If any director needs a critical hit, it's M. Night Shyamalan, who hasn't had a success with critics and viewers since 2002's Signs; since then, it's been films that have made mild profits, but neither shaken up the box office nor the hearts and minds of audiences and pundits alike. His latest film, After Earth, is an ambitious science fiction blockbuster starring Will Smith and his son Jayden, but that first trailer unfortunately didn't full me with much confidence that it's going to be any good, instead feeling more like a vapid, lazy Avatar-lite than anything unique or exciting. Given the director's not only poor, but down-right shambolic reputation as of late, we won't be getting our hopes up this time; the fact that Smith has also not been too hot as of late might sink the film even financially, though we must concede that Men In Black 3 still grossed over $600m, so perhaps the Smith factor might still save the director financially, if not critically. Again, it's a case of low expectations really being for the best.