...an ideal example of what a contemporary remake should look like...
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01/19/09
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The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
21
%
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Reviews Counted:175
Fresh:36
Rotten:139
Average Rating:4.2/10
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
Derrickson and his team take a much-loved sci-fi classic and, even if they can't improve on the original, at least rework it in intriguing ways.
01/08/09
Doesn't really justify its existence outside the most crass commercial reasoning.
01/06/09
In an awkward semi-retro remake of the 1951 sci-fi B-movie classic, director Scott Derrickson confirms the law of diminishing returns for remakes.
12/31/08
It's time for the apocalypse...KEANU STYLE!!!
12/27/08
Another reason to see the original. In this disappointing remake, it's time that stands still.
12/26/08
What, in 1951, was a scary Cold War-era warning about the misuse of atomic energy has now become a vague and infantile pro-green special-effects showcase (even the CGI is unimaginative and looks like a swirly, soft-focus nightmare) with one entire suspens
12/26/08
A serviceable remake with the B-movie roots still showing proudly in the clunky dialogue, though lacking some of the original's eerie power.
12/26/08
The special effects are spectacular enough here, and there are a few droll lines, but the net result is almost instantly forgettable.
12/26/08
Instead of the 1950s mindset %u2013 postwar, cold war, fear of aliens %u2013 it's been resettled into the mindset of today %u2013 man's inhumanity to the planet...It was a great little B movie then, and it's an ugly big B movie now
12/21/08
This feels less like a remake of that '50s gem than a companion piece to the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The difference is that Al Gore was a lot more fun to watch than Keanu Reeves.
12/21/08
[The 1951 classic] gets bulked up and dumbed down in a modern remake that repositions the alien Klaatu as a wrathful God rather than a peace-loving one.
12/19/08
The best news about the new The Day the Earth Stood Still is that it will quickly fade to obscurity while the timeless original lives on.
12/19/08
Even Gort -- the coolest robot in science-fiction cinema -- has been reimagined as a cartoonish CG colossus who ironically resembles the Oscar statuette that otherwise will remain a universe away from this hammy misfire.
12/19/08
A great looking film undone by a narrative that fails to add up.
12/18/08
The Day the Earth Stood Still falls flat due to the underused and boring computer graphics and ultra dumb and uninteresting characters.
12/18/08
Just as much a remake of Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space. Which is an even more appropriate comparison when we observe that this film and Plan 9, unlike the original, are both awful.
12/17/08
We left the theatre feeling that we had spent a satisfying evening at the movies, but in retrospect I wish the screenwriters had tweaked the story's sophistication as much as they did the technical effects.
12/17/08
This film is a perfect illustration of how to screw-up a remake despite having a perfect example in front of you.
12/17/08
Wise's original was an alarming cautionary tale, full of menace and stern warnings. The remake, as befits our times, coddles the audience, assuring us all this bad stuff will eventually work itself out. And hey, let's all go to McDonald's!
12/17/08
Latest 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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