Cool News
Tomorrow Comes THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL...But Will Anyone Care??
Merrick here...
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL remake (or whatever it is) hits tomorrow.
Not surprisingly, screenings of the film appear to be spotty - thus we've seen little-to-no assessment of the movie by media outlets (so far, no reviews have appeared from either Hollywood Reporter or Variety, for example). Nothing indicates studio confidence more than...
However, AICN readers are everywhere...and managed to penetrate a few screenings undetected. HERE are a few perspective we published earlier in the week, and below you'll find two more write-ups from Chris and Damocles.
Let's star with Chris...
Hi Harry, hey AICN and all...
I just came home in Germany from a premiere screening of "The Day The Earth Stood Still". What can I say? I saw the original movie not long ago in order to go in prepared. And boy, did they miss up with the overall script. I wont delve too much into spoiler territory, but I want to summarize it like this:
- They tried too hard to explain stuff. They invented a super-duper special effect just to explain pretty much every ability that Klaatu or the robot have. Oh, wait, it is not a real robot (sorry, must have been the doing of Rothman). Its some genetic thing. Some G.O.R.T. or something. Yeah, they really pull this off. Talk about forced inclusion of "hommage material".
- They changed the story so much that actually it feels like a sequel rather than a remake.
What the movie generally lacks is the sense of direction and emotions... it all feels pretty much like a placeholder. Not to blame Keanu, though. Generally, the acting is okay, but the story cant give them enough to work with. The sense of dread and panic of the population, the exploration of Klaatu, how he starts to perceive humanity, all this is dumbed down greatly.
What the movie HAS, though, is of course some great effect shots, although those could have been easily changed in order to NOT leave the awestruck onlooker with a big red glowing questionmark above his head. WTF, people, why did they invent this last plot device and not go with the robot all the way?? It felt so stupid.
Also, what the movie has, is some rare occurances of humor. It was fun to spot all those different "in your face" product placements, even though the fun resulted in a general groan in the audience. Okay, to be fair, Klaatus and his companions abilities were worth some chuckles here and there, but of course it didnt save the whole experiment.
To summarize this: Save your money for something else. Unless you are into some nice special effects, a crying Jennifer Connelly and Keanus robotic performance. (Again, blame the script for that)
I would really rather have a decent remake that would capture the essence of the original movie, transported to a modern world. But this one failed. Dont get your hopes up, folks.
Chris
Here's what Damocles had to say...
Just caught today a preview of the remake / re-imagining of The Day The Earth Stood Still here in Edinburgh.
First let me say I've only vague childhood memories of the original TDTESS. One of those usually cheesy old sci-fi movies BBC2 would stick on in a weekday early evening as a schedule filler. The only aspect I do recall clearly is Michael Rennie, whose presence and voice possessed a gravitas and solemnity no modern actor seems capable of even emulating. In his place we have Keanu Reeves. I'm not a big Keanu basher, he's a limited actor but at least seems to be aware of this. His character is an alien though one in a human body and Keanu plays him probably the only way he could, with a cold detachment. Ruthless but not evil. And like pretty much every thing else in the film it's a competent job but deeply uninspiring. There's no charm which surely is essential for us to believe in his condemnation of humanity. But most of all there is no otherness. A braver or perhaps just better actor (Jeff Bridges? David Bowie!?) could have pushed this role in a much more interesting direction, used Klaatu's alien perspective and struggle in human form to better understand himself and thus mankind, Reeves suggests this at best. It would have given greater resonance to the ending.
Jennifer Connelly carries the emotion centre of the film, her character's relationship with stepson Jacob (Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith) allows Klaatu insight into us messy contradictory earthlings. Surprisingly the kid is not completely annoying but the movie simply doesn't give us enough time with the characters to understand them or even really want to. Connelly is fine but not exactly stretched. Also I still wish she'd gain a bit of weight. What happened to that body from the Rocketeer? Paul Bettany's still a lucky bastard though.
