#58 - Smith Month - After Earth

In this instalment of Smith Month

I’m revisiting an old friend of the show, M Night Shyamalan

It’s been a while since I reviewed the last one and it’s still most anger-inducing product I’ve ever watched. But this one is slightly different. Will Smith wrote the plot of this movie, which M Night and Garry Whitta adapted into a screenplay. Jaden may have been successful in the Karate Kid but it certainly didn’t seem like he was getting a lot of other acting roles, this came out 3 years after the Karate Kid, and something had happened, Jaden had gone through puberty so his voice and performance is significantly changed from Karate Kid

It’s fairly obvious this movie was Will Smith’s attempt to bolster his son into stardom, and if that was the case then EPIC FAIL! This movie was panned on release, 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, and was also a box office failure, earning $250m on a $150m budget + $100m marketing. So, what went wrong? Was it Shyamalan’s direction, the writing or a mixture of the two? Let’s take a look at After Earth.]

Smith Month: Mini Review - Karate Kid

How about a Smith Month review without any Will Smith in it? Here’s Karate Kid, the remake.

Yup, Jaden’s on his own in this one as stars in a remake of an 80’s movie that, I haven’t seen, I’ll be honest. But this isn’t a comparison piece, I want to judge this movie on its own merits. Released in 2010, the movie got a mixed reception, 65% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average 6.7/10. But financially it was successful, getting $365m on a $40m budget.

Smith Month - Mini Review: The Pursuit of Happyness

I’ve decided to save my sanity and limit the Will Smith Oscar baiting movies to this one and Collateral Beauty. But I’ve chosen this one to introduce another member of the Smith family we’ll be looking at a couple more time. May I introduce Mr Jaden Smith… You know the guy who tweets this sh*t

No Jaden, Baby Geniuses is cr*ppy movie series, not a representation of Real Life

At a mere 8 years old (probably younger during production) and with only a cameo in Men in Black II under his belt, young Jaden would have a starring role in this, the Pursuit of Happyness

Released in 2006, the movie had a decent reception with 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average 8/10 on IMDb. The movie was profitable, earning over $300m on its $55m budget. But does it hold up? Here are my thoughts.