The Day the Earth Stood Still Poster

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

Drama | Thriller 
Rayting:   5.5/10 164K votes
Country: USA | Canada
Language: English | Mandarin
Release date: 11 December 2008

A remake of the 1951 classic science fiction film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth.

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bluess-1 12 December 2008

Probably the biggest letdown of my sci-fi viewing life. Even worse than the 3rd "Alien" movie. So many bad points that I can't remember them all. I'll touch on the lowlights.

First, as the unidentified object approached earth, everyone seemed dumb on the reason for the change in direction. Duh uh, like wouldn't a spacecraft immediately come to mind as a possibility?? Then the excitement and anticipation of a visible ship was taken away by clouds and fog and a vague vessel.

As stated elsewhere, the initial contact in the park was ended with Klatu getting shot for an offered handshake (no mysterious equipment popping open). And several times in the movie, there were vehicles, equipment and/or people more evenly spaced out (in large areas) than a marching band.

Rather than go over a scene by scene critique, the following complaints come to mind. 1)bad writing; all actors had trite and often repetitive lines. 2)The Secretary of State was scary, illogical, and didn't seem to be in much contact with the bosses(the President and VP). 3)Poor or no acting by the "Stars" and the kid. 4) choppy flow, frequently too slow or unclear. Weak continuity, scenes seemed to be just stuck together. 5) Gort was pathetic. Like the recent "Hulks", unconvincing CG and too big to realistically show it in contact with humans. (should have gotten Shaq for the part).... 6) No actor to actor chemistry ever formed. 7) The final scenes completely missed out on the dramas of the "standing still" time and the alien departure. What message did he leave us with?

Since I'm a poor typist and can't immediately recall all of my issues with the film, I'll end my comments by saying that I have no problem with changing a remake so that it is more up to date and offers some different twists to add interest. However, this film completely missed the mark of maintaining the strengths that the original script had, namely convincing acting with consistent story and character build-up leading to a dramatic final scene with a clear message to all of the world.

They could and should have done far far better.

moutonbear25 13 December 2008

Fmovies: I don't know about the earth standing still but I certainly had a hard time moving after this one finished. I think I may have been in shock. I didn't know they still made movies as bad as this. That's me, I guess; the eternal optimist, thinking one day Hollywood will see the error of their ways. I'm starting to think there's a greater chance of aliens landing in Manhattan though. You don't take a highly regarded classic like THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and update it for no reason other than to make a few bucks. Sure, you can pretend there is purpose; you can cash in on the current environmental crisis fears by insinuating that aliens have come to earth to save the planet from the horrifically unappreciative human race. When you make a film with such disregard for quality though, you can't do anything to convince me that you actually care about what you're trying to say.

I will give Hollywood this though; they have finally found the perfect vehicle for the now- veteran Hollywood actor, Keanu Reeves. Reeves plays Klaatu, an alien in human form who has no capacity of expressing human emotion or understanding the intricacies of human nature and interaction. It might as well say that at the top of Reeves's resume so this is Reeves in his element. Honestly though, this is the first time I can say that Reeves's presence in a film has absolutely nothing to do with why it is unwatchable. You know you have a problem when dialogue is so bad that it even drags Reeves's acting down. In fact, having the familiar Reeves on board for this uneventful journey, alongside the strikingly beautiful, Jennifer Connelly, at least gives us something pretty to distract us from the banality of the entire affair. Klaatu certainly rocks that three-piece suit though.

The earth is supposed to stand still on this particular day because aliens have descended upon Central Park in a giant weather sphere of sorts. It is a momentous occasion, one that could be the sign of the end of days. Yet, in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, panic hardly seems to be in the air. Panic comes from a fear of the unknown and an inability to see a solution to your problems but David Scarpa's script is so painstakingly obvious and formulaic that you can see right through to the end at all times. I hope I'm not giving anything away here but as if this film would finish with humanity's extinction. And when the devices used to create the melodrama are so laughably contrived (who knew that a white step mom and a black step son could have such hard times getting along?), at least you have the special effects to revel in. Mind you, when the special effects are even more ridiculous than the ensuing melodrama in a big sci-fi pic like this, what is there to keep you sitting still, let along standing?

You'll never believe this but humanity, or at least the American government run portion of humanity, take immediate military action against the alien invaders before giving them the chance to make their case. This next bit is even more shocking. Apparently, violence is not the answer to solving our problems. I swear, I learned so many hard life lessons watching this movie. Perhaps the most important lesson though is that humanity will never learn. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL represents the same disposable and commercial interests that are the root of our environmental problems. Yet, here is it preaching against the very values that justify its existence. For that reason alone, I would consider this film to be one of

FabD1 10 December 2008

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.

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.

ccthemovieman-1 24 April 2009

The Day the Earth Stood Still fmovies. Can one little kid ruin a movie?

Yup.

