# Now You See Me/After Earth (flops?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631 "2013-05-29T15:33:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/61 "2013-05-31T13:32:28Z")
What kills me about After Earth is those two lines in the trailer where Will Smith - pardon, _Cypher Raige_ - says “Humans left this planet 1,000 years ago … everything on this plant has evolved to kill humans.” If humans left a thousand years ago I’m pretty sure human-killing is not being selected for. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/62 "2013-05-31T13:37:13Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > Why do people keep giving M Night money? In this case, they didn’t. People gave Will Smith a ton of money and he used it to hire his own kid as a co-star and M Night as the director. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/63 "2013-05-31T13:50:58Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > This was just weird: > [http://gawker.com/will-and-jaden-smith-give-fucking-insane-interview-abou-510087159](http://gawker.com/will-and-jaden-smith-give-fucking-insane-interview-abou-510087159) I think the only thing weird about it is the hyperbolic title. The worst thing that can be said about the interviewees is that Jaden struggles to properly find the right words for some abstract ideas. They even put an umbrella on it. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/64 "2013-05-31T13:55:23Z")
> [@](#): > > you can do anything you want as long as you can explain to me why that was the right thing to do for your life. I.e., “I parent passive-aggressively.” I don’t think hating on Jaden Smith is warranted. He’s a kid who’s been propelled into a career by a stage father. I’m sure that all involved would swear up and down that this is what Jaden wants for himself, but as with any child star with that kind of upbringing, I suspect that it would be difficult to separate “I want to make movies” from “I want to make movies because that pleases my father.” That said, the Washington Post’s [review](http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/after-earth,1214448/critic-review.html) was dismal, partly due to the younger Smith’s performance. Also, it certainly looks like more evidence that Shyamalan is out of gas, both as a writer and a director. And I can’t help but hear the movie’s title as “Afterbirth.” The Post didn’t like “Now You See It,” [either](http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/now-you-see-me,1217532/critic-review.html). They say it’s a blah heist film whose plot falls apart. Personally, I don’t see why Jesse Eisenberg keeps getting leading roles; his range seems very limited. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/65 "2013-05-31T13:57:48Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > This was just weird: > > [http://gawker.com/will-and-jaden-smith-give-fucking-insane-interview-abou-510087159](http://gawker.com/will-and-jaden-smith-give-fucking-insane-interview-abou-510087159) Jaden: . “I think that there is that special equation for everything, but I don’t think our mathematics have evolved enough for us to even—I think there’s, like, a whole new mathematics that we’d have to learn to get that equation,” Interviewer: “You mean beyond something like basic algebra?” Jaden" “Algeba-wha??” ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/66 "2013-05-31T14:04:14Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > Currently at a dismal 13% on RT… > > [After Earth | Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/after_earth/) > > Why do people keep giving M Night money? Because studios don’t make movies to get good reviews. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/67 "2013-05-31T14:25:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > What kills me about After Earth is those two lines in the trailer where Will Smith - pardon, _Cypher Raige_ - says “Humans left this planet 1,000 years ago … everything on this plant has evolved to kill humans.” If humans left a thousand years ago I’m pretty sure human-killing is not being selected for. Also, while I’m not an expert on evolution, but I’m pretty sure 1000 years is a blip in time in evolutionary terms. There wouldn’t be any drastic change in animals in 1000 years. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I.e., “I parent passive-aggressively.” > > I don’t think hating on Jaden Smith is warranted. He’s a kid who’s been propelled into a career by a stage father. I’m sure that all involved would swear up and down that this is what Jaden wants for himself, but as with any child star with that kind of upbringing, I suspect that it would be difficult to separate “I want to make movies” from “I want to make movies because that pleases my father.” > > That said, the Washington Post’s [review](http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/after-earth,1214448/critic-review.html) was dismal, partly due to the younger Smith’s performance. Also, it certainly looks like more evidence that Shyamalan is out of gas, both as a writer and a director. And I can’t help but hear the movie’s title as “Afterbirth.” > > The Post didn’t like “Now You See It,” [either](http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/now-you-see-me,1217532/critic-review.html). They say it’s a blah heist film whose plot falls apart. Personally, I don’t see why Jesse Eisenberg keeps