THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

English - (PG13) - 11 December 2008

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Running Time: approx. 104 minutes

Director: Scott Derrickson
Producer: Erwin Stoff, Paul Harris Boardman
Writer: David Scarpa
Casts: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith

Plot: Keanu Reeves portrays Klaatu, an alien whose arrival on our planet triggers a global upheaval. As governments and scientists race to unravel the mystery behind the visitor's appearance, a woman (Jennifer Connelly) and her young stepson get caught up in his mission - and come to understand the ramifications of his being a self-described 'friend to the Earth.'

My Verdict:

Green Tea says:

I won the special screening invites. I won four tickets but I only used two of them, 2 for human seats and another 2 'bag' seats. Thanks to FlyFM anyway. Another free movie invites in this last two months of the year.

Anyway, back into the business. You know this is an alien-invasion type of film. You may think that the aliens are coming with a sphere to bring out their army to destroy the Earth? [What will follows next... becareful... there will be spoilers up ahead...]

On The Day The Earth Stood Still, Keanu Reeves play Klaatu, an alien sent by the superior alien civilization to initiate the destruction of the dying-Earth and in fliendly-manner come to Earth as an ambassador, trying to talk to the world's representatives about problems faced by the planet Earth. Unfortunately, some just takes matter into their own hands and resulting unstoppable catastrophic. Jennifer Connelly on the other lead is a single mother and an astro-biologist, felt empathy towards Klaatu and tried to convince Klaatu to stop the destruction of Earth. Jaden Smith on the other hand plays the son of Jennifer's role who recently lost his father during service as an army and he has an undying desire of hopes for his father.

Keanu Reeves played yet another emotion-less character which I think suited him very well. Except in those love stories he were in, the other action type of movies with characters of cold and untouched, uneasily moved or simply emotionless were all looked good under his belt. Remember him in The Matrix or Constantine? He did not gave much for the film but yet I think his personas fit the movie well. He is a reliable star. Jennifer Connely as a professor, should have a tough time to convince me that she has the quality I hope from one professor. I think she might find herself difficult to fit into the shoes. However, she is still a good actress. Jaden Smith, the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, has developed a great sense of change in the movie, from rebellious to more realistic in-depth. He shown the world that he does not need his parents to prove him to be successful in convincing the audience.

The movie is an atypical alien movie. Technically, the aliens are not invading the Earth but merely trying to revert to nature of the Earth, washed with numerous humanity and environmental problems. There weren't any blood gore human sucking tripods or any Independence-Day guerilla type of war. Forget about those movies you had watched and having bad impressions about the aliens. Rather than the gores, the movie was armed heavily with themes and philosophies. The issues on humanity, environmental and love of oneself, as well as the authorities issues were tackled well in this movie, explained well as you feel like in a classroom fetching on these kind of information.

Unlike the 1951's version, this movie was more fast-paced, more actions and brilliant special effects. The effects were breathtaking. Just look at the spheres in 3D, or the GORT - the Klaatu's robot. The story-telling was also done in a well-organized form and easy to understand. The fun and enjoyment may not be too high for this kind of movie, but the humanity issues again are too great to be missed.

P/S - T-Bag was in the movie, he is an army commander!!

The Ratings...........
CAST - 3.5 stars

STORYLINE - 3.5 stars

CINEMATOGRAPHY - 4.0 stars

EFFECTS - 4.0 stars

an overall >> 3.5 stars