Review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) by Jesse M — 14 Aug 2013

Is this remake worthy of the 1951 original classic? That's a mixbag answer of yes and no. On one hand it is a technically skillful effort displaying talents at the top of their game. Even the cast are in it with strong performance. The visual fx are well handled and convincing. Overall it doesn't insult the integrity of the source material. It does fall prey to the typical popcorn tradition of blowing stuff up real good and having some famous places get demolished. I suppose it is obligatory.... and it does look real good.

On the other hand though the script doesn't take the source material to new heights either. They changed the moral focus from nuclear war to the environment, but the moral agenda is all righteous postering and preaching all at face value. They don't really do much digging to get a deeper understanding of both parties human and alien. The environment issue is not black & white, but the script treats it as such. The movie basically has a strong opinion, but with no brains behind it.

Bottom line is that we have a technically well made film with fine performances that gave the film the heart that its script could not provide on its own. It is overall an entertaining film with action and fx aplenty. Just don't expect a well thought out story with a deep moral message from it's weak script.