Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that After Earth -- which stars Will Smith and his son Jaden and was directed by M. Night Shyamalan -- is a scary monster movie with a few dead bodies and some blood. The alien monster is grotesque, overpowering, and able to trick humans into feeling fear, and viewers see a few of his human victims impaled on tree branches. No main characters die, but a majestic eagle who saves a boy's life sacrifices its own to do so, and viewers see animal carcasses. Punctuating the exciting and violent sci-fi action are laughs and scenes of strong family warmth and bonding, strong role models, and positive life lessons learned.
Sexual
Content
Flashback kisses and affection between husband and wife.
Violence
Constant peril. Some gross scenes with blood, as when Cypher must operate on his own leg. Kitai sees some crushed baby eagles that he wasn't able to save. Human victims of the alien monster are shown impaled on tree branches. Most of the violence depicted on screen appears in shadow or silhouette, and blood is mostly after the fact. A few moments when something scary pops out unexpectedly. The backstory involves a boy witnessing his sister being killed by an animal.
Language
Cypher says "damn" once, there's one "oh God" (as an exclamation), and there's one reference to something that "sucks."
Social
Behavior
Kitai's journey teaches him that only by facing your fears can you realize your full potential. His father teaches that although danger may be real, fear is just a state of mind. A cautionary tale about taking care of our planet (destroyed by years of pollution and war) is mitigated by the eye-catching new planet of 1,000 years in the future.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Cypher almost takes pain killers that would make him drowsy (entirely understandable given his severely broken legs and little hope of rescue) but decides against it.