I guess any film with a sympathetic alien figure must have an arrogant and reactionary government official. Here played by Kathy Bates as the Secretary of Defense. She imposes herself on the role and is at least given some dimension in the closing moments but the character is still underwritten. John Cleese's casting is a bit distracting but actually plays it straight rather than the usually smug and smarmy pompous Brit. It's not much more than cameo anyway. Also how many scientists actually have blackboards with long incomplete mathematical equations just waiting for an alien superbeing to walk in the door and finish it off? In Hollywood, apparently all of them. And hey it's good to see James Hong getting some work, even if I do always think of the suicidal Japanese officer from Airplane whenever I see him.
The Day The Earth Stood Still doesn't disgrace the original but adds absolutely nothing to it. It possesses neither the awe and grandness of the (otherwise deplorable) Independence Day or the questioning and thoughtfulness of intelligent science fiction like Contact. More than anything this is a missed opportunity. There is no poetry here, there is no vision. This doesn't make it a bad film just a dull and pointless one.
If used I sometimes go by the name Damocles.
A new WOLVERINE trailer will be released with this film; you an find more information about it over at Collider (HERE). If you choose not to stand still this weekend, it's likely the WOLVERINE material will hit the net over the weekend, or early next week. So stay tuned...
Readers Talkback
comments powered by Disqus-
+ Expand All
-
Keanu and sci-fi. I'm there!
-
Because the idiots who were on AICN bitching that the robot was "TOO SHINY" are exactly that: bitching idiots.
-
Everybody in a movie has to be an incompetent newbie or lovable loser. Giveitafuckingrest.
-
Looks like The Dark Knight was shut out save for the Ledger. <br> <br> Just felt like saying. Hee hee. <br> <br> Oh and I wish this film wasn't pointless.
-
Dec. 11, 2008, 10:49 a.m. CST
The effects and actors will pull in a certain audience
by I am_NOTREAL
But no way does this waste of effort ever make more than a modicum of profit, if even that. Alas, it won't be bad enough to prevent the next ill-advised remake / reimagining.
-
not very good. Not a travesty of film making, but not good either. I say just watch the original instead.
-
I hope it fails. Shitty fucking CGI-fest. Use a model now and again.
-
Is "regretfully boringly lame" or just off the mark? <br> <br> Part of me wants to see this, but I feel that I'll be super annoyed.
-
Or maybe I'll wait a couple of years until TNT runs it
-
Why do our alien overlords always insist on leveling Manhattan? And why do moviegoers from the midwest flock to watch?
-
We've alredy this ending before as mentioned in the spoiler talkback. How unoriginal. Thanks again Hollywood.
-
Look for a decent opening weekend before next weeks one-two punch of Jim Carrey wacky comedy and Will Smith earnest drama. Most in the coveted age range wouldn't know the original if it hit them in the head.
-
And blanketing every TV show with the exact same commercial is not working for anyone, I'll bet. The effects will bring people in? What? The Loc-Nar from Heavy Metal disintigrating a football stadium? The actors? An even-more-dead-eyed-than-usual Keanu Reeves and an virtually unrecognizable Jennifer Connelly? Plus yet another corporate 'green' message? FROM FOX? SIGN ME UP.
-
"I've seen it. It's rubbish!"
-
Dec. 11, 2008, 11:19 a.m. CST
You must know the codewordto see this movie.
by Grammaton Cleric Binks
I say that to enter the movie you have to give the correct answer when the ticket taker asks "Who is Gort." Then you need to give the code word. To paraphrase Mrs. Grammaton Cleric "if you don't know then I'm not going to tell you." If you pass both tests then, and only then may you enter the movie. In doing this at least you have some inkling of the original.
-
If you're going to remake a beloved classic, be faithful to the source. If you're going to make significant changes, call it something else. If they had taken some of their ideas and elaborated on them further instead of being a slave to the title, they probably would have had a film that would interest people in seeing it at a theater. They probably thought keeping the title would get people in the door, but it has only invited comparisons that make it look like a pale imitation of the original.
