Review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) by Rich L — 08 May 2011

Start with the positives. I loved the special effects when the metallic bugs ate the lorry and the sports stadium and the roads etc etc. Guess that's just me liking big rampant destruction! I liked the bit when all the animals were attracted to the spheres. I liked the bit when Klaatu spoke with his fellow alien in McD's. I thought that Dr Barnhardt was one of John Cleese's less disasterous movie roles. And Keanu Reeves could probably stand there and dribble and I'd like it, lol.

What did I not like? Pretty much everything else actually. I found the dialogue to be trite at times (most of the time) and the basic premise was so cringeworthy and the ending so predictable I really could have stopped halfway through. Mother asks son to be saved before herself and alien sees compassion, come on give me a break! Plus at the end I think the human race is doomed to a fate much worse than death, almost all of the human race would implode with no electricity oil, clocks, cars, TV or anything. So much for saving the human race. Visually pleasing with some good ideas but really rather corny with a "fashionable" environmental edge.