getting leading roles; his range seems very limited. Yeah, I might get annoyed by Jaden but I try not to hate on him. I do feel a little sorry for him for this movie. Having to carry a movie mostly by yourself being alone on screen for most of the movie would be difficult for many actors to pull off. It definitely would be difficult for someone young who hasn’t had a whole lot of film experience. It seems like Will Smith is delusional about a lot of things related to this film- how great the story is, how good his son is at acting, and how this would help his son’s career. For Now You See It, I think I might see it once it’s on DVD or TV. All the reviews I’ve read say something about how the plot is silly and falls apart, but that the performances are pretty good, including Jesse Eisenberg’s. His range is limited, but I could see how a bank robber/magician could fit into that range. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/68 "2013-05-31T14:26:32Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > What kills me about After Earth is those two lines in the trailer where Will Smith - pardon, _Cypher Raige_ - says “Humans left this planet 1,000 years ago … everything on this plant has evolved to kill humans.” If humans left a thousand years ago I’m pretty sure human-killing is not being selected for. I was listening to a review of the movie on the radio this morning and the reviewer commented that one of the big beasties Jaden’s character fights is a large creature that is practically blind but can smell fear. The reviewer and the DJs agreed this was “almost clever”. I think that’s being extremely generous. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/69 "2013-05-31T14:34:24Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I was listening to a review of the movie on the radio this morning and the reviewer commented that one of the big beasties Jaden’s character fights is a large creature that is practically blind but can smell fear. The reviewer and the DJs agreed this was “almost clever”. I think that’s being extremely generous. Did he get the idea from watching Jerry Mcguire? Kid: D’ya know that bees and dogs can smell fear? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/70 "2013-05-31T14:57:25Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > Also, while I’m not an expert on evolution, but I’m pretty sure 1000 years is a blip in time in evolutionary terms. There wouldn’t be any drastic change in animals in 1000 years. Unless I’ve missed something or the trailer is just misleading, which does happen, the premise is ‘humans left Earth 1,000 years ago, and these two crash on Earth, where everything has evolved to kill humans.’ It makes no sense. Maybe in context the ‘everything on this planet has evolved to kill humans line’ is about the new planet humankind is living on, but the statement still comes off as baloney. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I was listening to a review of the movie on the radio this morning and the reviewer commented that one of the big beasties Jaden’s character fights is a large creature that is practically blind but can smell fear. The reviewer and the DJs agreed this was “almost clever”. I think that’s being extremely generous. It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/71 "2013-05-31T15:00:18Z")
From Rotten Tomatoes > [@](#): > > After Earth is dull, ploddingly paced exercise in sentimental sci-fi – and the latest setback for director M. Night Shyamalan’s once-promising career. 13% is pretty horrible. I wonder what the weekend box office will look like. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/72 "2013-05-31T15:29:26Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever. I think that describes most of Shyamalan’s movies. Almost clever ideas that become really stupid movies. The premise for The Happening is “A pathogen causes people to want to kill themselves. Humankind becomes more an more isolated to prevent contracting the disease.” In the hands of a competent writer and director, I think that would make for a great psychological horror movie. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/73 "2013-05-31T15:34:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Unless I’ve missed something or the trailer is just misleading, which does happen, the premise is ‘humans left Earth 1,000 years ago, and these two crash on Earth, where everything has evolved to kill humans.’ It makes no sense. Maybe in context the ‘everything on this planet has evolved to kill humans line’ is about the new planet humankind is living on, but the statement still comes off as baloney. > > It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever. I read it as everything had evolved to kill humans (because of some change in the more distant past), which is what forced us to leave 1000 years ago, but I’m not going to go see the movie to find out. Things like this are why Netflix exists. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/74 "2013-05-31T16:00:39Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I’m not going to go see the movie to find out. Things like this are why Netflix exists. _“Not long from now, Netflix will catalog the mind-alteringly awful “After Earth,” starring Jaden Smith and Will Smith, in its Science Fiction section. A more accurate category would be Nepotism, a peculiar brand of make-believe where influential Hollywood parents present their offspring as stars in their own right, without the heavy burden of developing talent or public appeal.”