It says something about a movie when you come out of the cinema and realise Keanu Reeves was the best thing in it.
Making Keanu play a cold, emotionless, stagnant alien iin The Day The Earth Stood Still is almost typecasting but the role perfectly suits eanu?s unique brand of timbre.
However, unfortunately, the film around him is a mess.
Reeves plays Klaatu – an alien who has a zero tolerance attitude to global warming, so he comes to our planet to give us all a good ol? slap on the wrists. What he didn't count on, however (as the advertising tells us) is that this time we're going to fight back.
It’s only human nature, of course. The first sign of life from another planet comes to visit us and reaches his hands out in a welcoming gesture, what else can we do?
We stomp that fool out and pop a cap in his ass. The reaction to the alien and the whole opening 20 minutes is alarmingly underwritten, with the army first picking up scientist/alien humanitarian Helen (Jennifer Connelly) who, for around five of the opening 10 minutes, doesn't looked particularly shocked that the whole US Army have come to pick her up at her front door without an explanation.
Helen is immediately drawn to the ET and establishes an understanding that nobody else shares. The whole film then mixes between Helen driving Klaatu around on his guided tour of Earth, making various stops to help usher in the global apocalypse, while the government is all like ?let's blow this fucker up?, and when that doesn't work they literally turn around confused and ask anybody else if they have any better ideas.
In the form of drama we have Helen dealing with the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Jnr, the step-son she's left with after her husband passes away. Little Smith wisetalks and generally whines his way through the movie, showing that he has zero tolerance for anything remotely approaching decent characterisation and instead just copies his dad Will in Independence Day by just punching aliens in between smart-arse responses.
The film rolls around on clich?s with as much dignity as it treats the original film. We are treated to broken families and gun-toting Americans led by Kathy Bates – looking like a cross between Amy Winehouse after a night out and Kermit the Frog – whose destructive attitude does the world no favours. The only real shining star, though, is John Cleese in an all-too-brief role as an intellectual type (because he listens to classical music and has a chalk board) who has a terrific scene with Klaatu.
Of course, though, this is the time of year when the supposedly more thought-provoking blockbusters are released and, like last year’s I Am Legend, the script finds it hard to balance action with drama.
But with ropey CG effects, like the well-designed new style GORT, the film feels sloppy and unfinished in places. Of course, as humans, the climatic scene of destruction was pleasing to our eyes as much as it would be to the drooling Neanderthals lurking within the average cinema audience.
Overall, a disappointed remake that alienates the viewer by a) not being faithful to the original and defying logic and originality for some people and b) not being action-orientated enough for everyone else.
The moral message in the end works well enough but underwhelms and gets oddly confused with a pro-war subtext.
Nevertheless, a good acting choice for Keanu – any film that makes him stand out as an actor can really only be a good thing for him.
[story by David Scarborough]
rahullara says
cool every one should watch this movie
gmcgath says
It’s amazing how every reviewer has danced around the “message” of the movie.
Klaatu comes to Earth on a mission of genocide. He is going to wipe out the human race “for the good of the planet,” much as in Vietnam it was necessary to destroy villages in order to save them. Every time there’s a chance someone might be able to stop him, he pulls a new superpower out of nowhere.
The message is that we shouldn’t fight back against a mass murderer, and if we do, that just shows how paranoid and deserving of extinction we are; but if we act suitably apologetic, maybe he’ll change his mind and permit us to live. It’s a wish-fulfillment movie for eco-terrorists. It’s hard to think of another major movie with so evil a message.
mr bloggy says
GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT
Leyton Jay says
I thought the original 1951 movie was actually much more entertaining despite being tame by today’s standards.
A good classic sci-fi. I did enjoy this remake however, which Keanu Reeves insists is a reimagining.