The Day The Earth Stood Still - The remake

[Timble2]

Although it's not supposed to be out until 12/12, my local multiplex had it out today so I thought I'd see it before the critics got to it.
Actually it's not bad and if you didn't know the original, quite good.

Remaking a film that’s generally considered an SF classic was always going to be a problem. The 1970s remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers got away with it by taking a completely different approach from the original (the less said about the subsequent remakes the better), The Thing worked well, by reinstating the shape-shifting abilities of the creature from the original story (Who Goes There) omitted from The Thing from Another World. However, there were pre-emptive howls of anguish when the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still was announced and Keanu Reeves cast as Klaatu. It was expected that the relatively few, but still effective special effects would be replaced by a CGI-fest and that Keanau would turn in one of his teak-like performances. And how faithfully would it be to the original? The original is essentially a moral parable for the Cold War era, with Michael Rennies’ Klaatu having a messianic quality, and a stark message to save ourselves or face destruction before we harm others. Not a lot of this can be found in the original short story Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates, only the concept of the friendly alien, who is killed then resurrected and the super-powerful robot (Gort in the movie, Gnut in the story) remain. The original story’s final twist – that the robot is actually the master – is left out of the movie.

So how were the makers of this latest version going to approach this? They’ve gone for updating the movie, with the threat of nuclear Armageddon replaced by the threat of Climate Change. The plot initially follows the outline of the original, with the vast alien ship setting down in a major city – Central Park, New York this time – and the apparently peaceful alien wounded by a trigger happy soldier. However, this being the 21st Century the young widow – Helen Benson, played by Jennifer Connelly who forms a bond with the alien and helps him go on the run is more active than in the original, she’s an astrobiologist (specialising in extremophiles), who is recruited to the first contact team, her child is actually her stepson, his father was a military engineer killed in one of the recent US military interventions. The character is some ways a 21st century cliché, pretty, clever, determined with emotional baggage, though as the film progresses, she tends to do more and more emoting – in order to show the alien Klaatu that our species is worth saving. For this Klaatu has come to save the Earth, but from one particular species.

As Klaatu, Keanu Reeves has a tough act to follow with Michael Rennie’s saintly version. He plays him as emphatically more alien, something not human but wearing a human body: there’s more a hint of avenging angel than Messiah about him. Keanu Reeves’s not particularly expressive face and air of detachment work quite well when the character’s played this way. This being the 21st century Klaatu’s powers are stepped up a few notches.

What about Gort? Well he’s there CGI’d of course, a homage to the original, but sleeker, more fluid (they’d have probably done this in 1951, if they’d had the technology), and because this is the 21st century nanotechnology gets a look-in in his construction and destructive powers. In this version we get to see his abilities, clumsy intervention by the military actually activates him and starts him on his mission: this is one of the major divergences from the original.

The military don’t do very well in this movie, a mixture of clumsy intervention, and Kathy Bates’ Secretary of Defense’s insistence that the USA can handle this on it’s own, nearly cause the destruction of the human race. Kathy Bates’ character starts out as Dick Cheny in a frock, but realises her mistakes before the end.

One surprise is John Cleese’s cameo as a Nobel Laureate, a friend of Helen Benson, who helps Klaatu realise that humanity is more than a destructive species, and that Klaatu’s own species came to the brink of self-destruction before it made the changes it needed to save its world. No gurning from Cleese, and a performance that almost makes you forget his comedy roots.

The ending differs quite radically from the original, Gort is stopped, but the human race has to make a major sacrifice that will change its way of life forever. The change would, if you think about it cause, the collapse of civilization on a global scale, but is probably better than extinction.

The effects are fairly good, although the alien ship tends resemble a particularly elaborate light fitting, or one of those fancy glass paperweights: however, a silver Adamski-style saucer probably wouldn’t cut the mustard today either.

It’s probably heresy, but the major fault of the movie are those in the original – a tendency towards preachiness. In general, a fairly intelligent SF movie that didn’t become just another alien invasion movie as I think many people feared. However, not all of its implications are though trough. Even if you know the original there’re enough difference to make it interesting. If you don’t know the original a pretty reasonable SF movie in it’s own right.

And "Klaatu barada nikto." Is in there.

BTW: In this version GORT isn’t the robot’s name, when the army are examining it they discover it’s part silicon-based life-form, part robot – and give it the acronym Genetically Organized Robotic Technology.

 

[ElishevaBarsabe]

Thanks for the review. Probably can't drag the husband to this one, however: he thinks the orginal far and away good enough.

 

[LaurenChurchill]

The little borther wants to see that so badly. I've made him agree to watch the original with me before he sees the remake though. I know he won't like it (the original) but I don't care. You don't read the last book in a series without reading the first.

 

[Timble2]

The little borther wants to see that so badly. I've made him agree to watch the original with me before he sees the remake though. I know he won't like it (the original) but I don't care. You don't read the last book in a series without reading the first.

The first Narnia book I read (age about 7) was The Last Battle....

 

[GNC]

I have to point out in a bringing the mood down kind of way that the reviews have been absolutely diabolical. Golden Turkey Awards level! Well, I suppose I didn't need to point that out.

 

[Timble2]

That's why I went to see it before the reviews came out....

A problem is that the original was both of its time and an original, you're never going to recapture the novelty and impact of the first version.

My major objection is why remake The Day the Earth Stood Still, when there still isn't an adaptation of Clarke's Childhood's End

 

[ElishevaBarsabe]

My major objection is why remake The Day the Earth Stood Still, when there still isn't an adaptation of Clarke's Childhood's End

Excellent observation.

 

[Bigphoot2]

Hollywood would probably ruin it

 

[skinny]

I recently watched the original for the first time while on holiday in a remote village on Kangaroo Island at midnight, and slightly herbalised. I loved it. It had excellent atmosphere, the SF wasn't anything near as corny as I had expected, and although some of the dialogue was a bit wooden and dated ("Jiminy Christmas ...") I was drawn into the plot and the mystery of the film. Brilliant. I have always been a bit hesitant to look back and view antiques like this, but I'm starting to go back more and more. I watched the remake last night, and was turned off by the usual overblown Hollywoodisation of the story - especially the enfuriating tendency of the yanks to massively overstate the role of the miltary in everything they make. It's so dull. Keanu Reeves had none of the original actor's subtlety. He's little more than a semi-animated Ken doll in this. Jen Connolly was about the only believable actor, although the young actor playing her stepson was quite good. I now realise that there were so many more motivations in building the old films than merely promoting the A-list and selling crap for the lowest demoninator dollar. Ah the good ol days.