-
and the message of "stop violence or else!" is incredibly simplistic and trivialising in this day and age.
-
If the Earth dies, we die, if we die, the Earth lives.<p>Wasn't George Carlin saying that years ago...?
-
This movie would be much more interesting if they went only to those backward hellholes <BR>that are in perpetual strife. <BR>Keanu told them to sit down and shut up.<BR><BR>What would US reaction be.
-
klaatu wouldnt last 20 minutes in nyc.
-
agreed! and that reminds me i need to go buy the rocketeer. for that very reason
-
Jaden.
-
No, he really can't act at all, but he does have an inate likability that sort of makes everything he does "passable".
-
Im not saying it was a masterpiece ...but to my 12 yr old nephew it was the greatest story ever told....what were you expecting when Will Smith is starring ??? I take all this back if you are under 14
-
Dec. 11, 2008, 11:56 a.m. CST
A braver or perhaps just better actor (Jeff Bridges? David Bowie
by Gislef_crow
"could have pushed this role in a much more interesting direction, used Klaatu's alien perspective and struggle in human form to better understand himself and thus mankind," Should have gotten Bruce Campbell. Bruce can play anything. Although he might have trouble saying Klaatu Barada Nikto.
-
I'll never understand all the hate for that. It's no Godfather, but that was never it's intent.
-
I didn't like it when it was first released but age certainly hasn't been kind to it. The robots would have fun with this one.
-
Jennifer AND Virginia Madsen...yowza.
-
best openning credits ever, but the movie is kinda downhill from there.
-
So what's the remake track record for this decade 1 good remake for every 40.
-
No, fuck this movie right in it's fucking eyeballs. I could get a stripper pole to act better than Reeves. How the fuck does he keep getting work????
-
Can someone who has seen it explain this to me? Bizarre.
-
Sorry, couldn't get past the 'original' bit. Now I wanna go back and watch Dam Busters and stuff to hear all those lines they ripped off, just for starters. Binks, fantastic and hilarious post! <p> P.S. I watched the first X-Files movie last night, and loved the bit where Mulder pisses on the IQ4 poster in the alley outside the pub. THAT'S fun!
-
Dec. 11, 2008, 12:19 p.m. CST
Oh and I'm still trying to understand how they had Jon Hamm
by half vader
in this movie, but NOT in the Michael Rennie part...
-
You're turning into Harry with those mangled sentences dude.
-
I liked Armageddon where the meteor crashed the Godzilla stand.
-
I'm going down to Wal-Mart to buy the action figure and a tent so I can camp out in front of the theater so I can be first to see it!!!!! I cannot begin to imagine the awesomness of a mullet headed dude in black leather who has....wait for it...STEAK KNIVES GROWING OUT OF HIS KNUCKLES!!!! My freinds and I actually thought up this concept back in 2nd grade when trying to dream up the ultimate bad-ass. And now, they made a movie out of it? Thats so awesome. When I see the trailor I'll write back and let everybody know how it is-if I can keep my hands from shaking.
-
as I just wrote it. Typos due to fast and/or fat fingers I understand. Spelling mistakes are something that need to be corrected before you begin to sound like an ignoramus.
-
...is the Korean movie "The Chaser".<p>This movie, however, looks bland with emphasis on the blah.
-
cant wait for this movie to bomb
-
no shortness of hater-aide in the Talkback's today....man I we need one of these on the BCS....just sayin....
-
I didn't care too much for it either BUT one thing always puzzled me, and if the answer to my question is already publicly known and I'm an idiot for not knowing, then sorry, but my question is why was a sequal never made? It made huge B.O. and was begging for a sequal. Hmmm I always wondered about that.
-
Dec. 11, 2008, 12:57 p.m. CST
The marketing suggests the studio is well aware no one cares.
by jimmay
For the first time that I can remember, they're actually advertising the Wolverine trailer in commercials. This isn't like Wing Commander where internet shenanigans let it slip the Episode I trailer would be attached and the fans turned out on their own accord, this time they're basically saying: "Hey, even if our movie does look lame and you can't find any valid reason to care about it, there is a 30 second teaser playing before our crappy movie about something you do care about!"