_ The [review](http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/209517811.html) goes on to make the exact point under discussion: _““Everything on this planet has evolved to kill humans,” he warns. Which is a stupid evolutionary strategy, with no humans around.”_ (But who am I kidding? He delights in reviewing every aspect of _“the kind of film that would cause Ed Wood to excuse himself and skulk to the exit … lazy screenwriting … a bewildering procession of nonsequiturs … acting is wooden, the dialogue inane … it has improved the reputation of “The Wild, Wild West,” previously the worst movie of Smith’s career.”_) ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/75 "2013-05-31T16:10:13Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > The [review](http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/209517811.html) goes on to make the exact point under discussion: _““Everything on this planet has evolved to kill humans,” he warns. Which is a stupid evolutionary strategy, with no humans around.”_ Heh: > [@from linked review](#): > > The Raiges’ spaceship, whose interior is modeled after an intestine, is transporting a giant bug egg for reasons I can’t explain because I am not fluent in stupid. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/76 "2013-05-31T16:29:35Z")
Frankly, I wouldn’t mind seeing a gritty action film where Will Smith tries to survive on a planet where absolutely everything tries to kill him on sight, that could have some promise. But why the hell make that film be about some snotty kid, why the fuck would I want to see that? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/77 "2013-05-31T18:00:11Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Frankly, I wouldn’t mind seeing a gritty action film where Will Smith tries to survive on a planet where absolutely everything tries to kill him on sight, that could have some promise. You might want to try _I Am Legend_ ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/78 "2013-05-31T18:24:18Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > I am certainly willing to defer to you, as you no doubt have far more knowledge in this area, but … you sure about this? My local paper runs its weekly entertainment section on Thursdays, and it always has a review of at least one film opening that Friday. These aren’t local reviewers (this is a medium-sized city in Iowa, for Pete’s sake, we’re happy to have the movin’ pitchers at all), but nationally syndicated reviews. Still, they are published a full day before the films open. Most of my screening invites come with boiler plate about the review embargo. It is understood that outlets that don’t publish/broadcast daily will publish earlier. Also, there is often a pissing match among the top outlets over embargo and the somewhat general practice is that once embargo is broken by anybody important it is broken for everybody. But in part depends on your willingness to deal with a pissed off publicist. And a lot of times you’ll see reviews from people who attended screenings but did not attend as press. I generally combined press/publicity screenings and while I’m officially embargoed from sharing my opinion until opening day, the other people int he theater can post a review on their way out of the theater. Boilerplate examples: **The Bling Ring** - A24 asks that any features/reviews be held until opening day. **The East** - Important: Please hold all reviews until the film’s theatrical release. By attending one of these screenings you agree to hold your review for the film’s theatrical release. The review embargo includes social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. **Much Ado About Nothing** - Roadside Attractions requests your cooperation in not running/posting your reviews prior to opening day, Friday, June 7, 2013. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/79 "2013-05-31T18:25:17Z")
I’m not sure why you guys are so low on MNS, he is clearly improving. 13% for \* After Earth\* more than doubles the 6% for \* The Last Airbender\*. Three more movies and he’ll be at 104%. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631/80 "2013-05-31T22:16:19Z")
Tracking for _After Earth_ predicts a weekend between $32 and 38 million. I think 32 is at the high end of the range if audiences cared about reviews. (Which they didn’t use to but actually seems to have an effect sometimes now.) Will Smith alone will prevent it from hitting the low 20s. _Now You See Me_ is more in the $19 million range. But I can easily see it being quite a bit under that. Hope not. Good cast and interesting premise if not well executed. Note that the reviews for this among top critics are much worse than the general group. That’s never a good sign for a film of this type. (For some genres like mindless guns and cars action thrillers, negative reviews from top critics is a good thing.) I think _Now You See Me_ is going to suffer from the “high concept” problem. Audiences don’t like “high concept” as much as one would hope. One thing of note: During his interview on Letterman, Smith not once mentioned MNS. This seems to be the rule in a lot of promotion for the film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-you-see-me-after-earth-flops/659631.md?page=5)