Saw 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'

[BoogityBoy]

Only thing more annoying than Reaves as an alien was that annoying offspring of Will Smith. Good God, he's worse than Dakota Fanning.

 

[Joe Fan]

Algore liked it.

 

[FAST FRED]

Here's what I posted:



Saw "The Day the Earth Stood Still" because I really was very impressed as a kid (age 8) by the original movie bearing the same title.

I've seen it several times since then and I've always thought its mood, message and melodrama held up well.

I wanted to see how this new flick compared.

The Link


Go if you must, I know I had a need to see it myself.

And I found good parts to enjoy, but mostly I was disappointed.

Some spoilers about what spoiled it for me follow.

















There is entertainment to be had, but I'll rate it as being on a cinematic level of excellence about even with "The Day After Tomorrow" or that last Godzilla movie with Matthew Broderick.

The first cinematic effort that was entitled "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951), along with the original film versions of "The War of the Worlds" (1953), "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956 ) and other films such as "Forbidden Planet" (also 1956), "Them!" and "This Island Earth" (both from 1954), are often listed in Sci Fi's Top Movies of All Time.

I agree with that ranking.

Occasionally a sci fi movie remake is OK or serviceable, but the only one I can think of that was better for me in every way the second time around was John Carpenter's improved redo of "The Thing from Another World" (1951), which was entitled simply "The Thing" (1982) starring Kurt Russell and Wilford Brimley and featuring a significantly improved story and much better special effects.

The latest "King Kong" with Jack Black and Naomi Watts was great cinema and I enjoyed it, but some of it left me feeling that Walt Disney had been subcontracted by Peter Jackson to "cartoonize" large portions of a classic horror/adventure story.

The remake of "The Fly" with Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis was very good, but the Vincent Price original had its strong points.

Let's try to forget Nicholas Cage ever redid "The Wicker Man."

If new versions of old movies of whatever genre could be counted on to be better or at least as good as the originals, so young and old viewers could see today's actors and the very latest in special effects updating and enhancing recycled cinematic offerings, that would be cool and worthwhile.

But most remakes aren't that good and probably don't even encourage today's viewers to go back and check out the original versions.

I'm not saying that the 1951 original of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" would be great entertainment for first time viewers today.

It's in black and white with only a smattering of good special effects, far less excitement than this new movie version has and a screenplay that's partially as hokey as a 1950s sit com like "Leave It To Beaver."

But the best early sci fi movies spoke to the times in which they were made, when UFO sightings, aliens maybe already being among us and possibly yet unknown effects of atomic radiation were much on our minds.

This new version of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" doesn't even make the Earth standing still a big deal, it just happens in passing.

You hardly notice it.

It does have decent special effects, the same universal moral emergency the original film had and competent acting.

The scene where John Cleese's character, a scientist, and Klaatu find common ground by balancing a complicated equation on a blackboard is redone well.

I only wish there had been an comedy out take after the credits rolled, wherein that blackboard scene in this movie with Keanu Reeves and the Monty Python man evolved into a discussion about the airspeed of an unladen swallow.

The Link

Keanu Reeves is well cast as the enigmatic, stoic alien Klaatu, while Gort, his robotic protector, is much more spectacular with more to do this time.

I think Keanu was born to play enigmatic, by way of dead silence and lack of facial expression, quite well.

This role didn't require active acting chops like Heath Ledger needed to play The Joker.

Now that he's dead, Ledger could be better qualified to cover the limited range of feelings that Reeves emotes naturally.

The storyline is changed and I believe confusingly so.

The first version was straightforward about the cosmic dilemma, the reasons and the choices.

Even as a very young viewer, I could understand every nuance of why earthlings needed to be taught a lesson.

In this one, there are plot elements and sequencings of plot twists that I found as every bit as confusing as Kathy Bates being cast as the Secretary of Defense.

I'm sorry, but I was unconvinced she could even serve as office secretary to the Secretary of Defense.

For 57 years I've remembered exactly what Klaatu clearly emphasized must be said to Gort in order to keep that omnipotent robot from destroying the world:

"Klaatu barado nikto."

WTF, these movie remakers decided to never have Klaatu mention that or even have anyone ever say it???

In fact, IMHO, they barely used enough of the original movie to call it a remake and use the same title.

But that movie making choice wouldn't have bothered me at all, if the new plot stuff which replaced the old had been better.

I never actually thought I'd have a reason to usefully employ that fail safe phrase until now.

And wouldn't you know it, now it's probably too late, because the damage has been done.

But, patient reader of this lengthy review, since it might serve in helping you to decide if this particular flick is really worth your seeing it, here goes:

"KEANU (and all the other people who remade this movie this way) BARADA NIKTO!!!!"