Firstly, a happy Christmas to all!
***
Last Sunday, we went to see the remake of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" at our local Odeon cinema. As we caught the 1:30pm screening, it was nigh on empty in the cinema, which I prefer as you don't get crowds of people making noise, and of course you have the pick of the seats! Cold in there though! I guess they don't turn the heating on until the evening. I was interested in seeing this remake as I have been a fan of the original 1951 version for many years: it's certainly one of the better sci-fi films of that period, alongside "Forbidden Planet" and "Earth vs the Flying Saucers". When we got home, we watched the original over dinner to do some comparisons.
I had read a few average/poor reviews of the film on-line, so I wasn't expecting much. Thankfully, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, even though it may have shortcomings in terms of its script and characterisations. The film roughly follows the plot of the original: an alien ambassador comes to earth to warn the human race about impending doom, due to man's destructive nature. In the original version, which was filmed at the height of the cold war, it was all about a potential third world war, but the new version takes on an environmental stance.
The film takes place in the New York/New Jersey area (it was Washington DC in the 1951 version) and after the alien spacecraft arrives in Central Park, various scientist types including Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) investigate in cool space suits. The spherical craft soon reveals a messenger, initially a very alien looking character, but who turns out to be human-like Klaatu (Keanu Reeves). The military attempts to deal with this in their usual gung-ho manner, even though Klaatu makes no aggressive move - he is shot by some trigger happy grunt. Soon GORT, his giant protective robot, appears and all hell breaks loose. Klaatu is taken into custody, he is operated on to remove the bullet, and the interrogation begins...
The film deals with what would happen if a superior intelligence decided that 'enough is enough', and took action against us and our self destructive ways. Its main focus is on Klaatu and the replationship between him and Benson, and her stepson. We get the US military trying to blow things up, which heralds some impressive CGI visuals, huge robot GORT destroying a wide swathe of the NE of the USA in a bizarre way, images of world-wide panic, and Keanu speaking a few sentences of Chinese! Oh, and John Cleese appears as a scientist in one scene. However, this version ends a little bleaker compared to the original. I won't give it away, but it I felt the ending was a really interesting and satisfying twist on the original. Special effects are very good throughout the film.
I suppose the main criticism of the new version would be its 'dumbed down' approach to how Klaatu deals with his important mission. As the American military won't let him see the UN, the aliens decide to rid the world of humans (oh, and rescue some plants and animals along the way). Well, fair enough I suppose. But when our alien visitor sees 'the other side' - the caring side - of humanity, specifically in the relationship between Benson and her stepson, he sort of changes his mind and things develop slightly differently. Maybe that element was a bit wishy-washy, as surely the aliens would know about all facets of humanity if we had been studied for years? You could argue that Michael Rennie, who played Klaatu in the 1951 version, had more emotion and depth in his performance, and the atmosphere in the film was handled better by a better director (Robert Wise). Anyway,
Keanu Reeves gives his usual 'limited' performance, but here he is fine as the cold alien messenger I felt, and he looked good in a suit. Jennifer Connelly is always good to watch, even though she seems to get thinner with each film, and thankfully her stepson in the film, played by Jaden Smith (Will Smith's son), isn't annoying. Overall, an entertaining film. I'll definitely buy it for my DVD collection next year so I have both versions on the shelf next to each other.
You can read Carla's thoughts on the film here.
I had read a few average/poor reviews of the film on-line, so I wasn't expecting much. Thankfully, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, even though it may have shortcomings in terms of its script and characterisations. The film roughly follows the plot of the original: an alien ambassador comes to earth to warn the human race about impending doom, due to man's destructive nature. In the original version, which was filmed at the height of the cold war, it was all about a potential third world war, but the new version takes on an environmental stance.
The film takes place in the New York/New Jersey area (it was Washington DC in the 1951 version) and after the alien spacecraft arrives in Central Park, various scientist types including Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) investigate in cool space suits. The spherical craft soon reveals a messenger, initially a very alien looking character, but who turns out to be human-like Klaatu (Keanu Reeves). The military attempts to deal with this in their usual gung-ho manner, even though Klaatu makes no aggressive move - he is shot by some trigger happy grunt. Soon GORT, his giant protective robot, appears and all hell breaks loose. Klaatu is taken into custody, he is operated on to remove the bullet, and the interrogation begins...
The film deals with what would happen if a superior intelligence decided that 'enough is enough', and took action against us and our self destructive ways. Its main focus is on Klaatu and the replationship between him and Benson, and her stepson. We get the US military trying to blow things up, which heralds some impressive CGI visuals, huge robot GORT destroying a wide swathe of the NE of the USA in a bizarre way, images of world-wide panic, and Keanu speaking a few sentences of Chinese! Oh, and John Cleese appears as a scientist in one scene. However, this version ends a little bleaker compared to the original. I won't give it away, but it I felt the ending was a really interesting and satisfying twist on the original. Special effects are very good throughout the film.
I suppose the main criticism of the new version would be its 'dumbed down' approach to how Klaatu deals with his important mission. As the American military won't let him see the UN, the aliens decide to rid the world of humans (oh, and rescue some plants and animals along the way). Well, fair enough I suppose. But when our alien visitor sees 'the other side' - the caring side - of humanity, specifically in the relationship between Benson and her stepson, he sort of changes his mind and things develop slightly differently. Maybe that element was a bit wishy-washy, as surely the aliens would know about all facets of humanity if we had been studied for years? You could argue that Michael Rennie, who played Klaatu in the 1951 version, had more emotion and depth in his performance, and the atmosphere in the film was handled better by a better director (Robert Wise). Anyway,
Keanu Reeves gives his usual 'limited' performance, but here he is fine as the cold alien messenger I felt, and he looked good in a suit. Jennifer Connelly is always good to watch, even though she seems to get thinner with each film, and thankfully her stepson in the film, played by Jaden Smith (Will Smith's son), isn't annoying. Overall, an entertaining film. I'll definitely buy it for my DVD collection next year so I have both versions on the shelf next to each other.You can read Carla's thoughts on the film here.
