The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

A remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth.

Director:

Scott Derrickson

Writers:

David Scarpa (screenplay), Edmund H. North

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	Klaatu
Jennifer Connelly	...	Helen Benson
Kathy Bates	...	Regina Jackson
Jaden Smith	...	Jacob Benson
John Cleese	...	Professor Barnhardt
Jon Hamm	...	Michael Granier
Kyle Chandler	...	John Driscoll
Robert Knepper	...	Colonel
James Hong	...	Mr. Wu
John Rothman	...	Dr. Myron
Sunita Prasad	...	Rouhani
Juan Riedinger	...	William Kwan
Sam Gilroy	...	Tom
Tanya Champoux	...	Isabel
Rukiya Bernard	...	Student

Storyline

Dr. Helen Benson is summoned to a military facility with several other scientists when an alien spacecraft of sorts arrives in New York City. Aboard is a human-like alien and a giant robot of immense size and power. The alien identifies himself as Klaatu and says he has come to save the Earth. The US military and political authorities see him as a threat however and decide to use so-called intensive interrogation techniques on him but Dr. Benson decides to facilitate his escape. When she learns exactly what he means when he says he is there to save the Earth, she tries to convince him to change his intentions.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | military | earth | escape | scientist | 

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Taglines:

12.12.08 is the Day the Earth Stood Still

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sci-fi disaster images and violence

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [fr] 20th Century Fox [us]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

12 December 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

D.T.E.S.S.

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,752,132 (UK) (12 December 2008)

Gross:

$79,363,785 (USA) (27 March 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 3 Arts Entertainment, Dune Entertainment III

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bridge under which our heroes shelter during the finale is the same bridge sheltered under by the heroes of Cloverfield in that film's finale.

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Goofs

As the helicopter lands to unload the scientists including Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) in Central Park, the rotors don't seem to be creating any down-wash as evidenced by the dead leaves on the ground. They're completely motionless around the helicopter.

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Quotes

Helen Benson: I need to know what's happening.
Klaatu: This planet is dying. The human race is killing it.
Helen Benson: So you've come here to help us.
Klaatu: No, *I* didn't.
Helen Benson: You said you came to save us.
Klaatu: I said I came to save the Earth.
Helen Benson: You came to save the Earth... from us. You came to save the Earth *from* us.
Klaatu: We can't risk the survival of this planet for the sake of one species.
Helen Benson: What are you saying?
Klaatu: If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth survives. There are only a handful of planets in the cosmos that are capable of ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Bum Reviews: The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

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Soundtracks

"The Goldberg Variations: Aria Da Capo and Variation No. 1"
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Ryan Franks
Courtesy of Crucial Music

User Reviews

You know what's sad? 1951 had better special effects than we do!

So I was one of those people who was screaming no at The Day The Earth Stood Still remake, the original is one of my favorite movies. It's a terrific sci-fi film, probably the best to come out of the 50's era. I highly recommend it; moving onto the, sigh, remake. Keanu Reeves, mmmm, what on Earth about him scream alien? I guess since it looks like it hurts when his face expresses human emotion, he's what the director needed. But what I didn't appreciate about the remake is that it completely changed the story and the moral the first movie brought to us. If we were to have a remake of this story, at least it seems like in today's world it moral is more important than ever, that humans are just destroying themselves with all the technology and violence that we have created. Instead, I get 2 hours of Jennifer Connelly complaining to a stubborn Keanu Reeves on how much humans rock.

Dr. Helen Benson, a Princeton professor, and other scientists are hastily assembled by the government in order to formulate a survival plan when it is feared that a large unknown object is due to impact Manhattan in approximately 78 minutes. Nothing can be done about it because a vital military satellite has been disabled. It hits Earth and out of the sphere comes a being named Klaatu emerges from the sphere while accompanied by a large robot. Klaatu, a representative of a group of alien races, has come to assess whether humanity can reverse the environmental damage it has inflicted on planet Earth. In the frightened confusion, Klaatu is shot, but survives and is taken to a government facility. While recovering from his injuries, Klaatu is detained by Regina Jackson, the United States Secretary of Defense, and is barred from speaking to the United Nations. Klaatu manages to escape, and he soon finds himself eluding the authorities throughout northern New Jersey, specifically Newark and the forested Highlands, with Helen and her stepson Jacob. After speaking with Professor Barnhardt about how his own species went through drastic evolution to survive its sun's demise, Klaatu is convinced by Helen and Jacob that humans can change their ways and are worth saving The three go toward the sphere in Central Park to stop the machine from destroying the world.

So when I really think about this movie, it just makes me sad. I was going to be fair with the rating, but gosh, those special effects? For 2008, it seems like we got worse with CGI, the ending effects were just way way way over the top. Keanu Reeves is sadly the only convincing actor in the film...? Oh, my God, did I just say that? Not to mention, did Kathy Bates owe someone a favor? She's a terrific actress, why was she in here? I also love how Jaden Smith, Will Smith's son, is taking his daddy's footsteps in alien movies, does Will Smith come from another planet? Because it seems like that family is obsessed with aliens. I'm going to do you a favor and recommend watching the original Day the Earth Stood Still, believe me, it's so much better.

3/10