The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) Review

The ‘50’s Sci-fi Classic Gets a Modern Makeover

Dec 17, 2008

Starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connolley, The Day the Earth Stood Still needn't have bothered standing up at all. Directed by Scott Derrickson.

Several reviewers here at Suite 101 have already covered this, but good money was paid to see it, so dang it there’s going to be another one (might as well get something out of watching this film).

Let’s assume that we all know the plot of the original on which this is based. For the most part, the 2008 version follows a similar path, as an interstellar craft comes to Earth, bearing a messenger named Klaatu (played here by Keanu Reeves).

When Klaatu is ‘accidentally’ shot, he is rushed to hospital, later to escape custody into the human population. This applies to both versions. Representing humanity is Helen Benson (currently Jennifer Connelly), her son Jacob (Jaden Smith), and Professor Barnhardt (John Cleese).

The film also, of course, stars Klaatu’s famous companion Gort – previously portrayed as a mechanical being so advanced that his metallic shell looked and moved like foam, whereas he is now a 20-ft tall CG rendition.

Director Scott Derrickson & Scriptwriter David Scarpa

Now let’s cut to the chase: this version simply doesn’t fly. In fact, it’s far from worth the ever-increasing admission fee to the big screen, because it’s not even enough of a spectacle to dazzle. The special effects are impressive, of course, but The Day the Earth Stood Still was always a more sophisticated sci-fi movie, bringing with it a heavy moral question and sense of cosmic perspective.

Putting that aside for a moment, director Scott Derrickson (also of The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and Hellraiser: Inferno) fails to make an impact with a formulaic approach that not only falls short of the original, but makes parts of Independence Day seem inspired (this is the only praise a Roland Emmerich film will ever receive from this quarter).

This film deserved better and to make matters worse, Derrickson is apparently going to helm a forthcoming adaptation of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Say it ain’t so.

Still, the single greatest proponent of this film’s failure is not it’s director, but it’s scriptwriter, David Scarpa.

As expected, similarities in the two films are offset by certain contemporizations in Scarpa’s script. There are some well-conceived, modernized ideas – with Gort as a nano-technological hive being one of them, suitably alien spacecraft, and the nature of Klaatu’s ‘powers’, which allow him to interact and seize control of various states of related matter (in other words, all of them).

While conceptually decent, however, the execution of the script is poor at best.

The Day the Earth Stood Still - Cast

It’s hard to criticize actors when they’re failed by the director and writer. Keanu Reeves is an easy target, but he brings it on himself. Even in a role that requires limited human expression, you’ll be left convinced that there could and should have been more to Klaatu.

Conversely, Jennifer Connelley is all human expression without room for any kind of personality, though she holds up her end of the bargain. It’s very much the same with John Cleese, whose part is not nearly as insightful as it could have been.

Then there’s the child-role and a regression to type. This reviewer has been praising the parts of children in the likes of Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone and Hansel and Gretel, none of which were ‘blessed’ with the moxy of Jacob. Jaden Smith, to be fair, has potential, but his written part screamed for someone to clout him over the head to remind him that he is just a kid.

The Day the Earth Stood Still – 1951 and 2008 Comparisons and Summary

Whereas the original film came just after WWII, during the Korean War and the infancy of the Cold War, the second outing has to be construed as more of an environmental issue against today’s backdrop, which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, that's why there’s a very slight, yet ultimately very huge, difference in the two films’ didactic approach.

The original struck a cord with it’s warning of mankind against his future course. The re-make does not bring a warning, but rather a judgement, as Klaatu notes that with few life-supporting worlds in the cosmos the Earth cannot be allowed to perish under our mis-management.

So the message is clear and seemingly final: humanity must die for the Earth to live. One assumes that there is a vast intelligence and understanding behind the unknown confederation that delivers this message; that they have weighed countless options and deliberated with more-than-mortal comprehension in making their decision. But no, Klaatu can instead be convinced by a handful of people that humanity deserves a second chance, as Connelly insists “We can change!”.

There’s a scene missing from this film – the one where Klaatu acknowledges that he has met some good people and that there are many more across the world, after which he shows her what the rest are doing – acts of unspeakable cruelty that litter history; the slaughter of millions upon millions of animals along with the subjection of their habitats, all of which we perceive as little more than resources for exploitation; and, generally speaking, humanity’s illimitable greed, ignorant hatred and prejudice, corruption and selfishness. And George Bush.

Where’s the cosmic view of how fragile and apparently unique the Earth is and how profound our effect upon it? Surely, that's a stronger argument than, “We can change”?

Few re-makes are genuine enough to merit their production. This is another one that should be given a wide berth.

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