After Earth has looked really good from the early previews we’ve been granted so far. And I mean that on a purely cinematographic level. This can’t be chalked up entirely to his cinematographers either I wouldn’t think; he’s not one of those directors who teams up with the same collaborator in each film’s photography. He deserves some credit for this, surely. Both his earliest films looked fantastic, and his work with the legendary Roger Deakins produced some gorgeous imaging in The Village, by far the best aspect of that movie. Lady in the Water also had some fantastic visual moments and a consistently great look.
The weakness often springs up in his dialogue, which is painfully awkward at times. I think back to The Happening and remember lines describing the pleasing shape of a hot dog, for instance, that plays like some kind of a failed joke you’d hear your uncle make at an uncomfortable family dinner. Sometimes he pushes the themes he wants to communicate a little too hard. Sometimes the tone of the movie doesn’t match the intensity that he seems to want to come across in a particular scene. But he has a skill for finding striking images and moments that stick with you even as you roll your eyes at one cheesy moment or cringe-inducing line. We’ll see if this strength will be complemented by others in After Earth. That moment in the trailer where Will Smith is trying to slow down his son’s breathing looks fantastic, at least.
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