"Danger is very real. But fear is a choice"

After Earth was released this May and it actually wasn't a bad film. It was pretty easy to figure out, and the acting performance by Jaden Smith wasn't overly impressive, but the movie wasn't that bad. Overall I would give it a solid C.

Now I love Will Smith. He is an exceptional actor and he is just a good guy. He was pretty good in this movie. I think it is hard for Will to completely fail at any role. He played a non-expressive and distant father. Based on what I know about Will, he is not like that at all and he played the part very convincing so I think he played the role well. His son, however, still has a lot of work to do. I believe he could be a decent actor but he is in that awkward middle school stage, or his voice sounds like it. Basically whenever he gets mad he screams; then comes his squeaky voice . His weird puberty voice causes the audience to laugh taking us out of the moment. I'm still holding out hope for Jaden, I think he has a bright future, I just hope his acting skills catch up to the huge expectations that lie in front of him.

The movie was unpredictable at times. I caught myself short of breath wondering what was going to happen next. Yet, the overall plot and the ending itself is very predicable. Somehow this movie is very predictable with very few moments of unpredictability. I will say that there is one monologue in this film that is very good. The monologue focused on the idea of fear and how it is a choice. I fully believe in this idea. The rest of the speech discusses how fear is not real, instead it is something we form in our heads. It's a great speech. Honestly, if you don't wanna watch the movie, at least look up the speech on Youtube or something, its really good.

This movie is a B. I would not see it in theaters unless it was dollar theater. Definitely save it for RedBox. But if you wanna see it on the big screen it won't be a complete waste. But lastly I will say again, look up the speech because it is very true. We need to stop letting fear stop us from accomplishing things and becoming the people we want to be. After Earth will be in theaters a little while longer, until it hits dollar theaters and then the DVD racks.

- Megan O'Neal