The Day the Earth Stood Still
2008  PG-13  SCIENCE FICTION  1h 43min
CAST— Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates
MUSIC— Tyler Bates  DIRECTOR— Scott Derrickson  BASED ON— Farewell to the Master (story), by Harry Bates

     Time and again Hollywood feels the urge to take a classic from the days of yesteryear and revamp it; read as: destroy the original elements that made the ’51 version what it was. You still get the extraterrestrial Klaatu, but instead of a genteel being of morals, this film introduces a darker, mysterious Klaatu who is more of a gloom-and-doomer than anything else. Earth is on the brink of destruction and Klaatu has been sent as an emissary to proclaim Earth’s eminent destruction, unless of course, drastic changes are made; and every second counts. Gort, Klaatu’s robotic protector has already begun to carry out his campaign against the Earth and its inhabitants. What hope does the human race have against this threat from another world? Well, there is certainly little hope that classic sci-fi diehards will be flocking to their local video store for this title.
OUR RATING— **
ORIGINAL— The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)