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20th Century The Day the Earth Stood Still (Blu-ray)All of Washington, D.C., is thrown into a panic when an extraterrestrial spacecraft lands near the White House. Out steps Klaatu (Michael Rennie, in a role intended for Claude Rains), a handsome and soft-spoken interplanetary traveler, whose "bodyguard" is Gort (Lock Martin), a huge robot who spews forth laser-like death rays when danger threatens. After being wounded by an overzealous soldier, Klaatu announces that he has a message of the gravest importance for all humankind, which he will deliver only when all the leaders of all nations will agree to meet with him. World politics being what they are in 1951, Klaatu's demands are turned down and heis ordered to remain in the hospital, where his wounds are being tended. Klaatu escapes, taking refuge in a boarding house, where he poses as one "Mr. Carpenter" (one of the film's many parallels between Klaatu and Christ). There the benign alien gains the confidence of a lovely widow (Patricia Neal) and her son, Bobby (Billy Gray), neither of whom tumble to his other-worldly origins, and seeks out the gentleman whom Bobby regards as "the smartest man in the world" -- an Einstein-like scientist, Dr. Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe). The next day, at precisely 12 o'clock, Klaatu arranges for the world to"stand still" -- he shuts down all electrical power in the world, with the exception of essentials like hospitals and planes in flight.
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By Damian S. James
I hesitate in giving it 4 stars, but it really was remade perfectly. Keanu Reeves, while usually fine in this kind of sci-fi space, seemed muted in his performance, and that watered down the intent of the movie. It's the story line that came through for me. Completely addressing today's problems: us. I also like that who Klato really was would, "just frighten us", and that he had to be "born" here, in order to function on our planet. Little points like that made for realism. It's one of those movies that you'll want to own because you'll be wanting to watch over and over. Humanizing.
By D. Kenney (NH United States)
I have to concur with Mr. Asiner's review here, it's dead-on. As a fan of the original film, it's a natural tendency to compare a remake's integrity to the original story. This one comes up short with weak and implausible acting by most, and the screenplays "update" of Klaatu's mission based on Earth population's lack of stewardship of ecology has prompted an extra-terrestrial visit to eradicate the Earth of the carbon-based culprits under the guise of some inter-galactic "Do-over" for the Earth. When the remake was announced, I was surprised at Keanu Reeves as the choice for Klaatu. Never thought the taller half of the "Bill and Ted" adventures could pull this off, and I think that holds true. He was stiff, and absolutely no dimension to his character. Perhaps because Michael Rennie already had substantial acting credits to his name prior to making the original TDESS. This is what happens when a director is allowed to "interpret" something that was already a solid story in it's original form.
In 1989, I had the privilege of chatting with Robert Wise in an online forum sponsored by AOL. I took the opportunity to ask him if there was ever a plan to put together a sequel to the original TDESS. He told me that Ray Bradbury ("Martian Chronicles") had crafted a sequel to it, but it was not picked up by any of the studios. I now wonder what happened to Mr. Bradbury's screenplay sequel.
This one had the recipe for disaster that the "Lost in Space" big screen remake had. Another major "interpretive" failure. It's a shame when producers and directors take on these "remake" projects that they don't stick with what worked in the originals.
By Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle)
I am a sucker for sci-fi movies and, having loved the 1951 Robert Wise classic of the same name, starring Michael Rennie in the role of Klaatu, I was ready to see what Keanu Reeves would do in that same role of intergalactic messenger. The answer is: apparently nothing. It was just Keanu being Keanu.
Robert Wise did more in 1951 with what he had to work with than Scott Derrickson had in 2008, which goes to show you that special effects alone do not make a film. Although it gets off to a promising start and the special effects are excellent, after the first half hour of the film it is strictly downhill.
The storyline is simple. Klaatu, an extraterrestrial, comes to Earth with his assistant on a mission. It appears that Earthlings have been observed by a superior species and found wanting. In the original 1951 film, the mission was clear. Klaatu lets the earthlings know that they need to clean up their act or they will be destroyed. In the 2008 remake, Klaatu's message is that he has actually come to destroy Earthlings, because we have been found wanting.
