Showing from June 14: After Earth **

Stars: Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan.
Rated: PG-13
Showing: Liberty Theatre. Fri 2:30pm, 6pm, 9pm; Sat 2:30pm, 7pm; Sun 5:30pm; Mon 6pm; Tues-Thurs 2:30pm, 6pm.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Action, adventure, sci-fi

This disappointingly generic film, which strands a father and son (Will and Jaden Smith) on Earth a thousand years after a planet-wide evacuation, will leave genre audiences pining for the more Terra-centric conceits of Oblivion, not to mention countless other future-set films that find novelty in making familiar surroundings threatening.

Shyamalan would have to try hard to make another film as bad as Airbender; After Earth’s missteps in conception and execution are more akin to the head-scratching choices that kept The Happening from fulfilling its doomsday-flick potential.