J: Heavy Sigh! Once again, after eagerly awaiting a movie, I have to confess a bit of disappointment with “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. While my issues with this remake of not only one of my favorite sci-fi movies but also one of the first of that genre I remember seeing as a kid are small, they are significant.This movie is about 15 minutes short of being brilliant. I have no problem with the necessary change of plot focus in this version. The original version was made during a time when most “flying saucer” movies were thinly disguised treatises about the paranoia surrounding creeping Communism and fear of the atom bomb. Since that’s somewhat passé I agree a different focus was necessary and the one chosen was ultimately the right one. More about that in a minute because it is at the crux of my biggest issue with the movie.
Keanu Reeves is the perfect Klaatu. He has the textbook deadpan delivery for someone tasked with Klaatu’s mission, as well as being alien to both his human body and the emotions that come with it. This ability has usually been the critics’ target for his past performances, however, in just the same way a director would want Dustin Hoffman or Al Pacino to chew through his scenery, Keanu’s gift for understatement serves most of his characters extremely well.
Naturally, this movie just begged for the kind of outstanding special effects and computer enhancement the original missed; no surprise there. And may I say Gort was awesome! Totally high-tech and very scary. In fact, one particular scene has the robot clearly staring at its protagonist – without the benefit of an obvious eye. You know how creepy it is to be in a room with a picture whose eyes seem to follow you? Same effect! And leave it to the military, in its usual Evil Empire-esque supporting role, to turn the robot’s name into an acronym. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much interaction between Gort and Klaatu, which created a kind of disconnect because Gort was there to do Klaatu’s bidding. This movie definitely needed more Gort!
Another nice touch was the introduction of a character ostensibly from Klaatu’s planet who had already been on Earth for some time and had become somewhat attached to us pathetic Earth creatures. This interaction was a step in the direction that I wanted to see the movie take. However, it was only a baby step.
Jennifer Connelly as Helen Benson was compelling enough in the part but the real standout in this pairing was Jaden Smith, of the Will and Jada lineage. He added a nice dimension as Helen Benson’s son with a great twist on the original family dynamic. Kathy Bates, as the President’s stand-in (he was in a “secure location” – does Cheney know this Pres was in his secret digs?), was not given much to work with in her scenes but did a good job with what she had.
All things taken into account, I wasn’t terribly disappointed and certainly don’t feel cheated out of a couple hours time. That said, here is my big issue and why I say this movie was 15 minutes too short. The plot of this movie is based on the fact that humans have failed in their stewardship of the planet; certainly the right tone to take. However, Klaatu only shared that fact with Helen Benson and Dr. Barnhardt (a very restrained John Cleese). In order to properly bring this film to a close, Klaatu needed to share that message with the entire planet, as he did just prior to departure in the original. Without that definitive punctuation mark, the entire point of the movie fell flat. I certainly wasn’t looking for a lecture here or anyone on their soapbox but if you’re an alien who has travelled through that much space and time to make a point, you need to make it to more than two people.
Oh yeah, one more thing and one that really cheesed me off. No, please don’t regurgitate as many catch phrases as possible when doing a remake but, for Heaven’s Sake, if there is an iconic statement such as “Klaatu Verrada Nicto” in an original movie then you damn well better put it in the remake! At least Keanu Reeves didn’t have to say “Whoa” in this flick – bet he enjoyed that.
K: I mostly agree with my PIC's review above. However, I think I was slightly more disappointed than she was. I still enjoyed the movie, but the plot seemed to lack some cohesion. If Klaatu gave his big speech at the end (as he did in the original) I would have felt that the movie was complete. I think this is the 15 minutes to which my PIC was referring. Short of doing that, they maybe could have put in more Gort doing kickass Gort things. Gort totally rocked! Gort! Gort! Gort! Overall, it's a decent movie worth watching if you're a sci-fi fan. If you're not a sci-fi fan this might be too risky for you.