Jennifer Connelly, in the role of Dr. Helen Bensen, a supposed top-notch scientist, gets all weepy with Klaatu, begging for another chance. Moreover, the constant interjection of the cute kid, played by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett's son, is really annoying and adds very little to this muddle of a film. It probably would have been a better film, if the whole subplot involving this child were removed, as it only weakened the film with all its sentimental claptrap.
Meanwhile, Klaatu is left to ponder that age old question: just what is an Alien to do when confronted by a beautiful Earthling whose beautiful eyes well up with tears every time the Alien mentions killing off all of humanity? By now, everyone watching this film knows the answer, but Klaatu's last minute epiphany just does not ring true.
This film is an example of science fiction overlaid with a lot of sentimental hogwash. It ends up being much ado about nothing. Still, sci-fi fans, such as myself, will probably want to see for themselves what all the fuss is about. So, rent it before thinking of buying it.
By B. Merritt (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States)
My all-time favorite film, regardless of genre, has always been The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Director Robert Wise -- RIP -- was one of the few directors of his time who could pull off such a controversial film. Wise wasn't known for pulling any punches, regardless of the climate we were in. Examples of his stellar work can be seen all over his resume: West Side Story, The Sound of Music, and The Andromeda Strain, just to drop the names of a few of his more highly acclaimed films. I own just about every one of his films, including all the versions of The Day The Earth Stood Still (from Betamax to Laserdisc and now the Blu-Ray DVD release). I usually watch it a couple times a year, just to remind myself of just how good a film it was. The lighting. The clarity of the spaceship. The incredible challenge the story presented in a time when the threat of nuclear war loomed large. This is what great film making is all about.
So when I heard they were remaking my favorite flick, I screamed and my eyes went red. Can't Hollywood leave well-enough alone?! How could they possibly improve or even come close to the original? How do you improve or capture perfection when it's already sitting there staring you in the face? I refused to see it in the theater. And when film critics began pelting it with subpar reviews, I can't say I was surprised.
What did surprise me, however, was that when I saw it sitting on my local video store rental shelf, I actually picked it up and brought it home ...where it promptly sat for several days, staring at me, daring me to slide it into my DVD player. Fine. I did it.
What surprised me now was that I actually semi-enjoyed it. Not because it comes close to my beloved 1951 classic (it in no way does); but because it doesn't try to mirror the original completely and gives it a more modern spin, this time shifting from nuclear annihilation to environmental disaster.
Keanu Reeves (A Scanner Darkly) as Klaatu was probably not the worst choice for the role since he can play the flat affect pretty well. But his "dude" voice still came through to me on occasion and it grated. Jennifer Connelly (Blood Diamond) as Helen was another mediocre choice, not really engaging nor too put off-ish. Jaden Smith as Jacob would definitely not have been my first choice. He seemed over-the-top in his line delivery and I just couldn't picture him as the naive kid (Billy Gray did a much more believable job in the original 1951 film). Although I really liked Jaden in The Pursuit of Happyness (along with his father, Will Smith), I don't think he's quite ready to play such a role as this. He might get there someday, though.
The special effects were pretty darned nice, though, and it was a major boon for the production that Weta Digital Effects was involved. Nice visuals. The tough -- and now organic -- robot Gort was impressive and completely CGI'd. The menace that he portrays was equally good in comparison to the original, too.
So now the big question I ask myself is, "Should I have seen it on the big screen?" Hmm. Pondering that question now, I still have to say, "No." The original is the original is the original, in my book. It'll never be replaced, nor should it be. Trying to redo it doesn't diminish what the 1951 film was, but it's a shame that the higher ups at 20th Century Fox thought they could remake it and do anything remotely close to justice of the original. It just can't be done. But, as a stand alone film, this remake isn't too horrible. I've definitely seen much worse.
By P. R. McCoy (Bothell, WA USA)
I loved the original and enjoyed this remake. I was particularly glad that the producers chose to portray Klaatu more in congruent with anything that we would have called polite sensibility, which was way over done in the original. Instead, I felt Klaatu's encounter with humans was more in keeping with what an encounter with a new sentient species might be like. Gort is awesome. He rocks. And it is so cool to see him adapt and change through the film to become part of the "final solution." I'd also like to add that I enjoyed seeing John Cleese perform as a Nobel Peace Prize winning scientist. This film leaves you with questions and a chance to dialogue about what you think really happened at the end. I like that a lot. This film delivers a very satisfying movie watching experience. Rent it. Maybe buy it.
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