The Day the Earth Stood Still

Movie Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2008

Country of Origin: USA, Canada

Director: Scott Derrickson

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, Jaden Smith

Plot outline: A remake of the 1951 classic science fiction movie about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth (IMDb).

The story (**1/2 This new version of the enduring Robert Wise's Cold War classic of the same name is at least on paper contemporary)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 Klaatu does not see much to convince him that mankind is worth saving, except for a contrived scene with a fellow alien who has been living amongst for the last seventy years. Despite his less than glowing report on mankind, he report at the end of it all that he loves humans and perhaps they are redeemable after all, but he never explains why.)

The characters (**1/2)

The dialogue (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2 Reeves is asked to muster up his now trademark cold blank stare; an increasingly emaciated Connelly conjures up her big-eyed compassionate stare, and; Bates is perpetually pompous and angry. Only Jaden Smith portraying Connelly's step-son, really exercises his acting chops, but even his performance soon becomes an annoyance. And the robot GORT--looking like a giant Oscar statue, so relevant to the original concept, is relegated to a minor supporting role as a violence suppressor.)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars