Review: "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (2008)
Friday, December 12, 2008 at 12:44PM **Spoiler Alert: You may not want to read this if you haven't seen the ending of this film [the 1951 version].**
Last night, I caught the first showing of the remake of the 1951 classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still. AMC was showing the original a couple hours before which made for an interesting perspective on the new take of a classic film. 
Starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connolly, Jaden Smith and directed by Scott Derrickson, the movie did show promise. The basic story was similar to the classic version directed by Robert Wise, with a few modernizing twists. In the 50's version, the female lead was a secretary at the Department of Commerce,widow and mom; in the contemporary, Dr. Benson (Connolly) is a widow, step-mom, leading global scientist, and Princeton professor. In Wise's film, Klaatu is referred to as Mr.Carpenter and well liked by Benson's son, whereas in the remake is takes time for Jacob (Smith) to warm up to the alien Klaatu (Reeves). GORT the policeman super robot is also different. In the original film, GORT was played by a 7 foot plus male wearing a polyester costume, while in Derrickson's rendition, GORT is a CGI built, fearful, tall mass made out of metal.
It is clear that there are differences as those mentioned above and the ambiance of the film was also unalike the classic. The music, lighting, use of shadows, focus on performance, and pacing were all elements that stood out in the 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still. Also, a line of dialogue that is synonymous with the Sci-Fi original (which was also uttered in cult favorite Army of Darkness) was omitted from the film. There also was an unnatural focus on the "punk son" character who hinders the progress of the protagonist, a plot tactic that was also used in Spielberg's War of the Worlds. This focus on family dysfunction is understandable as it reflects the innate goodness or ability to change aspect of human nature, but is overused. Some scenes were similar, including the ranging mechanical shots of the moment when the Earth stood still, and Klaatu's meeting with Professor Jacob Barnhardt.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) is not a bad science fiction flick, but it does not compare to the classic. Some may see it as intensely relevant as the cosmic policing of Earth's resource-depleting inhabitants is long overdue. For those of you who have not seen either, I would suggest watching the new one then the old, otherwise it may be hard to appreciate the remake. If you know and love the classic, try to walk into the theater not expecting the thrilling tone of the 50's version. Since it wasn't said in the new movie, "Klaatu barada nikto!"
Reader Comments (2)
Thanks for the early review. It sounds matinee worthy. While the 50s version has it's quaint, idealistic charms & not so subtle christian overtones, I look forward to seeing how the story works 50 years later. It worked well enough when James Cameron used it in The Abyss. ...Although I do wish the producers had considered going back to the original inspiration: "farewell to the master".
I just finished the /Film you were on and loved it! The other week I got a copy of the 50s version (loved it) and downloaded the new movie the other day and... well, had a similar reaction to the rest of the podcasters. I didnt find it that bad, but they ruined so many of the vital elements, he didnt even use any of his classic quotes!
Well Neha, I hope to see you on more podcasts :)