ROTTEN TOMATOES: Klaatu Goes Green in The Day the Earth Stood Still Remake

Klaatu Goes Green in The Day the Earth Stood Still Remake

Keanu barada Earth Day.

by Jeff Giles | March 24, 2008

The original The Day the Earth Stood Still, released in 1951, reflected Cold War fears. Fittingly, this year's remake will address warmer concerns.

Keanu Reeves, who stars as the film's intergalatic messenger, Klaatu, tells MTV Movies that in Scott Derrickson's remake of the sci-fi classic, his voyage to Earth is prompted by more than just humanity's endless thirst for war:

"The first one was borne out of the cold war and nuclear détente. Klaatu came and was saying cease and desist with your violence. If you can't do it yourselves we're going to do it. That was the film of that day. The version I was just working on, instead of being man against man, it's more about man against nature. My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I'm a friend to the earth."

That's right, gang -- Klaatu has gone from pacifist weenie to tree-hugging hippie. (Or, more precisely, pacifist weenie and tree-hugging hippie; as Reeves puts it, "We're trying to reach beyond the idea of [just] environmentalism.")

Good news for fans of the original, though: When he isn't battling global warming or watching An Inconvenient Truth on his spaceship, Klaatu will find time to utter the famous words "Klaatu barada nikto" -- and he'll still have his robot bodyguard Gort, although Gort won't have the same leotard-and-spraypaint charm he did in '51; Reeves promises "another version of [the robot]."

The Day the Earth Stood Still is scheduled for a December 12 release.

Source: MTV Movies

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(1-15 of 15 posts) | Reply

roboteer writes:
on Mar 24 2008 05:52 AM

"Like turn those thermostats down Earthling dudes or face GORT!" Great idea. Dualing hoaxes. Global Warming AND Flying Saucers! Ooooh, be afraid. BE VERY AFRAID! Will Al Gore take Sam Jaffe's place in a lab coat at the chalkboard???? I smell another Oscar (and a laugh riot). "Whoa!"

(Reply to this)

Kollikodon writes:
on Mar 24 2008 07:59 AM

.... Wait. The Cold War's Over?

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Shadow16nh writes:
on Mar 24 2008 09:00 AM

Can somebody tell me why this guy gets to direct this remake of a science fiction classic?

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Jarmir writes:
on Mar 24 2008 09:28 AM

Another remake. It's an epidemic, and a lethal one: it has already killed off my enthusiasm for "new" movies.

(Reply to this)

bat-fink writes:
on Mar 24 2008 09:52 AM

KLAATU BARRADA NEATO! Loved the original as a kid, and aside from Keanu reeves, this film could be great reimagined.

What they should do with remakes however, is when they sell it on dvd they should always at least put the original film in there as bonus material so that people who didnt know about or see the original will know about what it was spawned from.

It should be made a compulsory curtisy from the film studios. I dont mind remakes sometimes, but when all people see is the remake it bothers me. Especially if the remake SUUUUCKKS!! films like, The Wickerman, Get Carter, Italian Job etc...

At least my Italian job had the original film with it too.

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gortheartsme writes:
on Mar 24 2008 10:33 AM

Nooooooo. Nothing can be as good as the original. This is my favorite movie and now people are gonna be like "hey. Did you see the new Keanu Reeves Movie? The day the earth stood still" and I will cry. Normally I dont care about remakes,but I love this movie too much.

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harrismonkey writes:
on Mar 24 2008 11:38 AM

I know it's a classic (and rightfully so), but as I'm reading the plot synopsis, remembering what the movie was about and realizing Keanu will be in it, I'm getting the feeling this won't translate very well to a modern audience.

Time will tell.

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High School With Money writes:
on Mar 24 2008 12:59 PM

Forget that, batfink. The original already has its own DVD, which I have yet to get. I don't want to be saddled by a remake just to own the first. Besides, buyers may just as well ignore the first if it was included.

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donwillymo writes:
on Mar 24 2008 01:04 PM

Day the Earth stood still 2: still not moving

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AniMIll writes:
on Mar 24 2008 01:13 PM

The original is among my SciFi favorites (that and Forbidden Planet). Having Neo playing Klaatu is like having Shia LaBeouf play Moses... it just won't work. Leave well-enough alone already!

Now what might have made this possibly intersting would be the "Return of Klaatu" to kick our 4ss3s. That would be fun to see - waves of Gorts wiping the surface clean of the human element.

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yoda87960 writes:
on Mar 24 2008 03:11 PM

It comes out on my 22 birthday! I wonder if I'll still be a virgin. Or still alive. Probably. If so, I'll be playing 1969 by The Stooges endlessly. "Last year I was 21, didn't have a lot of fun."

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lestatthevampire writes:
on Mar 24 2008 03:30 PM

Yeah yeah yeah i said it:
klata veratu... whatever

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Trufire writes:
on Mar 24 2008 08:10 PM

Another classic being remade. Yet again. One of the best sci-fi's of all time in my opinion and it being remade makes me feel a bit uneasy since I know it probably won't stand up to the original. I can only hope that I can still enjoy it for what it's worth but the thing about Keanu parts in films is that he either is a hit or miss. No inbetween really. Hopefully it's a hit and the the film will follow suit.

So Al Gore going to play the part of Gort? ;)

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marktime writes:
on Mar 24 2008 08:13 PM

some films shouldn't be remade.

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LP45CDwoman writes:
on Apr 29 2008 12:22 AM

Why? Why? Why? And with one of the most wooden "actors" in history? What a waste of celluloid.

Now, about that CASABLANCA remake with Steven Seagal. . .

(Reply to this)