MaxFly

​That's what Deadshot often looked like in past comics. Lol, I wish people would wait a little before they freak out... as evidenced by the pictures that follow. Most of the internet now is like... "Oh... well... I guess Will Smith is ok. He still looks terrible, plus he's black! The producers must have shut down his input and not allowed him to influence the character!" Sigh... the internet.

​I don't think I can agree, AJ. ID4 ended in a manner that left room for a lot of stories to be told. Will and Jeff destroyed the mother ship and subsequently incapacitated all of the sub-ships, but it is inevitable that aliens survived and have quite a bit of tech... at least enough to pose a major threat for surviving humans. Moreover, most of the major cities of the world have been destroyed, governments have been toppled, and order is scarce. Disease is likely rampant, people who lived in and escaped the cities are living in refugee camps in cities and towns that don't have the resources to support them and humans (both good and bad) now have access to very powerful and dangerous alien technology. There are a lot of stories here and it always felt weird to me to leave the aftermath up in the air. I also don't think this is greed. 1 sequel in 20 years when there are great, unforced stories that can be told isn't really greed. We all... well, many of us... enjoyed ID4 and want it to remain untouched, but it seems worth it to revisit that universe and see what the aftermath could be.

Ouch... 6 times? Yeah, I think people forget that while Will is nice, he's still a 6'2", 200 pound guy who trains consistently. Here he comes. He can rock, he can break dance and he can pop. He can rap, he can act... and if it comes down to it, he can scrap. Hey there, here comes Big Will again.

So, I saw Focus on Thursday; I was invited to a free screening. Will and Margo certainly have an uncanny chemistry. I think you guys will like it.

I don't think "Smith's" (are we not calling him Will anymore?) career is really worsening. The simple fact is that he has only starred in 2 movies since Seven Pounds in 2008. It's 2014. That's 2 movies in 6 years. From everything I've seen and heard, it seems that he decided to take a step back and relax/focus on his family. It's one of the reasons we got After Earth. It could certainly seem that his career is in the doldrums, but that's largely a function of the lack of movies... and from all appearances, it seems that the hiatus is over. Concerning the Suicide Squad, I'd be interesting to see who they'd actually want him to play. The only black, male characters that are or have been members are Bronze Tiger, Black Manta and Black Spider. Apart from the ridiculously stereotypical names, they are all extremely minor characters in the DC Universe and on the Suicide Squad. It would certainly be interesting to see Will in one of these roles, but it wouldn't make sense for him to be a background character as these have historically been. I wouldn't pay to see that movie if he's nothing more than a supporting character there to say a few lines and then die... (yeah, did I mention that the bad guys on the suicide squad are generally expendable except for the big name villains?)

Yup... bad movies like Hitch... :-)

I came across this article today, and I have to say... I like and respect Denzel's work... but this belies a level of gross disrespect for what Will has managed to do over the last 24 years. http://preview.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/why-denzel-Washington-may-be-the-last-pure-movie-star/ar-BB6fgq2

He was great!... This should be a fun competition.

Wow... what a terrible, terrible list. Off the bat, no LL, Ice-T or Common, but somehow Diddy and Cam'ron are on this list. And Mark Wahlberg over Will Smith... Will Smith is a premiere talent in Hollywood. 2 time Oscar nominee with a ridiculous box office draw... something like 10 straight 100 million dollar movies, not to mention that he's the most famous actor worldwide. I know people have various reasons for not liking Will, and many wish he had stuck with music, but he's legitimately the biggest movie star in the world, and that's been the case for the better part of a decade. This list amounts to an insult. SMH

Ugh... when are we going to get more music from Ja... oh... wrong person...

Very heartwarming... :-)

So sad to hear... my thoughts and prayers go out to his personal family and the wider Fresh Prince family. He will be missed greatly!

How is the script?

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Schnazz... Definitely an addition to the film library.

This poor girl is having her childhood ruined and snatched away by the Smiths. Where is the outrage? Why aren't people taking them to task?

This. Is. Awesome. Downloaded it right away. Will has some of the best songs to remix and mash up.

The reviews and reception overseas has been ridiculously and suspiciously much more positive than that in the US... I wonder why that is... lol

It's amazing how fans, even some on this forum, seem to want the movie to fail. Very few people seem to want to give him even the littlest bit of credit for trying to make a movie with a positive and uplifting message. I'd even go as far as saying that it is a timely message given what fatherhood has become in our culture. Regardless, I'm glad you enjoyed it AJ!

