Written by Luke Barnes
Summary
Scientology meets science fiction and produces a mess; no this isn’t Battlefield Earth.
Did this film almost lead to the death of Will Smith’s career for a few years? Honestly maybe. This film is awful for many reasons the clearest of which is the fact that this film reeks of scientologist propaganda, but luckily no one saw it so it was unsuccessful in that respect.
The plot is almost unintelligible, something about space and fear etc. It is a strange mixture of nonsense and trite cliché leading to a bore of a film. I know that Shyamalan has always struggled with pace in his films but this might be his most egregious example to date, by the end of the film’s second act the film feels like it is over, but then no it carries on for another thirty to forty minutes.
Neither of the Smiths are at all likeable here, particularly Jaden. They neither feel like normal people nor do you care about them.
Overall, this has to be the lowest point of Shyamalan’s steep spiral downwards.
Pros
The premise is mildly interesting before it becomes overly convoluted.
Cons.
It is Scientologist propaganda
Neither of the Smiths are likeable
It has major pacing issues
None of it makes sense
If you enjoyed this review, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!
Another Millennial Reviewer 