The Day The Earth Stood Still 12/23/2008 5:59:04 PM
I just got back from seeing this movie a couple hours ago, and though I do have issues with many things about the movie, I still really liked it. Spoilers are below.
First off, I have no problems with Keanu Reeves. I like the guy--at least his acting, don’t know anything else about him. Whatever the reason, he was perfect for the role.
Now, so much for opinions, but one reviewer called it The Day The Earth Yawned. I found this a bit over the top. Sure, it’s not exactly an action-packed Transporter-like movie, but it’s not meant to me. It’s meant to be a more pensive film, IMHO. It’s about the end of the world as we know it. And I like what it had to say, despite some issues I had with how it was said and that they obviously didn’t hire someone who knew military lingo (sure, they hire a Seth Shostak for astrobiology research, but why not someone who’d been in the military and knew how to “talk military” and knew the proper employment of acronyms). I know...they tried and did the best they could...but little things like that grind at me. And that the military is again portrayed as nothing but a Bombs-and-Bullets mentality. I know this is a remake of the 1951 version, but since they changed other parts of the movie in updating it, I would have liked to see that done as well. I also noticed the knocking of current President Bush as the unseen president. Okay, okay, whatever you may think of him, he’s reputed to be intelligent, and I truly feel an intelligent man would not go in blowing things up like the movie portrayed. It was flatly stated early on that Gort activated to VIOLENCE. Guess what, WE perpetuated the first act that activated it into jamming our signals and wiping out a few GIs. That was our fault, and to use that as the basis for the rest of the movie showing farcical and absurd attempts of the military trying to blow it up was ludicrous--again, IMHO. Sorry, Misters Derrickson and Scarpa. Believe me, I know you did the best you could, with the World View you both subscribe to.
Oh, and another peeve: removing a spent round from a body that has NOT deformed.
Now, what I liked was the atmosphere of the film...Keanu’s character (“You need to let me go, now” or words to that effect...). I like films that try to show the need to take responsibility for our lives. To take an active participation in that responsibility, rather than saying something like “Well, THEY started it...” or “If we don’t do it, someone else will....” Loved the soundtrack (bought it).
So, in the end, all things considered, Mr. Derrickson did a decent job. He has his Weltanschauung and I have mine, and that’s why he did things as he did. I can’t fault him for that--and I don’t. I liked Day The Earth Stood Still -- 2008. But it does show that there’s STILL room for me and my very own Weltanschauung, and I LIKE that.
