The Day The Earth Stood Still Review
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Written by: David Scarpa, Edmund H. North (original)
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Jaden Smith, John Cleese
Gort, we hardly knew ye.
To set the mood for The Day the Earth Stood Still, I listened a lot to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. It didn’t include my favorite Floyd track, “Comfortably Numb”. That sentiment was uncomfortably close to the male lead’s notorious acting style. I wasn’t about to take any chances on tainting my enjoyment of this much-anticipated film.
For those of you who are fans of Robert Wise’s 1951 version with Michael Rennie, you will find much to appreciate here as similar philosophical issues are raised and addressed. What is less successful are the awkward mechanics brought to bear to keep the plot moving. An intriguing premise is mutated by conventional cinematic ploys and the potential for wonderment is lost.
The film opens in 1928 with a mountaineer discovering a pulsing sphere. He breaks its surface and is left with a vaccination mark for his troubles. (As we will see, it was actually a DNA extraction scar). Jumping to the present day, the movie quickly establishes its characters. Helen Benson is a professor of astrobiology and stepmother to 8-year old Jacob. She is abruptly whisked off in black SUV fashion to a government facility where the imminent crisis has been astrocharted. An object is on a collision course with Earth at a speed that renders avoidance impossible. Massive destruction is imminent.
Fortunately for we humans, the object is piloted (a larger sphere) and it lands in Central Park. The alien visitor’s gesture of greeting is misinterpreted and he is shot. (Note to Department of Defense: We’re going to need some protocols here because this happens a lot in these movies.) There is a much-improved take on the alien autopsy idea and soon the visitor – Keanu Reeves as Klaatu – is healthy enough for face time with the Secretary of Defense, Regina Jackson (Kathy Bates channeling Donald Rumsfeld). After a thoroughly enjoyable cross-purposes conversation, the film slips into the highly arbitrary mechanics of keeping the plot in gear. Soon enough, Klaatu, Helen, and Jacob are on the run from the military. Gort – Klaatu’s 30 ft tall robot – provides some diversions from the main chase. Ultimately Klaatu has to make a call about humanity’s survival. The question is, “Are we worth saving?”
The first one third of this movie is top shelf sci-fi. The enigmatic opening sequence hints at a quantum application of the entangled photons phenomenon. The pace builds as we experience the normality of Helen’s college life short-circuited by the frightening intrusion of the crisis; the Central Park landing with that instant of wrong-headed violence; and the “birthing” of Klaatu (good hard core sci-fi) all leading to the conversation mentioned above. Fast, scary, and threatening, the action nicely sets up Klaatu’s best line. In response to Jackson’s belligerent questioning about his motives, his reply is a simple question, “Your planet?” As movies go, it ranks up there with “I’ll be back” or “I see dead people”. It seems that although the universe is large, planets with conditions that support life are rare. We humans are squatting on one of these rarities and the rest of the universe has judged our tenancy unacceptable.
The balance of the film tries to resolve this intriguing dilemma by hanging the action on a long chase. Unfortunately the debate is fragmented with arbitrary plot ideas (some good, mostly bad – magic salves anyone?) that keep the action moving but diminish the movie’s specialness. Another example? As if the welcome wagon shooting wasn’t enough, the next step is to drug Klaatu into revealing his intentions. From there it’s a short walk to the lie detector. Where do these defense secretaries come from anyway? In this case, flawed screenplays.
This disconcerting jumble continues as Klaatu, Helen, and Jacob are chased by what appears to be the Ministry of Silly Walks. In a smart attempt to get back on message, Klaatu meets with another alien, planted years ago. He agrees Klaatu should start the clean up of the planet and spheres are dispensed as arks. No seats for humans. Importantly, the planted alien wants to stay to die with the humans. He tries to explain why but can’t find the words. It’s an ominous failure for us because this movie is entertaining us (or not) with the pros and cons of just that notion. It’s what scriptwriters are for. From then on, it’s up to Helen and Jacob to show Klaatu that humans are worth the bother. And did I mention Gort? He’s a sideshow for the military to demonstrate the futility of their approach.
The Day the Earth Stood Still has two types of actors – aliens and humans. As you might guess, Reeves nails the alien; the other actors generally fail as humans. Like his predecessor Rennie, Reeves brings his own aura. His unusually glossy, intriguing face mimics Rennie’s ascetic countenance. The filmmaker even tries to suggest Rennie’s unusual gait by slo-moing Reeves in several sequences during their run from authorities. Most importantly, Reeves never shifts out of neutral and that’s a good thing. The morning haze look and deliberate articulation nicely suggest an alien getting to grips with the conflicted civilizations inhabiting this planet.
His co-star Jennifer Connelly fares less well. Unlike the original Helen Benson, she is given very little to do – the distant look in her eyes may fit her role as astrobiologist but it doesn’t engage the audience with her concerns. Still she summons up the necessary love and compassion when Klaatu is close to making his final call. Her stepson Jacob played by Jaden Smith delivers young but nothing more. Kathy Bates’ pugnacious Secretary of Defense is conventional but her character rarely rises above plot device.
As for Gort, the last we see of him is inside the military’s lab. An integral part of the plot in the 1951 film, here he’s shunted aside after displaying a few pyrotechnics. In an apparent washing of hands by the filmmaker, the movie leaves him hanging with no hint of his fate. Not a smart thing to do with a 30 ft tall omnipotent robot that doesn’t speak our language.
If you like sci-fi, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a must see. For those who don’t care about the genre, you could find worse ways to kill 90 minutes. Like all good sci-fi, the film takes on an imponderable – what’s our worth as a species – and tries to make the issue real enough that we must think about it. But as a significant sci-fi work, it has too many cinematic flaws. The great ones – Tardovsky’s Solaris, Spielberg’s E.T., and the overlooked Starman – all create a way to balance three things: reality as we know it, plausible scientific mystery, and compelling storytelling. When it’s done well, it’s as close as we’ll personally get to visiting the rest of the universe. The Day the Earth Stood Still loses its balance when poor storytelling mechanics fatally undermine the reality and mystery. — Curt
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: Starman, Contact, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
