When Will Smith burst onto the scene with his lead role in the hit Television show “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” he was catapulted to the upper ranks of the most wanted actors list. Will Smith became a household name and was not only one of the most recognizable African American actors but one of the most recognizable actors, period. Movie studios quickly realized the money-making star power potential that Smith had, and he landed roles in a variety of substantial blockbuster films, such as Independence Day and Men in Black. He flourished in the solidly crafted “Enemy of the State” and continued to rack up the box office stubs with the sequels “Bad Boys 2” and “Men in Black 2.” Box office success wasn’t enough for Smith, though, as he had a desire to show off his true acting range. He followed his box office successes with exceptional lead roles in “Ali” and “Pursuit of Happyness,” receiving Best Actor nominations for each role. He followed up “Pursuit of Happyness” with the extremely popular “I am Legend,” which, despite the ending, stands as one of my favorite Will Smith films. As the ending of “I am Legend” came crashing down, however, it appears that so too did Smith’s acting career.
I’ll be frank about this: since “I am Legend,” Will Smith has yet to star in a quality film or role that is equal to that of his reputation. He has turned into an actor whose name carries more weight than his actual cinematic presence. Movies ranging from “Hancock,” “After Earth,” and “Focus” were all poor to average efforts (“After Earth” may be one of the worst films ever), especially when considering the level of popularity that Smith used to have around the time “I, Robot” was made. With the recent release of the critically slated film “Suicide Squad,” I am starting to wonder if Will Smith will ever return to be a relevant actor or simply fall victim to the abyss that has consumed the likes of Nicholas Cage, Shia LaBeouf, and Toby McGuire. Since “I am Legend,” Smith has starred in lackluster film after lackluster film and I’m concerned that he may not be able to return back to the pedestal that he once held.
Some of you will make the argument that last year’s release “Concussion” was a good film with a strong performance from Smith. I will agree that his performance was decent in that film, despite spending the entire time sporting a ridiculously annoying and trivial accent, but overall, the film was a melodramatic waste of a potentially engaging and timely story. It wasn’t a quality or memorable film by any standards. The lack of acting nomination for his performance was fair (despite all those who cried racism at the Oscar selection committee), and while it had been his best performance in years, it still paled in comparison to the rest of the quality acting performances from 2015. So many actors have surpassed him as desirable casting options for films, whether for serious roles or blockbusters. Despite the criminally low amount of opportunities gifted to African Americans in cinema, other black, male actors have made a name for themselves and supplanted Smith; the rise of Michael B. Jordan, Idris Elba, and Chiwetel Ejiofor along with the continued dominance of Samuel L. Jackson and Denzel Washington have forced Will Smith down the popularity pecking order.
Sadly, putting “starring Will Smith” on a movie poster just doesn’t carry the same weight that it used to anymore. There are a plethora of other actors that could be brought in that would generate more box-office tickets or give a more compelling performance than Smith would. I no longer get excited when I find out that Will Smith is in a film, and his presence doesn’t encourage me to see a film I wouldn’t normally bother with, unlike that of Elba, Jordan, or Washington. It was Will Smith’s presence that drove me to go see “I am Legend,” but now, I might consider passing on a film if his name were amongst the acting credits. I was hoping that “Suicide Squad” was going to be the quality film to turn his career back around, but it appears that Smith has continued to stay in this realm of cinematic stagnation, and for his sake and the sake of his fans, I hope he manages to progress forward soon before he becomes utterly irrelevant.