So I finally got to see After Earth with my girlfriend. Our work schedules have made things difficult for us to see it. I was glad to go today because we're going to see Man of Steel tomorrow. We're trying to get all the poorly rated movies out of the way now that we have the time. lol How did I feel about it? After the movie was done, my girlfriend exclaimed.. "Wow, that was a good movie!" Perhaps the negative reviews and press lowered my expectations because I found myself saying the same thing in a surprised voice. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. Just to touch on a few of the negative points mentioned by the critics. The accent is not a problem. I probably wasn't entirely necessary, but it certainly helped in reminding us that these people weren't our contemporaries, but rather from a different time and culture. I read one critic who mentioned how they stopped using it halfway through the movie, but no... the same accent that they started with is the same accent that they ended with. It's likely that he got used to it. The back story could and should have been flushed out more. I was interested to find out more about the mythology behind the story. We found out enough to properly advance the film, but I think more of a back story would have been beneficial. Will's acting was great. He really pulls off the more serious, hard nosed role, and while his voice is generally even and his words measured though out the movie, you can still sense the intensity in his tone and see his emotions in his facial expressions as he fights to keep that stern, even exterior. He obviously cares about his son and he obviously has reservations about sending him on this mission, though he plays it off very well. Jaden's acting was good. I honestly don't see what all the criticism has been about. He's not perfect, and he has room to grow... but I really think he did a good job. A lot of people have described him as whiny in the movie. I'm sorry... if I was asked to trek 100 KM through dangerous terrain with dangerous animals, and with the kind of emotional baggage that Kitai was carrying, especially concerning his confidence in himself and the perception that he feels his father has of him, I would be on the verge of tears at every turn. Jaden played that perfectly... and I don't say that lightly... he behaved exactly how I would expect a young man of his age would behave. He wants to be brave for his father and to prove himself, so he puts up a brave front, but the overwhelming danger of what he has been asked to do forces the obvious terror that he feels to belie the brave face he tries to put on. I know grown men who would have been just as "whiny" had they been tasked with a similar mission. The father son dynamic was great and believable. I don't want to get into too much less spoilers find their way into this post, but I like the fact that the movie explored tensions between them that weren't all together obvious. You really come away feeling like you know these characters and liking them. I'll definitely be getting this on Blu Ray when it comes out. The scenery and scope was amazing and the action was quite good. Definitely interested in seeing the deleted scenes. Questions are welcome. Looking forward to talking about how little attention I will be paying to critics from here on out... especially given what they are doing to Man of Steel now.

I think we can agree on the points you mentioned... though I'm glad he didn't make Django. I've never been a fan of Tarantino, especially after the comments he has made concerning the violence in his movies, and I think Will had some very valid points about the plot of the movie. But as Visqo said, a good portion of that article was hateful or snarky. You called it a "great" article. In spite of a few points we can agree on, I think referencing this... http://mattpatches.c...out-scientology ... in addition to a number of other things disqualified the article as being "great." It's only a "great" article if you dislike Will Smith.

AJ, I don't think they are either, but if you've followed any of the After Earth fall out, one would think the Smiths were treating their kids like indentured servants. One of the main criticisms has been that they are forcing their children into show business at too early and age and that they should just let their kids be kids. Tim repeated what some people have been saying... "that's something WIll should have known already.. let kids be kids." I'm waiting for the renewed criticism now that they have someone even younger than Willow attached to the project. Quvenzhane Wallis is 9 or 10 and many of the other children in the movie will be around that age. But here's the question... do you really expect anyone to levy any criticisms against the Smiths, Jay-Z or Quvenzhane's parents for stealing the carefree childhood of Quvenzhane Wallis from her? The inconsistency is a little glaring, and so I suspect the "let them just be kids" mantra isn't really what is bothering people.

That article is trash, Tim. Seems like a hit piece more than constructive criticism. Want to know how I know the article is trash? He based one of his arguments on this... http://mattpatches.com/post/51699814771/whoa-after-earth-is-all-about-scientology

Julie, I remember when it seemed like only you and I thought MIB 3 would do well. Same thing with Karate Kid. One of the funniest things about this movie is that I have read very few negative reviews where the reviewer doesn't bash Night for past movies or bash Will for "buying his arrogant, talentless son a movie..." The vast majority of people who don't seem to care about the outside politics or who didn't care about Night seem to have moderate to positive responses to the movie. I'm even reading reviews where people are saying that audiences clapped at the end of the movie. Life can be funny.

Drew really lays out what I was saying earlier... Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/review-will-and-jaden-smith-explore-father-son-dynamics-against-a-science-fiction-adventure-backdrop-in-after-earth#VpJMQIBmmtVs74Lx.99 I've never seen reviewers go after other reviewers so pointedly. Makes you really wonder just how reliable these people are and whether they are able to step outside of their bias and review movies without an agenda. I've read so many reviews that open up with how much they hate Night or how they are sick of Will Smith "shoving his kids down our throats," and it's hard to believe that they didn't enter their viewing experiences with those biases in hand. I also find it interesting that some of the reviewers praise Will's acting as great in his portrayal of the battle hardened and emotionally stunted father, and others are upset that he is so stiff and unfeeling, missing his naturally warm, affable charm. Is it me, or are some of these people daft? How do you play an emotionally stunted and serious father with issue who is affable and warm? If he were to play the affable, warm father, one of the major obstacles between he and his son on this journey would be removed, making the story increasingly one dimensional and boring. But here's the secret, and someone correct me if you think I'm wrong... I'm willing to bet people would have complained if Will had played the character as his natural, likable self, probably saying that he doesn't take any risks and that a more serious and distant tone would have added more to the plot and interaction and growth of the characters. I wish I could sum it up in simply saying "haters gonna hate," but it's a bigger problem than that. It's very rare that you see a reviewer state that people wanted to hate the film before seeing it, but I have to say... that kind of behavior is transparent. Anyone older than 8 can see when someone is hoping that something fails, and can especially see when someone takes delight in a perceived failure, even if it isn't a failure. It may seem like just writing on websites and forums, but what you say, how you say it, and what you choose to focus on is generally a dead giveaway.