed significantly as well. Also, why would the animals continue evolving abilities to efficiently kill humans if humans don't even live on Earth any more?

* DullSurprise: All throughout the film, mostly from Will Smith of all people.

* InformedAbility: For a world where "everything has evolved to kill humans", there is remarkably little that's actually hostile. Apart from the Ursa, and the wildlife doesn't seem any more dangerous than what we have today.

* AbusiveParents: The dinner table scene goes a bit too far with Cypher's aloofness to his son, making him seem like this instead, especially when you learn the reason for it is that [[spoiler:he resents Kitai leaving his sister to be killed by an Ursa, when he would have undoubtedly just been killed himself if he'd stayed, especially since at that point in his life Kitai was a CHILD while his sister was a trained Ranger.]]

* AbusiveParents: The dinner table scene goes a bit too far with Cypher's aloofness to his son, making him seem like this instead, especially when you learn the reason for it is that [[spoiler:he resents Kitai leaving his sister to be killed by an Ursa, when he would have undoubtedly just been killed himself if he'd stayed.]]

* AllThereInTheManual: In regards to the {{backstory}} of [[http://io9.com/the-alien-backstory-you-didnt-see-in-the-after-earth-t-509618063 AE's fictional universe]].

!!This film provides examples of:

'''''After Earth''''' is a science-fiction film starring Creator/WillSmith and his son Jaden Smith, the second movie to star both Smiths after ''Film/ThePursuitOfHappyness''. It was released on May 31, 2013.

* 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.
** A giant eagle is one of the inhabitants of the new Earth. It fights off an ''entire pack'' of predatory cats!

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Smith the Elder's character's name: ''Cypher Raige''. However, many note that it's such a ridiculous name that it loops back around to being a FailOSuckyname.

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Smith the Elder's character's name: ''Cypher Raige''.