The Day the Earth Stood Still

OPENING: 12/12/2008

STUDIO: Fox

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
“The screen has never conceived a creature like this!” –Original 1951 tagline

Opening Statement
Just a few hours before seeing the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, I was discussing the film with a co-worker. He told me his reaction to the idea was, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That’s the way I feel about many remakes these days. If we’re going to have them, why not remake something that could be substantially improved in some way? Alas, filmmakers generally opt to try and recreate classic films that are by no means in need of a makeover. There’s really no getting around the fact that Take 2 of The Day the Earth Stood Still seems just a bit pointless. How will those who have seen the original — and perhaps more importantly, those who haven’t seen the original — respond to the film? That’s hard to say, but I doubt even those unfamiliar with this story are going to be particularly awestruck by this latest incarnation.

Facts of the Case
Something from outer space is hurtling towards New York at a remarkable speed. At first, the U.S. government suspects a meteor. Such a thing would undoubtedly cause massive death and destruction, and the military seems incapable of stopping it. It turns out the unidentified flying object is actually a spacecraft of some sort. A living form emerges from the craft. It can be safely assumed this is an alien from another planet. The alien is accompanied by what appears to be a giant metal robot with the ability to shoot down and destroy any form of weaponry, automatically responding to any form of violence. Government officials are beginning to panic. They don’t know what this alien wants or why he has come to earth.

Numerous scientists are called in to consider the situation. One of these is Helen (Jennifer Connelly), a renowned astrobiologist. Like everyone else, Helen is quite astounded by the situation, and has no idea what to think about these developments. After a peculiar “rebirth” process, the alien — whose name is Klaatu — assumes human form. Klaatu looks just like Keanu Reeves, which is a nice compromise for an alien trying to look like a human. Klaatu informs government officials that he is here to save the Earth, but he won’t offer any details until he is permitted to speak to a gathering of world leaders. The government officials don’t like this demand and quickly takes a hostile attitude. Before you can say, “stupid ignorant humans,” Klaatu is on the run, with Helen and her young son (Jaden Smith) providing assistance and companionship. What is Klaatu up to, and can the Earth be saved?

The Evidence
This version simultaneously does too much and too little. In terms of the former, it throws us plenty of unnecessary special effects that seem to exist only to demonstrate this is a big-budget motion picture. Surely, someone could have thought of a more creative way to spend that money. As for the latter complaint, the film frequently threatens terrible and ominous things. But when the time of crisis actually arrives, it wimps out and provides a hokey, unconvincing ending.

This time, the focus is not on nuclear warfare, but rather global warming. At least, I think it’s about global warming. The film isn’t actually courageous enough to ever use the phrase or anything too specific. Instead, it just tosses out vague generalities about the fact that we human beings are all mistreating the planet. The aliens say the Earth is one of the few planets capable of sustaining complex life, and that it must be preserved at any cost. There are numerous ways this could be achieved. The aliens are very powerful, and they could force humans to start being more responsible. Or they could just wait for humanity to wipe itself out and the Earth to restore itself naturally. Alas, such ideas are ignored. The aliens instead choose to wipe out humanity so that everything else on Earth can survive. That’s where Helen comes in. It’s up to her to try and convince Klaatu to change his mind — to prove to him that human beings are capable of change. I would have been fine with an optimistically hopeful ending or a cynically horrifying one, but the vague special effects show that ends this tale is a limp cop-out. It has the unfortunate effect of making the whole experience feel like a waste of time.

That’s a shame, because this take on The Day the Earth Stood Still is by no means artless rubbish. The film was directed by Scott Derrickson, a talented fellow who gave us the underrated The Exorcism of Emily Rose. This time, he does a fine job pacing and staging convincing human responses to the situation. We also get some solid performances from Kathy Bates, John Cleese, Jon Hamm, and Jennifer Connelly. Reeves fares the best, partially because his awkward acting style seems perfectly appropriate for this character. These elements make the film engaging enough to sit through, even if the script leaves the viewer with a sour aftertaste.

Closing Statement
The Day the Earth Stood Still did not need to be remade, and you don’t need to see it. If you choose to, you will not hate yourself for doing so, but neither will you receive the thought-provoking experience this cautionary tale should have provided.

The Verdict
5/10