Keanu Reeves Movie:

		List Price: $39.99		Label: 20th Century Fox Salesrank: 4708 Released: April 7, 2009
		Our Price: $12.49
		Used Price: $8.59
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:

Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 7-APR-2009
Media Type: Blu-Ray

Description of The Day the Earth Stood Still (3-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray]:
Impressive special effects are the key selling point for this big-budget remake of Robert Wise's classic 1951 science fiction parable about an alien visitor who delivers a chilling ultimatum to the leaders of the world. Keanu Reeves, who seemed ideal at first blush but ultimately turns into another case of miscasting, steps in for Michael Rennie as intergalactic watchdog Klaatu, who with his robot Gort (now super-sized), promises global destruction unless the powers that be unless drastic measures are undertaken regarding the Earth's environmental issues (or so one assumes). Jennifer Connelly is largely wasted in the Patricia Neal role of scientist/single mom assigned to study Klaatu, who offers a somewhat chilly father figure to her son (a grating Jaden Smith). Connelly isn't the only fine actor in the cast left standing idle while director Scott Derrickson's effects team constructs eye-popping scenes of wholesale mayhem; Mad Men's Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates, John Cleese and Rob Knepper are all adrift in the aimless script by David Scarpa, which never even fully explains why Klaatu is so bent on blowing us to smithereens. That lack of focus, as well as the B-movie quality of the dialogue (say what you will about the effects in the Wise version, but the film was polished from top to bottom), all help to cement what science fiction fans have been muttering about the film since its inception; the original film needed no high-tech updating --Paul Gaita

Stills from The Day the Earth Stood Still (Click for larger image)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (3-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Idiotic remake of a classic, classy, and intelligent film.
2009-12-20 - This is an idiotic remake of a classic, classy, and intelligent film.

The heart of the original movie is the lovely relationship between Klaatu and the boy Bobby. The kid is curious, intelligent, scrappy, and hugely likable. That he alone makes friends with Klaatu is engaging and unexpected. In the remake, the kid is HORRIBLE. I loathed the character.

It is also great fun in the original that for most of the film no one knows the true identity of the suave, mysterious Mr. Carpenter. Importantly though, we the viewers do, and this draws us in.

In the original it is great fun, too, when the whole world is alerted to the arrival of a UFO. A UFO! In broad daylight! Wow! In the new version the UFO arrives almost without warning. At night. But the government thinks it is an asteroid. So, what do they do? They send all their top scientists right to the expected crash site! WHERE THEY WOULD ALL BE INSTANTLY VAPORIZED UPON IMPACT!

Why, too, did they scrap the eerie, mesmerizing original theme music?

In the original, Klaatu is greeted in the hospital by the President's secretary, a dapper, highly civil man. Their conversations have a subtle, elegant wit that I enjoy every time. The remake has a shrill, overbearing stereotype played by Kathy Bates.

Of course, the endless litany of stupid stupid stupid decisions are all overshadowed by one. In the original the name of the movie was stunningly expressed when Klaatu makes the earth stand still. With no one dying. Mesmerizing. Brilliant. Fabulous. Scary. In the remake we get devouring insect-like creatures.

And, what, no Klaatu barada nikto? What? What?

The original was science fiction at its best. The new version is simply a disaster movie. A bad disaster movie.


I really can't say enough how much I disliked this movie...
2009-12-18 - Hate is a more appropriate emotion. When I saw the trailer for this I thought it looked like it was going to be good so I decided to watch the original. That one blew me away so I was even more geeked for the remake. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement of biblical proportions. Thank God I didn't see it in the theater.

I began watching this at home and my first impression was how bad the special effects looked. I've played video games with more photo-realistic graphics than were in this movie. The special effects in this remake are actually somewhat of a step DOWN from the original in the 1950's. I can accept special effects being poorly done as long as the rest of the aspects are good (e.g. I am Legend).

Now, I'm watching cringing every time they show Gort because he literally looks like he was painted on my screen by a child and his size is in constant flux. In one scene he will be 10ft tall and in the next he is the size of Megatron in Transformers and then he will be back to 10ft again. Utterly ridiculous.

Round about 30 minutes in I fell asleep. I woke up with about 30 minutes or so left in the movie to witness the absolute butchering of the end of the film. Now I didn't want to make a snap judgement based on the roughly half of the movie I saw. I was tired and had been a bit "overserved" when I put it in and decided to give it another chance the next day after a good nights rest. Needless to say on the next viewing I fell asleep again and realized it was out of sheer boredom and when I woke up this time I didn't bother to watch the ending again.

Bottom line is this movie is unwatchable. Watch the original instead it is a classic that is superior to this remake in every conceivable way.

Pros:
+ a very effective sedative

Cons:
-script
-acting
-"special" effects
-pacing
-beginning
-middle (I assume, I always slept through it)
-end


One Line Review
2009-12-18 - If John Cleese is the smartest man in the world why would we want to save it?

The Day I soiled Myself
2009-12-16 - Keanu Reeves is so horrid an actor that I become angry when I see him. Who allows him to coninue to make films? He can continue to act long after his death as no one would be able to tell the difference.

The Day Creativity Stood Still
2009-12-16 - Really this film deserves negative stars. Some day in the future when plastic is scarce this DVD will become valuable. It's difficult for me to imagine how intelligent people could have spent so much money on such an awful film.