In this updated version of the 1951 classic sci-fi thriller, Keanu Reeves stars as an alien named Klaatu who's sent to Earth to warn the leaders of the world about the consequences of their dangerous ways. Joined by a heavily armed robot companion, Klaatu informs the people of Earth that the constant aggression carried out against one another has raised the ire of an alien species, which is now threatening to exterminate all of mankind.
| 1 hr 43 mins |
Nominated for 2 awards. See all awards »
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Except for the style of the robot this movie was completely different than the original and therefore should have had a different title.
It's 1928 and there's a sphere in the snow. There's a snow-angel too, but only the sphere can be authentically linked to the heavens.
Back to the present day, where we see Jennifer Connelly lecturing to her class. Jennifer is a brilliant scientist because her statuesque good looks doom her to a life of bookish pursuits.
The government swoops in to gather her up along with a batch of other scientists. Because the only time you see a scientist in a movie is because the world is about to end. The same holds true when you see Madonna in a movie, but that's another story.
A bright light descends over Manhattan, marking the first time "Keanu Reeves" is featured in the same sentence as the word "bright." [ show more ]
If the Earth really stood still it would burn up, but if that's what it takes to deliver us from another Keanu performance, I say bring on the blaze.
An injured alien looks amazingly like Keanu, to which I can only say "whoa!" Keanu is Klaatu, an alien in human form named after one of the members of ABBA.
"This body will take some getting used to," says Keanu about his human body.
Now he knows how we feel.
It doesn't surprise me that another planet sent Keanu to Earth any more than it fails to surprise me that they won't take him back.
Will Smith's son Jaden is the cute and cuddly juvenile character you'll remember from the original Day the Earth Stood Still directed by the great Robert Wise. What? You don't remember the cute and cuddly juvenile character in that version of the story? Well that has to be because the makers of this version improved on it, don't you think?
"Having a cute and cuddly sidekick worked for Bambi," said director Hacky McHack. "So it can certainly work for Keaunu Reeves who has in common with a 2D cartoon character the same emotional depth."
Jaden is this movie's version of puppies on a live webcam.
Cut to the giant robot, GORT, who looks like he spends a lot of time in the CGI robot gym. "GORT" evidently stands for "Genetically Organized Robotic Technology," meaning he can dissolve into a massive swarm of civilization-devouring CGI insects, as if this movie doesn't devour enough civilization on its own.
"Why have you come to our planet?" Kathy Bates asks Keanu.
"To over-extend a notable turn in Point Break to a twenty year career despite all good evidence to the contrary," replies Keanu.
"I came to save the Earth," Keanu adds, after which the Earth burst into simultaneous and raucous laughter and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen attempted to inject Keanu directly into the world's financial system.
Dangerous spheres lurk over every city!
"Send in the drones!" commands Kathy Bates.
"Present and accounted for!" said Keanu.
What are these spheres for? Never mind - we don't understand them. Let's kill them!
Keanu wants to be taken to our leader, so Jennifer takes him to John Cleese.
"No, not your leader of Monty Python, your world leader!"
"You lack the will to change!" says a typically emotionless Keanu. "Especially the will to change this script!"
Will the the people of the Earth be saved or extinguished?
"What aspect of humanity is worth saving?" he asks.
"Surely the one that makes Dancing with the Stars one of America's favorite TV shows," says Jennifer.
The original Day the Earth Stood Still is a classic. This version is a classic mess.
Now I know why they call them "disaster movies." [ show less ]
Let's be blunt: this is definitely not a good movie; it's not horrid either, it's just somewhere between average and bad. There are quite a few problems. First, with the script, which tries to incorporate all elements of the 1951 movie into a new, updated whole. The end result lacks cohesion and plays more like a sequence of 5 to 10 minutes scenes badly sewn together, the prime objective of each scene being either to introduce an element taken from the original movie or, on the contrary, an idea absent form the1951 original, instead of simply advancing the story. Second, the direction: poor, poor, poor. Third, some of the worst acting I have seen in a mainstream movie for a long time; I found the leads, especially Keanu, quite good but the other actors are decent at best, with Katie Bates delivering a frighteningly catastrophic 'performance'. I was not shocked (positively or negatively) by all the other aspects of the film. [ show more ]
Coming out of the theater, I found myself pondering about this remake and the 1951 original. I find the Robert Wise movie quite good, but not the masterpiece some claim it to be. I was therefore ready to accept a remake and the few new ideas offered by the 2008 movie made me painfully aware that a remake could indeed have been interesting, had it been put in better hands or, if I dare say so, in much better hands. So, to me, it's another sadly missed opportunity. [ show less ]
