I feel it is relevant to, once again, state my view on remakes. No film is untouchable. And a bad remake doesn’t actually do anything to supplant a great original in your mind. It doesn’t. But most movie fans agree that some decisions don’t make much sense, like deciding to try remaking a classic when there are so many lesser films that might benefit from others retelling the story. And The Day The Earth Stood Still is a classic. It is, alongside Forbidden Planet, one of my favourite sci-fi movies of all time. This remake . . . certainly isn’t.
An alien ship lands, presenting a figure who is welcomed to Earth by being fired upon by the military. Of course. While recuperating, the figure turns into someone who looks much more human than alien (Keanu Reeves), and he starts putting things in motion for the destruction of humanity. Because humans are the cause of so many problems on this planet. The military continues to try and stop him, while a few scientists try helping, and try to convince the visitor that there is still hope for humanity.
Directed by Scott Derrickson, who has at least half a dozen titles in his filmography I would rush to recommend ahead of this, The Day The Earth Stood Still is yet another example of a remake that feels as if it has been done all because we can now make more epic images of destruction thanks to the power of CGI. The film plods along, criminally dull in places, but manages to reserve space for scenes it assumes will impress viewers with the sheer size of the spectacle. That assumption is incorrect.
Reeves, as beloved as he is today (and maybe always has been), is horribly uncharismatic in the main role. It’s almost as if he was cast because he wanted to join any movie that would at some point attach wires to his head. Jennifer Connelly, playing the female lead, and main scientist helping Keanu, is okay, but the script mistreats her character, more so when she is whisked away from the main plot to become stuck in scenes that really should have been for the supporting cast only. Kathy Bates is good as a tough bureaucrat, Jon Hamm is just fine as another scientist trying to help, Kyle Chandler is a standard military officer underestimating things, Jaden Smith is a grumpy child, and John Cleese does well with his few minutes onscreen, putting forward the case for humanity.
It’s all leading to the CGI though, whether it is the new version of GORT, the spheres that have landed on our planet, or the wave of destruction that is triggered when the time is right. It doesn’t hold up too badly, but it’s just so overdone, in terms of there being too much of it in the big FX moments, and tiresome.
I don’t envy writer David Scarpa. Being asked to remake such a classic sci-fi film was surely a poisoned chalice, especially when this was only his second movie (after the solid, but low-key, The Last Castle). Maybe another writer could have done something better, but it was always going to be a big ask.
The best thing I can say about this is that it seemed to be an atypical blip for the main players involved. Scarpa hasn’t done much, but his other scripts are much better than this. Derrickson has gone from strength to strength. And the cast have generally managed to keep the good far outweighing the bad. So let’s go back to forgetting that this exists and we can all rewatch the brilliant original film instead.
“Klaatu barada nikto!”
3/10
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