Today's Mini-Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (remake)

Rating: **/*****, or 4/10

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jadem Smith

Directed by Scott Derrickson

USA: 20^th Century-Fox, 2008

The thing about remakes is they need to retell a story of old (or at least apply its general concepts) while giving it meaning that reflects contemporary society, instead of carbon-copying the meaning of their original counterpart to little avail in a changed world. In that regard, the remake of the Sci-Fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) is spot-on, replacing a warning against the dangers of nuclear weapons for an ecological message against man's carelessness where the health of the world's environment, and thus his own, is concerned. In most other respects, this new The Day the Earth Stood Still feels like a redundant exercise in how not to redo a well remembered movie.

Like its predecessor from the Fifties, the film revolves around an extraterrestrial visitor, with a giant robot in tow, who is met with hostility and fear on our planet. Darker and grittier than the original, there is good cause to treat the stranger (an aptly emotionless (as always) Keanu Reeves) with aggressive caution, as he's not here delivering an ultimatum telling us to change our ways for the better, but has instead come to eradicate the human infestation from the face of the galaxy in an attempt to save all other life forms spawned by Mother Earth. Life, he says, is rare in the vast limitless of space and therefore a precious thing, but life endangering all other life must be swiftly dealt with: the ends clearly justify the means. Arriving in a sphere (as opposed to a saucer, like before) the alien called Klaatu has come not as a Christ figure like in the original film, but as an Anti-Christ, hellbent on unleashing his own weapon of mass destruction upon our not so innocent world. Said weapon proves to be his artificial companion Gort, who appears to be a metallic giant in humanoid shape, but actually consists of huge numbers of nanites capable of devouring everything they come into contact with. Thankfully humanity has its on secret weapons to combat Klaatu's convictions, namely a smart and strong female scientist (played by Jennifer Connelly) who manages to dissuade the alien from his destructive plans, backed up by the effective reasoning of an aged professor (John Cleese) who morally convinces him humanity must be allowed to make its own choices in the natural process of its evolution. Even though Klaatu's frozen heart is thawed and his role is turned around a full 180 degrees so Keanu can once again play the Messiah (e.g., The Matrix trilogy and Constantine), his original point is amply illustrated as the military tampers with his devices in a botched attempt to destroy them, only unleashing their horrors as nanites swarm the land and the FX department is given the opportunity to go all-out so as to obscure the fact this version of The Day the Earth Stood Still hardly proves as emotionally compelling as its forebear did.

Aside from an update in themes and special effects, this remake offers little improvement over its predecessor. Religious overtones are obviously still to be found: aside from Klaatu's messianistic role, there is the notion of 'space arks' for example, small spheres evacuating all animal species off-world before being engulfed by a sea of nanites. The movie walks a fine line between being too obvious and too subtle, but the representation of religion is the least of its problems. This new The Day the Earth Stood Still has a hard time convincing the spectator that an alien intelligence can so easily be persuaded to alter its agenda, which from the start felt so ruthlessly unalterable thanks to Reeves' emotionless portrayal. What's worse, his turnaround is accomplished through interaction with the scientist and her kid, a terribly obnoxious and ungrateful little brat (Jaden Smith, ofcourse), the latter more often given the audience the impression Klaatu was right from the start and humanity really is a plague better wiped out for the universe's sake, than making it easy for us to accept the otherworldly being is starting to appreciate contact with mankind and suddenly considers humans worth saving after all. The talents of both Connelly and Cleese remain underused in favor of this irritating child character, while it's they who deliver the truly valid arguments as to why humanity is just not so black and white as Klaatu feared. Meanwhile, being a big winter release, the current The Day the Earth Stood Still all too eagerly uses the tools at its disposal thank to the wonders of digital technology by adding many a bombastic scene of computer generated imagery fighting soldiers, reducing the film to the level of the average type of big FX driven action flick, instead of ending up as a smart and sensible science fiction drama like the far superior 1951 incarnation. Nowhere does this film feature either the intellectual impact or the trend setting production design the original was blessed with. Instead, its eco-message is delivered in a bland and forgetful new groove, the impression the film leaves as tiny as the nanites it showcases.

A retooling of the original film where the phrase 'nuclear weapons' would simply have been substituted with 'global pollution' would probably have made for a more agreeable and certainly cheaper way to update that film for today's public, as the 2008 version of The Day the Earth Stood Still adequately illustrates that changing the message to fit the times while throwing huge sums of money at the project to give it that slick blockbuster feel coupled with ignoring the character aspects that ought to make us care doesn't make for a good film, let alone for an effective means to convince the audience of the value of the themes addressed.

And Happy Birthday, Sis!!