Think I'm exaggerating? Watch this film. You can see Exhibit A of it right here in this science-fiction "classic" film, a re-make of the 1950s hit movie of the same title. This re-make actually would have only "bad" without inserting this annoying kid, but he made it "horrendous." Jaden Smith as "Jacob Benson" is a spoiled, chip-on-his-shoulder, disrespectful kid who incessantly talks back to his mother, who puts up with it - which is equally annoying for most audiences.

What was the purpose of inserting this kid in the film? What were the writers thinking? I'm glad to see a number of reviewers here agree with me on this one. I guess if you're the son of a famous actor (Will Smith), they'll insert you in film roles, even if there is no purpose to it. And Hollywood wonders why people don't go to the movies much any more, and they sneer at pitiful re-makes?

Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves was a good choice for his starring role: an emotionless robot-like alien. Reeves is such a wooden-sounding actor to begin with that playing a bland robot is good casting for him. "Klaatu" is tailor-made for him.

Comedy was provided via the ludicrous environmental fear-mongering message in here. I laughed out loud in several spots when "Klaatu" explained to us the reason for his mission. It's so stupid, it's laughable. I was reminded of Ed Wood's horrible sci-fi stories in the 1950s.

I will say some of the special-effects and the surround sound in here is excellent. It was the highlight of the movie. These are good visuals and good audio, and a nice film to view on Blu-Ray. Unfortunately, the story got in the way.

Otoboke 10 December 2008

The epic science fiction blockbuster is slowly but surely becoming a dying form of cinematic entertainment. Not since the days of cold war paranoia and the initial splurge of CGI technology back in the nineties has the genre seen much love either from its core enthusiasts or those looking for something big but different. Yet there are numerous obvious reasons for its decline in demand, most of which are unavoidably apparent in this, the latest and arguably first of its kind for over a year now, The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Based upon a movie from the genre's heyday, director Scott Derrickson's version lacks the same sense of awe, conviction and relevancy to our current social climate. Bombarded with underdeveloped themes, an incoherent plot and extremely rough characterisation, the movie suffers not just from a lack of significance in its arrival, but also in its implementation. Most disappointing of all however is that in spite of the many technical flaws present, the biggest let down is that the movie simply doesn't convince; the effects are impressive and the story can be gripping through its thick layer of foreboding atmosphere from time to time, but an overall lack of substance hurts the film's ability to truly draw you in and take off. It's a routinely enjoyable experience sure enough, but an over reliance on this safe-play structure stops the feature from excelling beyond mere light entertainment.

Telling a first contact story that involves rather heavy handed themes of a doomsday like prophecy, like most good science fiction movies big to small, The Day the Earth Stood Still retains a sense of wonder and mystique to its tale, particularly early on. During these initial moments of exposition which come to an eventual climax of contact with an alien presence visiting Earth for unknown reasons, the movie achieves its only real piece of coherent and engaging drama; the way in which it unfolds is magnificent and capitalises on the movie's big effects budget in ways that feel impressive and yet substantially eerie at the same time- there are moments when this big shot sci-fi movie actually feels like a genuine product of imagination and heart.

Disappointingly however, this does not last very long. From here on in the feature slowly but surely declines in both mystique and interest, culminating in a third act which is about as convincing as it is exciting; which believe it or not, isn't much at all. It's around this point that things take a drastic turn from intelligent and insightful science-fiction to big dumb blockbuster action movie; the themes that are brought up during the movie's initial stages are belittled to a deux ex machina that never quite seems justified, and the climax –if you can call it that- feels stunted and perfunctory for the sake of giving a clean feeling of catharsis. It's perhaps the biggest reason why most major productions based on sci-fi scripts never seem to work; the balancing act between catering to the mass public and those wanting intelligent drama is a hard one to pull off, and nobody here seems quite sure how to do such a thing.

If there is one thing that I can praise the movie for, outside of its opening act that is, it would simply be within its excellent aesthetic design. From the dynamic score penned by Tyler Bates to the often endlessly interesting photography of David Tattersall, The Day the Earth Stood Still gets most of its outer shell right, even if everything that lies underneath is a less than inspiring mess. On

toby007 12 December 2008

Why do these movies feel they need to include a bratty, spoiled, overbearing kid?? The ridiculous performance of Jaden Smith added annoyance to the empty script.

The movie starts off well enough, and then tries miserably to develop the characters and make us care for them. The Bates role is absurd; Cleese's role has virtually nothing to say this amazing encounter. The military point of view is typical; as if there's only one area where the military is useful (I would expect nothing less from "Hollywood").

There were some very interesting ideas (the sphere-like ship, the nanobots, the Gort acronym) and the effects were top notch, however Gort (the one thing the movie had going for it) was on screen for less then 10 minutes.

Keanu was perfectly cast and Connelly does a good job with what's given to her. All in all, another flop of a remake. This actually makes the War of the Worlds remake shine.

I saw this movie in IMAX - if you're going to see it, find an IMAX theater. Lastly, am I the only sick of seeing the same old New York back drop? I love New York City, but come on! Be original!

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