The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

A remake of the 1951 classic science fiction 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 | scientist | giant robot | 

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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 [France] 20th Century Fox [United States]

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 USA:

$31,000,000, 12 December 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$79,366,978

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$233,093,859

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, 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

As in the 1951 original, Klaatu was going to travel in a spaceship, but Scott Derrickson wanted the extraterrestrial aspect of the film to be more mysterious, and replaced the ship with a glowing orb.

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Goofs

When Klaatu, Helen, and Jacob leave Professor Barnhardt's house, Klaatu asks to be driven to a location where he can retrieve one of the smaller spheres. They travel to "Highlands, New Jersey", stop in a forest, and Klaatu raises the sphere out of a swamp. Highlands, New Jersey is a sandy, beach-front community in northeast Monmouth County, right on Raritan Bay. It has no forests, and no swamps. However, the Highland region of New Jersey is a mountainous region west of New York City, encompassing parts of Passaic, Sussex, Warren, Morris, Somerset and Hunterdon counties. The region is heavily forested and it is likely this is the location/region being described in the film.

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Quotes

John Driscoll: So is it a machine or a living thing?
Flash Chamber Colonel: Both. Or neither.
John Driscoll: What do you mean 'neither'?
Flash Chamber Colonel: It seems to be some sort of silicone-based hybrid. We're calling it GORT: Genetically-Organized Robotic Technology.
John Driscoll: The military and their acronyms...

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Connections

References E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

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Soundtracks

On the Radio
Written and Performed by Larry Bagby
Courtesy of California Country Records

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