Shyamalan's 'After Earth' offers little substance

M. Night Shyamalan takes a dim view of humanity, it seems. “I’ve heard stories of Earth,” says a character in his latest film, the sci-fi thriller “After Earth.” “A paradise — until we destroyed it.”

Yet he offers a strangely optimistic view of the future. A global military operation successfully evacuates our planet, humanity creates an orderly new society on another planet, and speaking standards, bucking a centuries-long trend, improve. Everyone in “After Earth” talks in a carefully delineated, almost staccato fashion. It’s unfortunate because, without anything of interest to say, the two stars of this film come off almost amateurish.