Summary
M. Night Shyamalanhas two critically panned movies that he won’t defend. The director started his career with a string of massive hits, including his breakthroughThe Sixth Sense, which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and followed up withUnbreakable,Signs, andThe Village. However, the next phase of his career was plagued with poorly received films, includingLady in the Water,The Happening,The Last Airbender,andAfter Earth.
In a recent profile byThe Atlantic,Shyamalan revealed his two critically panned films that he won’t defend –The Last AirbenderandAfter Earth. These films were from what he calls the “hired gun” phase of his career, i.e., working on other people’s ideas instead of his own. “I’m so bad at that,” Shyamalan says. “I’m so bad at it, and I felt so empty.”
Why M. Night Shyamalan Won’t Defend The Last Airbender & After Earth
They Weren’t His Original Ideas
Early in his career,Shyamalan made a name for himself by writing and directing original material, such asThe Sixth Sense,Unbreakable, andSigns. Even though his next three films –The Village,Lady in the Water, andThe Happening– were panned by critics, they were still Shyamalan’s original ideas and the final product represented his artistic vision. However, coinciding with thefailure ofLady in the Waterin the late 2000s, studios started focusing increasingly on building franchises and leveraging well-known intellectual properties.
In an effort to remain relevant,Shyamalan directedThe Last AirbenderandAfter Earth, both of which weren’t based on his original ideas. The former was a live-action adaptation of an animated Nickelodeon series and is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made. The latter was loosely based on an original story by Will Smith with a script co-written by Gary Whitta, and was panned by critics for its abundance of poor CGI and ploddingly paced plot. Since they weren’t based on his original ideas,The Last AirbenderandAfter Earthalso lackedShyamalan’s signature plot twists.
M. Night Shyamalan’s Films Ranked From Absolute Worst To Best
Our ranking of M. Night Shyamalan’s best and worst films includes everything from his first debut drama to his most recent thriller, Old.
FollowingAfter Earth,Shyamalan stepped away from the studio system, taking out a loan against his own home to finance his found-footage filmThe Visit, which was a welcome return to form for the filmmaker. His critical and commercial resurgence continued withSplit, a surprise sequel toUnbreakable, and completed the trilogy withGlass, followed byOldandKnock at the Cabin.Trapis his next movieand, with a promising premise conceived by Shyamalan himself, it should emphatically continue his recent resurgence powered by his own original ideas.
