The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The Day the Earth Stood Still started out as an interesting remake of the 1951 Sci-Fi classic, but then it became a preachy PSA for environmentalism. The heavy-handed message overshadowed most of the good qualities of this film. At least Keanu Reeves' wooden style of acting lent itself well to his role.

I am just a sucker for sci-fi's, especially with Keanu Reeves! Sad that Klaato had to leave though...

I'll begin by saying that I haven't watched the original movie from 1951. Therefore no comparisons will be made one way or the other.This is a movie that I wanted to like more than I actually did. I feel that the story has potential. The idea of an alien coming to earth, as far as I can figure, being the first alien encounter for mankind is intriguing. The acting and the special effects are good, and I like Keanu Reeves from before so it was fun to see another movie with him.But there were some things that just didn't agree with me very well. I think the major problem, for me, was that there were too many questions left unanswered. Or perhaps it was just me missing the point? But either way I had a hard time fully understanding the alien protagonist and his intentions. Not to mention the motives behind those intentions. That he somehow had the authority to do as he saw fit didn't make much sense to me. Who was he and his race to decide over a planet that isn't theirs? I would have wanted a deeper meaning here. I would have wanted more of a backstory to the alien and what he was up to. And as to the people's reaction, or most of the people anyway... well, that made me almost ashamed to be human. The only character that I can say I liked was Helen Benson played by Jennifer Conelly.

This remakes in 1928 in India's Karakorum Mountains where a mountaineer discovers a strange sphere; he collapses and when he awakens he appears to be well but a tissue sample has been taken from his hand. Cutting to the present day astrobiologist Dr Helen Benson is taken from her home to a government facility where she, and other scientists, are told that an object has been detected and it is expected to impact in Manhattan. When it arrives it lands rather than impacts. It is a sphere and a being exits. As Helen nears the being one of the soldiers surrounding the site fires and injures it. Moments later a giant robot emerges and neutralises the threat. The alien being orders it to stop. It is then taken to a facility where the bullet is removed; here it becomes apparent that what people are seeing is the being's biological space suit; as it comes off we see the being; it looks human. After a short while he looks like the mountaineer. The being says he intends to address the United Nations but the US authorities instead plan to drug him before interrogation; Helen helps him escape and shortly afterwards they are reunited. The being tells her that his name is Klaatu and he is here to save the Earth… not humanity; he is here to save the planet from humanity. Helen is determined to persuade him that humanity can change; he isn't so sure about that and it might be too late anyway.It has been a few years since I saw the original version of this film so I can't compare them in detail… perhaps a good thing. Judged on its own this is a decent enough sci-fi film. The story is interesting and I liked the idea of an alien saving the Earth from humanity. I know some people aren't impressed by Keanu Reeves' performance as Klaatu but I rather liked his somewhat otherworldly depiction of the alien being. Jennifer Connelly gives a solid performance as Helen Benson and Kathy Bates is good as the US Secretary of Defence; the closest the film has to an antagonist although her motives aren't malicious. Jaden Smith is OK as Helen's young stepson although his character is annoying most of the time and to my mind detrimental to the film. The special effects were impressive; I particularly liked the metal bugs that ate New York! Overall I wouldn't call this a must see film but it is entertaining enough if you are a fan of the genre.