The special effects in 1951 were hokey fun. Here, in the first half of the movie anyway, they are hokey but they aren’t fun.
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12/15/08
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The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
11
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:4
Rotten:32
Average Rating:3.9/10
Consensus: Heavy on special effects, but without a coherent story at its base, The Day the Earth Stood Still is subpar re-imagining of the 1951 science-fiction classic.
Theatrical Release:Dec 12, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $79,136,963
Synopsis: A remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic of the same name, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL follows astrobiologist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) as she is unceremoniously plucked from her everyday life... [More]
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese
Director: Scott Derrickson
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Reviews for The Day the Earth Stood Still
Top CriticThe remake of that fine old fifties alien-invasion picture The Day the Earth Stood Still comes to a standstill about an hour before the Earth does in the wilds of New Jersey.
12/15/08
Top CriticWhat a ridiculous movie.
12/15/08
Top CriticOne can only hope that in the future [Reeves] will devote himself to playing androids, less-self-aware species of undead, stylish pieces of contemporary furniture, and other roles that do not require the exhibition of any recognizably human traits.
12/12/08
Top CriticSolemn, sober and efficient, The Day the Earth Stood Still gets the job done and moves on.
12/12/08
Top CriticWhere the original film was unpretentious, this version, with Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, is insufferably full of itself, an X-Files episode pumped up to pseudo-cosmic proportions.
12/12/08
Top CriticA good portion of this sci-fi disaster movie is unintentionally comical. And the parts that aren't funny are just plain dull.
12/12/08
Top CriticThe only awe this movie inspires is realizing how well the original stands up, and how little we puny Earthlings have learned in the past 57 years.
12/12/08
Top Critic... must be the worst major release in what may be the most disastrous year in recent Hollywood history.
12/12/08
Top CriticThis was supposed to be the winter season's big special effects picture. So why does it make Al Gore's PowerPoint presentation look like Spider-Man 2 by comparison?
12/12/08
Top CriticRemaking a movie is easy. Engineering a good remake is difficult. One key quality that separates the two is inspiration, and that's a characteristic not to be found in 2008's The Day the Earth Stood Still.
12/12/08
Top CriticThe Day the Earth Stood Still may bill itself as science fiction. But it understands neither.
12/12/08
Top CriticUnless you've seen Robert Wise's original semi-documentary The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), you'd never suspect the utterly generic remake was based on a seminal sci-fi classic.
12/12/08
Top CriticThe stone-faced silliness in this new TDTESS at first seems like an homage to old-fashioned '50s watch-the-skies movies, until it becomes clear it's just newfangled bad filmmaking.
12/12/08
Top CriticNeither offensively bad nor particularly good, The Day the Earth Stood Still may be best remembered for the clumsiness of its intrusive product placement.
12/12/08
Top CriticArguably the worst reconstitution of a '50s sci-fi classic since the ghastly Godzilla remake, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a stunningly misconceived folly that is bearable only for as long as it remains a fair-to-middling chase movie.
12/12/08
Top CriticDespite all the fog machines and giant glowing spheres and TV actors excited to be in a big-budget movie, this remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic that gave baby boomer kids chills simply fails to strike any sparks.
12/12/08
Top Critic"The Day the Earth Stood Still" doesn't lack heart. It's surprisingly sincere. No, the human quality it could use a bit more of is humor.
12/12/08
Top CriticThis movie is as clunky and unappealing as the space-saving acronym being used to avoid its endless title -- TDTESS.
12/12/08
Top CriticThe new Day the Earth Stood Still lacks the courage of its own eco-pessimism, and the final scenes play like a rushed, embarrassed concession to our need for happy endings, no matter how far-fetched.
12/12/08
Top CriticLatest News for The Day the Earth Stood Still
December 14, 2008:
Box Office Wrapup: Klaatu Stands Still at #1
Fearing extinction, humans across North America lined up to see the new sci-fi thriller The Day the Earth Stood Still which debuted at number one more than doubling the gross of... More...
December 12, 2008:
Exclusive: Milton's Paradise Lost Movie in 3D?
Could Scott Derrickson's upcoming adaptation of Milton's Paradise Lost be shot in 3D? Perhaps so, the director told Rotten Tomatoes recently. More...
December 12, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: The Day The Earth Stood Still, Still Stinks
With Christmas looming large, and no Potter on the schedule, we have two fantasy flicks in the UK cinemas jostling for your hard-earned galleons. We have sci-fi remake The Day... More...
December 12, 2008:
Exclusive: Derrickson Off West Memphis 3 Movie Devil’s Knot
Emily Rose helmer Scott Derrickson was to direct a planned big-screen adaptation of the West Memphis Three story, but rights issues have forced him to leave the project. More...
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