Dec 21 2008
Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Day The Earth Stood is a movie starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly in a remake of a movie from 1951. This one hit theaters on December 12th, and it dominated the box office in its first weekend of release. In this one, we see an alien being land in the middle of Central Park. We soon learn the alien has taken the shape of a human man, and his intentions aren’t clear. However, we learn he is there to save the Earth. Jennifer Connelly plays a scientist that ends up helping the alien Klatu played by Keanu Reeves.
She stays with him from the point where he leaves his captivity until he leaves the planet earth. It is doing her time with him that she learns he is not there to save mankind on Earth, but he is there to save the planet from mankind. The world and all on it will be destroyed and the planet will be able to start over. However, Connelly’s character begs for the earth to be giving another chance, and by the end of the movie she convinces Klatu that mankind can change and the world can go on with mankind on it. Klatu works to prevent the planet from destruction, and mankind is given one more chance.
This movie was excellent. I won’t get started on the remake debate. We know we have way too many remakes, but this is one remake that actually works. It was made during a time much different than ours, but the message the film sends is strong and important to our lives today. The world is slowly dying around us. Global warming is a fact, and it is also a fact that the planet earth is one of the few planets in our galaxy that can sustain a life such as ours. This movie shows us that violence and the way we live our lives now will only lead to the death of this planet.
The movie was well acted and simple, but powerful. To me the most standout performance was by newcomer Jaden Smith. Yes, the son of Will Smith. Something tells me he’ll be one to watch develop. If you’ve seen this movie, what did you think?
