THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL!
Lets start with a little bit of the history, shall we? The original Day was the brainchild of film producer Julian Blaustein; who sat out to make a movie that would emphasize and illustrate the general feelings of fear of in the Cold War Era in the United States. In looking for a relevant subject matter, Blaustein read through a plethora of science fiction based short stories, looking for a story to adapt into his film. After reading over 100 different stories, Blaustein settled on "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates, and contacted screenwriter Edmund H. North to produce a script based on the story. Green-lit by 20th Century Fox, the film was under way with director Robert Wise at the helm. Wise has previously directed Blood on the Moon and The Cure of the Cat People and would go on to direct such classics as: Run Silent, Run Deep, Helen of Troy, West Side Story, The Haunting, and The Sound of Music. See? Sci-Fi directors CAN make good movies! Who knew?
Fast-forward 57 years to present day and here we are again, the premier of 20th Century Fox's The Day the Earth Stood Still. Oh yes ladies and gents, the movie is back and it's bigger and better than ever, well, it's bigger for sure. Updated for the audience of the modern day film viewer, the casual kind I mean, this remake has everything the would-be sci-fi lover needs. You know.. explosions, lots of military, space creatures, and Keanu Reeves! Fuck yeah man.. what else is there? In saying that this modern retelling of one of film's most prolific days was a letdown, I'm being very kind to the people at 20th Century Fox...but, on to the review!
Our adventure opens with a lone man in the midst of a dramatic snow storm, set many years before present time. As the man emerges from his warm, cove-like tent, the man begins sifting through the heavy falling snow. He moves forward slowly, climbing the mountain on which he has settled, he is Keanu Reeves. With a beard clinging to his face like John McCain to life, Reeves makes his way up the stoney, snow covered ridges before coming across a wicked glowing object. He moves forward, cautiously, as one would be when approaching a strange glowing object. Contact is made, strange things happen, the movie really begins...
It's all down hill from there.
The overall plot of 2008's The Day the Earth Stood Still is essentially exactly the same as the 1951 classic. In a bold move in modern movie remakes, the plot of the modern film is similar to that of the successful original film! OMG! For those of you out there who have seen the wonderful film that was created in 1951, I need not explain this to you, but for everyone else.. let me continue my breakdown of the film.
After the quick opening with Keanu Reeves' character, we are pushed into modern day and introduced to our protagonist for the film, Helen Benson, a famed astrobiologist and school teacher played by the wonderful Jennifer Connelly. Contacted by the government to aid in a potentially cataclysmic event, Helen is thrust into a plane with a variety of other scientists and experts. From here we see Helen integrated into the world of the panicked military world. An unidentified object is speeding towards Earth, destined to collide with Manhattan in minutes and vaporize the metropolis, putting a dent in the world at the same time. As we all know, however, this torpedo from the heavens isn't a bomb or meteor, it is in fact, a vessel. The UFO slows in its descent and lands peacefully in Central Park where it is confronted by who else? The United States military.
The worried humans surround the giant object, a grand glowing sphere of matter and energy (I guess a flying disc was too cliche?). Out from the light emerges a figure, a strangely human figure. Of course the humans react with fear.. and shoot the fucking thing. Of course! This helps to underline the overall message of the film.. not that it isn't repeated every 2 minutes from there on out. Anyhow.. the creature is rushed to the military hospital to be treated for the wounds. It is here that we learn of the human body living beneath the extraterrestrial skin of the creature. Skipping over a few meaningly happenings, this human body turns out to be none other than Keanu Reeves, who reveals himself to be Klaatu! Ah yes.. now the protagonists are complete.
While in holding Klaatu is interviewed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Kathy Bates. Yep.. the bitch who smashed that dude's foot all to hell in Misery is the Secretary of Defense. Awesome. Klaatu is interrogated and drugged, tested and examined by all of the military itelligence officers and scientists who just want to know the unkown. Helen, being a humanitarian aids Klaatu in his escape so that he may try to save the planet Earth, and now we're in the movie. The rest of the film focuses on the balance of the military trying to learn everything they can about Klaatu and the gianormous G.O.R.T., as well as re-capture the fugitive Klaatu, who is constantly accompanied by Helen and her step-son Jacob (Jaden Smith).
