The Day The Earth Stood Still

Very well done. The re-make is a hit with the high quality visual effects and a successful modern portrayal of the original story.

rating: B+
stars: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith
genre: sci-fi
year released: 2008

The story begins when astobiologist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) is taken from her house to consult for the government on a top-secret issue. The journey leads her back home to her stepson (Jaden Smith) where he gets caught up in the issue and goes along for the ride. The secret matter is the landing of a giant sphere in Central Park with a giant robot and an alien, Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) who transformers into a human to communicate with them. He is there to decide if the human race is worth saving. To figure this out he ends up going on the run with the Bensons where he gets his ultimate decision as to what to do with the humans. Everything comes down to the last seconds to make a very intense ending to the story.

I thought the film was very successful. I had just seen it for the first time last week and was not expecting to enjoy it very much. Much to my surprise it was very well filmed and the story developed nicely. The film had a very strong cast. In the film it is very easy to get annoyed with Jaden Smith’s character, but he does an outstanding job. He has done another fantastic job. Keanu Reeves was a surprise. I don’t really like him as an actor but he fits the role well making his character very interesting. Connelly plays a strong woman that easily fits her personality. The story kept you on edge the entire time, especially towards the end. The message was one that is very important in modern times. The film was explaining how humans are destroying the earth. This directly relates to global warming and the need for us to live much more sustainable lives. This is a topic I am very passionate about, so to see this message broadcast on the big screen makes me very happy. It is definitely one of the better films I’ve seen lately that is well rounded with a story and visual effect instead of one or the other.