-
RICK ASTLEY FOR UK XMAS NUMBER ONE!!!!!!!! http://www.ultimaterickroll.com JOIN THE GLOBAL CAMPAIGN THAT EVEN MADE RICK ASTLEY'S WEBSITE http://www.rickastley.co.uk 50,000+ SUPPORTERS IN TWO WEEKS AND COUNTING!!!!!
-
What more do you need? The end. Our clan will be there at the Sherman Oaks Arc-Light Friday night.
-
This movie looks one hundred times better than STAR TREK, and you're sucking that film's ever-loving throbber. That is not to say that I think this film looks great, but it certainly looks like a worthwhile, brainless night at the movies. Everyone knows it can't come close to the original, but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. Anything more than complete failure, which everyone here seems intent on, will be a welcome surprise by me.
-
Have you ever seen an ad for a movie where they say, "come and see this movie because you'll see the Wolverine trailer?" This smells of utter desperation.
-
...a good fucking reason to blow my hard-earned cash on a piece of shit at the local cinema, that's what. Doesn't look like this one is gonna provide it either.
-
I loved every experience of it.
-
Just...Bleh.I'll stick with my VHS copy of the original TDTESS that I taped off of Ch.7 out of N.Y. years ago...which has Bugs Bunny cartoons and a Three Stooges short tacked on at the end...There's your extras!!
-
This is going to make a killing just like Punisher War Zone.
-
Contact wasn't intelligent sci-fi? you're kidding, right?
-
on the box to cash in online for a 7.50 ticket rebate. I've heard they peel off the box very easy. Just sayin.
-
He must be, or maybe he has profit participation; that would be the only thing that explains the fact the guy is doing wall to wall media interviews to support this turd. I'm on vacation time from my job so I've had time on my hands this past week: I think he's been on every single daytime and nighttime talk show around, from the Today show to Regis Philbin (as has the adorable Amy Adams, promoting Doubt). I don't remember Reeves doing this much press before, for, say, the Matrix movies.
-
Dec. 11, 2008, 2:32 p.m. CST
Have they replaced the peace message with an eco one?
by Damien Chowder
If so.. Fail! I've had enough of this eco shit.
-
That reminds me....we need a "Starman" sequel.
-
They've both done the alien thing already. Yes, I know you all knew.
-
can keanu play a god-like man?
-
Dec. 11, 2008, 3:25 p.m. CST
Nobody wants fucking "global" warming shoved down our throats
by SomaShine
GET IT HOLLYWOOD?
-
"This movie looks one hundred times better than STAR TREK, and you're sucking that film's ever-loving throbber. "by neverhed
-
Keanu was on Letterman last nite and pretty much confirmed that Al "Gort" may as well have been a producer on this thing. The inconvenient truth is...The aliens come to Earth to tell us we're not taking good enough care of Mother Earth, so, to paraphrase Marcellus Wallace..."We've lost our Earth privileges". They want to wipe us out so the planet can 'heal'. How this benefits the aliens? I have no idea. <p> That is the "message" of the movie. The problem is...either the two reviewers above didn't "get" that message (which is bad)...or they thought that was "too spoilery" to include. Either way...this is gonna suck. <p> While ID4 was full of craptastic MST2K moments...at least it had NO message!! It just blew shit up real good...and was a fun 2 hours at the movies...with no message being forced down our throats. <p> But it struck me as odd that neither of the two reviewers mentioned the eco-plot.
-
Dec. 11, 2008, 4:31 p.m. CST
RE:"intelligent science fiction like Contact"? LOL
by Flying Spaghetti Monster
I mean it was only written by one of the world's most renowned astronomers. If Contact isn't intelligent science fiction, then what is?