One would think.. that a movie like this would be pretty good. Well.. you would if you hadn't been constantly burned and jaded by modern Hollywood's uncanny ability to butcher and fuck-up every wonderful intellectual property there is to adapt. I for one, was hopeful for the success of the film. I was very, very disappointed.
The problem with The Day the Earth Stood Still.. is just a lack of quality. Yes, the movie looks nice, the special effects are wonderful (but not top notch mind you..), the budget was likely more money than I'll ever encounter in a hundred lifetimes. It features wonderful actors (and actresses!), who, in their other films have turned in inspiring performances that will lead the next generation of mindless fucking prima donnas to millions of dollars worth of paparazzi fodder. You would think that when your movie's outline is a successful movie in itself, it would be hard to fuck things up. Take a good movie, with good actors, and a big budget, and what do you get? This crap.. apparently.
I think.. the primary problem with the entire film, is that it was just poorly written. Flat dialogue, random changes in tone and feeling, and just the poorest ending to a would-be epic sci-fi film I've ever seen. The Day the Earth Stood Still, in all of its efforts to maintain a serious and dramatic tone all throughout the film. With chase scenes, people on the run, tense experiments and attacks from G.O.R.T., the film still tries to interject scenes of unnceccesary sentimentiality between Helen and Jacob. Now, I don't have a problem with sub-plots and issues in a film. As we all know, they craft a better movie overall sometimes. The problem in this film, is execution. If the film-makers had opted to devote a certain part of the film to the emotional interaction and uniting of Helen and Jacob after a series of small scenes to build up the tension between them, that would have been effective. Instead we get random interjections of mother-son drama in the midst of the attempted epic tension that is Klaatu on the run from the military. Add this onto occasional cheesy dialogue and ridiculous overall happenings, and you have a recipe for disaster.
I would like to point out the one shining light in the film, his name is Keanu Reeves. It is my theory that Hollywood is trying their hardest to kill Keanu Reeve' career. Ever since his lead role in the Matrix films where he played a stone faced god-like figure, Hollywood has typecast him into the roles of the most lacking personalities in movie history. However, no matter how hard they try, Keanu manages to at least provide a little bit of flare to these lifeless figures. Now, I don't think Reeves is the best actor in the world, but credit has to be given for pulling off his modern roles like no-one else can. After The Matrix, Reeves has been written as a similar character in Constantine (a dramatic departure from the comic book counterpart), A Scanner Darkly, and Street Kings. It seems that either Hollywood doesn't know how to write roles that emphasize his better abilities without looking lifeless, or if they just cast him in the worst writing jobs to make it look intentional. Regardless of the cause, Keanu Reeves plays Klaatu perfectly. In a mix between Neo and the Terminator, Reeves' lifeless performance manages to stand out in a world of horrid excuses for life.
That's not to say that the other actors were horrible, most of it was the fault of the script. Kathy Bates was mediocre, Jaden Smith was good for a kid (I guess), and Connelly plays her role well, even if it was a poorly characterized generic woman role. The best feature however, was the wonderful appearance of John Cleese in a non-comedic role. Cleese's appearance and interaction with Klaatu is the highlight of the film.. outside of the explosions that is.
The final point I'd like to touch on in this review.. is the overall moral message of the film. A lot like the original film, the modern version of Day touches on the violent demeanor of society and the destruction of our world by our own hands. Unlike the original movie however, the message is so blatantly displayed all throughout the movie, its hard to walk away not feeling scolded by the film. I've never experienced film that so directly scorns the world and the audience, firing a less than subtle shot at the world every 5 minutes or so. It felt like the movie wrote the moral on a hammer and continuosly smacked me in the fucking face all through the movie. The only problem with the moral.. is that its the same thing we all hear on the nightly news and from the mouths of politicians each and every night. Lame.
Overall, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a poor remake and an even poorer replacement for the classic. If I were you.. just go cop yourself the 50's version and enjoy the pure lifestyles and hilarious vocabulary. It's still a far superior film.
Overall Rating : D
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P.S.
Look.. a special extra review.
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
It fucking rules.Overall Rating : A
