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THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, John Cleese, John Hamm and Jaden Christopher Smith

Directed by: Scott Derrickson

Rated PG-13 for some sci-fi disaster images and violence

By John Delia

I wanted The Day the Earth Stood Still to be good so much that I could taste it, but unfortunately it didn’t make the grade. I guess if you’re between the ages of 7 and 16 and a sci-fi nut however, then check it out. Even science fiction lovers should have a hard time liking the film that not only stumbles on the remake a classic, but also makes it an environmental issue. The only thing missing in the film is Al Gore. If you liked the remake of War of the Worlds, then this one should suck you in too.
The only redeemer here is that the film is packed with some great special visual effects that makes the simple storyline pop off the screen. This is a plus, especially if you can find the movie showing in the IMAX format.
In THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, a contemporary reinvention of the 1951 science fiction classic, renowned scientist Dr. Helen Benson (Connelly) finds herself face to face with an alien called Klaatu (Reeves), who travels across the universe to warn of an impending global crisis. When forces beyond Helen’s control, lead by the US Secretary of Defense (Bates) treat the extraterrestrial as a hostile and deny his request to address the world’s leaders, Benson and her estranged stepson Jacob (Smith) quickly discover the deadly ramifications of Klaatu’s claim that he is a friend to the Earth. Now Helen must find a way to convince the alien who was sent to destroy us that mankind is worth saving – but it may be too late as the process has begun.
 The only winners in this film are the special effects and CGI people who designed the huge globe that transports Klaatu to Earth, the robot Gort and hordes of nanobots. Mesmerizing, the sphere looks like it would shatter if touched, but not in the world of science fiction. The design of Gort, the giant robot, is very much like the one in the 50’s production, but instead of a man in a rubber suit, this computer generated entity looks more menacing and real. At one point in the film millions of nanobots (Think Michael Crichton’s novel Prey) are sent via Gort to destroy the earthlings. The bots resemble locusts and swarm over anything in its path raising them to the ground. Football stadiums are turned into dust, 16 wheelers are pulverized and buildings are shredded.
Most of the acting in the film suffers from lack of good dialogue, faulty direction, and type casting, even though it doesn’t take a super performance to bring a character to life in a science fiction movie. Connelly plays her scientist role very nonchalant and robotic. Looking more amazed than clever, her role as the connecting tool between the alien and the Earthlings seems to be no more than a tour guide. There are moments however where she shines especially during her interaction with Smith who plays her son Bobby. The two are at odds with helping Klaatu and Smith does a very admiral job with portraying a young man with an attitude opposite Connelly.
Performances that were not a good fit included Bates as Secretary of Defense. Kathy is doing Kathy here adding nothing but a familiar face rather than a forceful character that has to deal with a very disturbing situation. Her staunch roles as Delores Claiborne (in Delores Claiborne) and Annie Wilkes in Misery always seem to come to mind when I see her in a film and in The Day the Earth Stood Still, she remains no different.
The film is rated PG-13 and contains some sci-fi disaster images and violence so take this into consideration before allowing the very young to see the movie.

FINAL ANALYSIS: The Day the Earth Stood Still has a lot of problems and unless you need a dose of sci-fi CGI, you may want to avoid the film. (2 of 5 stars)