Jaden Smith’s Movies With Will Smith: How Jaden Smith Got Both His Best Film and Most Embarrassing Flop With His Oscar Winning Dad
- Jaden Smith's best collaboration with his father, Will Smith, came in 'The Pursuit of Happyness'.
- 'After Earth' was a box office disappointment and critically panned, due to poor scriptwriting and underwhelming performances.
- While 'The Pursuit of Happyness' earned many accolades, 'After Earth' stands as one of the lowest points in both Will and Jaden's careers.
Oscar-winning actor Will Smith has acted with many actors in his career, and one of them has been his own son, Jaden Smith. Will and his son have featured in a couple of big scripts that depict the real-life father-son dynamics in a fictional world.
Will and Jaden have worked in both action-packed sci-fi adventure and emotional drama. However, it has not all been great for them. Where one movie clicked well and showed the strength of both actors and their onscreen chemistry, another was heavily criticized by both viewers and critics.
The Pursuit of Happyness Was a Triumph for the Father-Son Duo
The first time Jaden worked with Will Smith was in Men in Black 2, although he only featured for a few seconds. Their first proper, major collaboration was in The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006. The movie is an inspiring true story of a poor salesman, Chris Gardner, played by Will, who becomes homeless with his young son in his dream to do better in life.
Will perfectly captured the essence of his character and portrayed his raw emotions and struggles. Jaden was only 8 years old at the time and took on the role of son Christopher Jr. Their real-life relationship reflected well on screen, which made their characters feel more authentic.
Chris and Christopher lived on the street, and the film demonstrates how they relied on shelters for food and a place to sleep. Despite all the hardships, Chris continues to work to secure an internship at a big brokerage firm. This is the story of strength, hope, and a father-son relationship.
Will earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role. Jaden won the Teen Choice Award in the Breakout Male category and the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.
The audience loved the film, as they rated it 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, while critics rated it 67%. The film was also a box office hit. According to Box Office Mojo, it was made on a production budget of $55 million, and it earned over $307 million worldwide.
Jaden Smith was natural in his first performance. At such a young age, he managed to express various emotions that did not look forced. The father-son dynamic lifted the movie from a good movie to a great film, making it Jaden’s career-best movie so far.
After Earth Was a Sci-Fi Misfire
Will teamed up with his son again for the sci-fi movie After Earth in 2013. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film had all the requirements of a box office success. But sometimes, even the best ingredients can produce a flop.
After Earth is about a distant future where humans have left Earth. It shows the story of Cypher Raige, played by Will Smith, and his son Kitai, played by Jaden. After crash landing on Earth, Cypher is injured, and only Kitai can rescue them. The young hero has to go through dangerous lands and fight vicious creatures as his father guides him remotely.
However, the film did not succeed in having an impact on the audience as well as critics. Cypher’s stoic and emotionally distant portrayal did not receive the fans’ usual admiration for Will’s charm. The film mostly relied on Jaden Smith, but he could not show the necessary emotions that were demanded by his character.
Other errors included a poor script, uninspired direction, and underdeveloped world-building. What had been done so effectively with the father-son relationship in The Pursuit of Happyness felt forced and unrealistic here.
After Earth failed at the box office as well. As per The Hollywood Reporter, it debuted in North America with $27.5 million, which was below expectations. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie managed to gross around $243 million worldwide after a production budget of $130 million.
Joe Morgenstern from The Wall Street Journal started his review of After Earth by writing, “Is “After Earth” the worst movie ever made?” Although he said it was not as bad as all that, a similar tone prevailed in many reviews. Currently having a critic rating of 12% on Rotten Tomatoes, After Earth is one of the worst movies that Will and Jaden Smith have starred in.
The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth are available to stream on Netflix.
