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Will and Jaden Smith, looking dejected.
A significant portion of After Earth, a sci-fi summer blockbuster starring father-son Hollywood royalty Will and Jaden Smith, was filmed on the skirts of the Arenal Volcano and the surrounding cloud forest in La Fortuna. Although After Earth is hardly the only blockbuster filmed in Costa Rica, there is a strong chance that it may become the first one to earn the infamous Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Film.
Prior to World War II, film productions shot in Costa Rica were mostly documentaries. According to IMDB, that changed in 1972 with Sweet Sugar, a campy and titillating “Women in Prison” title that was heavy on T&A and low on production values. A few years before the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of the Americas, a Spanish film crew arrived in Costa Rica to film El Dorado, a 1988 historical adventure that featured the harsh conditions Conquistadors experienced in the jungles of the New World while looking for gold.
The first blockbuster partly filmed in Costa Rica was 1492: Conquest of Paradise, starring French actor Gerard Depardieu. This opened the door to future blockbuster film crews to visit Costa Rica to shoot scenes for Jurassic Park, Congo, Basic, Spy Kids 2, and others. The behind-the-scenes action and filming of After Earth in La Fortuna was closely followed by the Costa Rica Star in 2012, and nothing back then suggested that it would end up taking such a beating from film critics around the world.
For the record, the Costa Rica Star has not screened After Earth. Numerous media reports, however, tell the story of a critically panned film that may very well sweep the 34th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards, which take place just before their antithesis and glitzy Oscar Awards ceremony. For those unfamiliar with the “Razzies,” here’s a brief description courtesy of The Times of Malta:
“In its 33-year history, Razzies have been awarded in usual categories – Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Actress etc.
[…] the Razzies – which blow a metaphorical raspberry at the worst of Hollywood’s output – have grown from strength to strength over the years to become what entertainment news website E! Online has recently called “the foremost authority on all things that suck on the big screen.”
Internet groups that follow and predict the outcomes of cinematic and television award ceremonies are already calling After Earth the big “winner” at this year’s Razzies. Here’s the forecast by Gold Derby:
At Saturday’s Razzie Awards, we are predicting that “After Earth” will win five of its six bids: Worst Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Will Smith), Screenplay and Screen Combo.
It should be noted that After Earth is facing strong competition from Grown Ups 2, a comedy film starring Adam Sandler, who happens to be a perennial Razzie winner. How did After Earth end up as a movie that draws comparisons to one of Adam Sandler’s most infamous productions? Here are some scathing snippets of After Earth criticism compiled by online film review site Rotten Tomatoes:
- It’s impossible to take this movie seriously, certainly not as seriously as it takes itself. – Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor.
- This movie… is about nobody’s pleasure or deep vision. It is, instead, about positioning two actors in the power structure of the film industry. Dave White of Movies.com
- Stay home. Paint something. Watch it dry. It’ll be more rewarding. Tim Martain of The Mercury.
The critical tally by Rotten Tomatoes gives After Earth a rating of just 11 percent by critics and 38 percent by movie audiences. This puts the film in a similar category as Death to the Supermodels, a raunchy, straight-to-video swimsuit comedy filmed in Costa Rica back in 2005. One can only hope that After Earth’s Razzie performance does not forebode a decline of the burgeoning film industry in Costa Rica, which has been on roll in the last few years. The winners of the Razzies will be announced later today.