-
Like you better your planet or you're all dead. I'm sparing Al Gore though.
-
are the ones where the interrupt a TV show or another commerical, that is annoying<P>I was watching some silly stand up special today when out of nowhwere the screen goes fuzzy and there is Keanu
-
"Contact" was based on a Carl Sagan novel. I thought they pandered too much to the religious audience, but ultimately, a pretty good version of the novel; good science fiction. Anyway, despite the mediocre reviews this version of tDtESS, I'm still looking forward to it. And, the eco message, if that's what this is based on, is an important one. It's generally better to have science fiction stories based on science than on fiction.
-
A movie doesn't have to be Plan 9 From Outer Space to be complete and utter garbage. This movie might LOOK competent, but it's actually laughably bad. [Warning, slight spoilers] The direction is terrible - no tension, no urgency, no build up, no recognizable beats - as is the script (why exactly does Klaatu change his mind about us? Why is the kid such an egotistical brat who never really stops bitching to his step mother? Why the F does Klaatu stop the earth only to bugger off without any explanation? I could go on and on). The effects are shoddy (GORT's first attack, my god!), the music is crap (notice the terrible use when they're upside down in the car), Keanu is his usual bland boring self. <p> Honestly, it wasn't that hard to update the message of the original to these troubling times, but everyone involved completely dropped the ball on this one. This movie IS a disgrace, and only second to The Happening for worst movie of the year.
-
Seriously, Klaatu is here to tell us to stop global warming? You're kidding, right?
-
Fuck that no talent Keanu Reeves. I've had it with him. HAD. IT. Any other lousy flicks they can squeeze him into where he wears a suit and tie? And forgets to act?
-
And then plummet in week #2. Like The 3rd Mummy movie.
-
Chilli typing, completely smashed.
-
Urgh
-
No progress. Lame!
-
so that's what i'll be going to see this week
-
<P> that they can take a potentially kickass story, where mankind is stopped in its tracks, an alien and his badass bodyguard that will unleash holy hell on us, with planes crashing and cities being pulverized, an emotional end times scenario, and a mirror held to our faces as the chimps in the world take the top spot, only to make a </P> <P> fucking TURD instead of a movie. </P>
-
Seriously though, remakes are like abortions. No matter what, they're still going to happen.
-
..Anne Hathaways nipples are perfect in every way.
-
i get special effects scifis need for remakes, like the thing but the day the earth stood still wasn't even a heavy special-effects scifi, the one from 1951 or 52 was all cerebral and the universal anti-nuke flick. and bernard hermann's score cannot be topped either, nor can renny harlan's otherwordly performance, certainly not be johnny utah.
-
Earth Harder.
-
Still time to knock one more out...
Top Talkbacks
- That rumor about Sony selling SPIDER-MAN? Don't you believe it for a second! -- 408 total posts 232 posts
- Holy Crossover!! Magneto’s Boy Quicksilver To Be In Whedon’s AVENGERS 2 And Singer’s X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST?? -- 203 total posts 203 posts
- Papa Vinyard thinks that HANGOVER: PART III was a paycheck grab for a buncha people who are already rich!! -- 173 total posts 173 posts
- The METALLICA THROUGH THE NEVER Teaser! -- 183 total posts 117 posts
- New MAN OF STEEL trailer makes me happy that Superman has severe red eye!!! -- 785 total posts 113 posts
- Next on the Reboot assemblyline? TIMECOP!! -- 141 total posts 97 posts
- Sandler, Piss, Barf, And Hayek Grace The New GROWN UPS 2 Trailer!! -- 90 total posts 90 posts
- Green-Band and Red-Band trailers for the new Jason Sudeikis & Jennifer Aniston VACATION ripoff, WE'RE THE MILLERS are here!! -- 89 total posts 89 posts
- Seems Coppola Is Gearing Up For A New Italian-American Epic!? -- 85 total posts 85 posts
- We have some new details on the POLTERGEIST remake/reboot/sequel!! -- 205 total posts 55 posts