Movie Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still

I first learned about the film when I saw a clip from 1996’s Independence Day. Then, I learned about the original film is about a certain ‘being’ named Klaatu that came to Earth accompanied by a biomechanical robot named Gort, bend on destroying humankind for the sake of saving the planet against the never-ending attitude of humans against each other and its surroundings (i.e., war, racism, global warming, etc.) Usually, remakes like these have dominated Hollywood for some time now, and the bad thing is, most of these don’t do the original film some justice. I haven’t really seen the original film so seeing this film gives me a whole different perspective on the film. The movie starts out great actually, building up the tension and gives this creepy atmosphere on how humankind reacts to an event like an alien invasion. However, the second part of the film fails for me, ending to abruptly without any proper closure for all the characters. In the end, it feels like just like a big special effects blockbuster that probably some people will love. The underlying themes of the movie however was a good thing to notice, which pokes some realism into what is happening right now. Acting was only subpar, with Jennifer Connelly giving the most decent performance. Keanu Reeves as the emotionless Klaatu was rightfully emotionless. Even Will Smith’s son Jaden Smith’s performance was more convincing than Reeve’s. Overall, T.D.T.E.S.S. is still a fun popcorn flick and a nice film to see this holiday season. The Day The Earth Stood Still: 7/10.