Review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) by Barbara B — 19 Jun 2011
In an adaptation of a 1951 black and white movie, the alien Klaatu (Reeves) arrives on Earth along with his bodyguard robot, Gort, to deliver a warning of planetary destruction if the people of the world fail to stop laying waste to the environment.
Keanu Reeves plays the alien, Klaatu, and throughout the entire film, he cannot do much other than look bored and act woodenly. One of my gripes with Klaatu is that his powers are not explained at any point in the film, so when he uses his powers to move a car or do something with electricity, it just feels like a plot convenience.
The film just doesn't seem like it wants to go anywhere, so doesn't go anywhere. We just get the threat of earths destruction, that nanobot cloud and a predictable ending. But, with Jaden Smith having so many annoying brat moments, you wouldn't mind earths destruction if it meant not seeing this character again.
The films plot makes me think of this as just one huge environmental film, possibly even more than An Inconvenient Truth. And it doesn't help how much the film has to rely on using CGI, it just feels like a substitution for an actual plot.
We do get some good acting from Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connely and (surprise surprise) Kathy Bates, however. But thats as much good points as I will give this film.
TDTESS fails to go anywhere with it's weak plot and wooden lead, leaving nothing more than an overuse of CGI which does nothing to prove that remakes can be good after all.
This review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) was written by Barbara B on 19 Jun 2011.
The Day the Earth Stood Still has generally received mixed reviews.
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