Dvd
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The 1951 original that earned cult status lands itself a slick modern remake. In that instance, an alien, Klaatu, and his robot counterpart, Gort, travelled to earth to warn us of the dangers of nuclear weapons in the cold war age, but the message has been updated for the twenty first century, now aimed at our destruction of the environment.
Super wooden Keanu Reeves stars as Klaatu, a "friendly" being from a distant intergalactic location. Governments and scientists race to unravel the mystery behind his appearance, and his claims to know of an impending attack on Earth. Astro-biologist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her son (Jaden Smith) get caught up in Naatu's mission.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, Kathy Bates, John Cleese, Jon Hamm
Directed by Scott Derrickson ('The Exorcism of Emily Rose')
Written by David Scarpa
Science Fiction, Re-make | 1hr 44mins | Rated (M) | contains medium level violence | Origin: USA | NZ Distributor: 20th Century Fox | Official Site »
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The Talk
3 votes / No comments
Flicks review
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2
It ain't the 50s no more, thank God, so here's your shiny new remake of the apocalyptic sci-fi cult classic just in time for Christmas. Keanu Reeves is Klaatu, a mysterious being from a far off intergalactic location who may know something about those strange orbs that are popping up all over the face of the earth. If he does, it'll be Jennifer Connelly as astro-biologist Helen Benson who gets to the bottom of any potential alien invasions.
So the stage is set for an epic effects laden battle for supremacy. That is until the story swerves away from its conventional action set up and instead turns into a moralising diatribe about the need to change our behaviour and respect mother earth. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself as the message is definitely a valid one. However, making the trailer, marketing material and first half of the film look like false advertising to bludgeon the audience with social commentary seems iffy at best. You're left hankering for blockbuster spectacles that never arrive.
On the plus side, distant, emotionless Klaatu is the role Keanu Reeves with his wooden acting style was born to play. Back handed compliments ahoy! Jaden Smith on the other hand is the most grating child actor doing the rounds and makes you hope the anti-smacking bill is overturned.
Green crusaders like Jeanette Fitzsimmons, Al Gore et al will no doubt love the message of the movie. Conversely, the average movie fan may not be as happy with the fact that it cuts into the precious escapist entertainment time they were promised.
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The people's reviews
9 reviews
Press Reviews
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Chicago Sun-Times [Roger Ebert]
All this is presented in an expensive, good-looking film that is well-made by Scott Derrickson, but to no avail.
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Dominion Post [Graeme Tuckett]
1
It's rubbish.
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Empire [UK]
3
A remake that does not disgrace the original, this is sufficiently different to stand alone and just as relevant in its concerns – as well as succeeding (arguably better) as a thriller. And after this performance, are we sure that Keanu Reeves is really human?
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Los Angeles Times
This contemporary remake of the science-fiction classic knew what it was doing when it cast Keanu Reeves, the movies' greatest stone face since Buster Keaton.
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Salon.com [USA]
A jumble of spare parts and leftover dialogue, as if it had been assembled out of unused bits of every movie where an unknown whatzit threatens our way of life and the government goes into full institutional pants-crapping panic mode.
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Surprise! The remake is not a heresy. It's a decent enough stab at being what the old movie was to its time, following the same basic plot, full of respectful references to its model, updated with a gallery of fairly imaginative special effects.
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TV3 [Kate Rodger]
1
Steer well clear and rent the original instead.
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Variety [USA]
This botched remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" seriously dishonors the seriously fine 1951 sci-fi landmark on which it's based.
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