ZebraspotsThe Day the Earth Stood Still and other disasters
April 7th 2010 03:33
2 stars
By a show of hands, how many of you have seen the original film? Not that many? Well, it is gold compared to this remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Klaatu travels from the far reaches of the universe as a representative of the civilizations of higher intelligence (this does not include humans). He attempts to warn a few inconsequential people before deciding the human race must be destroyed to save the Earth.
The movie begins in a method reminiscent of The Day After Tomorrow as some intimidating government officials track down brilliant scientists to stop the impending doom that is to kills hundreds of people. As if the producers noticed the similarity, they quickly beefed up every opening scene with dramatic close-ups and a chorus in the soundtrack to convey the importance of their film. It is enough to hold the audience's attention until realizing how overdone it is.
Keanu Reeves plays the lead role of Klaatu and it seems to suit him perfectly. The premise of his character is he is an alien becoming used to his new human body and, with it, human customs. Reeves seems to act much like an alien in all of his movies, with awkward movements and pausing dialog, and merely repeats his performance where it is truly needed. Jennifer Connelly plays Dr. Helen Bensen and is fantastic. She takes the horror of an alien invasion in stride while still acting the role of caring mother.
It is difficult to make a plot from the 1950s cooperate with the wants and needs of today's average theatre-going crowd. In the majority's opinion, it is not worth eight dollars unless something at least as big as a tractor trailer explodes. Given this assumption the writers were sure to make Gort (Klaatu's robot) much more destructive and twenty feet tall.
The movie also carries an environmental message. Every media outlet from children's movies (such as with Happy Feet - an adorable, yet forgettable movie) to James Patterson novels (the Maximum Ride series – an under appreciated collection) wants us to pay more attention to our effect on the world. Maybe we should just to make them hush? It's an excellent idea, but subliminal messages should be much more subtle and political commentaries should be executed with better special effects.
Oh, it is not all bad! It is a fun movie to make fun of. Pop the disc in the DVD player, grab some popcorn, and start laughing at the trigger-happy Americans and the continuity errors.
By a show of hands, how many of you have seen the original film? Not that many? Well, it is gold compared to this remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Klaatu travels from the far reaches of the universe as a representative of the civilizations of higher intelligence (this does not include humans). He attempts to warn a few inconsequential people before deciding the human race must be destroyed to save the Earth.
The movie begins in a method reminiscent of The Day After Tomorrow as some intimidating government officials track down brilliant scientists to stop the impending doom that is to kills hundreds of people. As if the producers noticed the similarity, they quickly beefed up every opening scene with dramatic close-ups and a chorus in the soundtrack to convey the importance of their film. It is enough to hold the audience's attention until realizing how overdone it is.
Keanu Reeves plays the lead role of Klaatu and it seems to suit him perfectly. The premise of his character is he is an alien becoming used to his new human body and, with it, human customs. Reeves seems to act much like an alien in all of his movies, with awkward movements and pausing dialog, and merely repeats his performance where it is truly needed. Jennifer Connelly plays Dr. Helen Bensen and is fantastic. She takes the horror of an alien invasion in stride while still acting the role of caring mother.
It is difficult to make a plot from the 1950s cooperate with the wants and needs of today's average theatre-going crowd. In the majority's opinion, it is not worth eight dollars unless something at least as big as a tractor trailer explodes. Given this assumption the writers were sure to make Gort (Klaatu's robot) much more destructive and twenty feet tall.
The movie also carries an environmental message. Every media outlet from children's movies (such as with Happy Feet - an adorable, yet forgettable movie) to James Patterson novels (the Maximum Ride series – an under appreciated collection) wants us to pay more attention to our effect on the world. Maybe we should just to make them hush? It's an excellent idea, but subliminal messages should be much more subtle and political commentaries should be executed with better special effects.
Oh, it is not all bad! It is a fun movie to make fun of. Pop the disc in the DVD player, grab some popcorn, and start laughing at the trigger-happy Americans and the continuity errors.
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