Blu-ray Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still

The Day The Earth Stood Still
Written by: David Scarpa, based on the 1950 original screenplay by Edmund H. North
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, Jaden Smith, Jon Hamm, Kyle Chandler, and John Cleese

Blu-ray Bonus Features:

Disc One:
Commentary from Screenwriter David Scarpa, Picture-In-Picture BONUSVIEW (requires bonusview player): Klaatu's Unseen Attacks, Build Your Own Gort Interactive Experience, Deleted Scenes, Re-imagining The Day Documentary, Unleashing Gort featurette, Watching The Skies: In Search of Extra-Terrestrial Life featurette, The Day The Earth Was "Green" Featurette, Still Galleries (Concept Art, Storyboards, Production Photos), Enhanced for D-Box Motion Control Systems

Disc Two:
Digital Copy of The Day The Earth Stood Still for Portable Media Players

Disc Three:
The original 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still on Blu-ray

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In this remake of the 1951 classic, an alien being comes to Earth with his giant robot pet in order to determine if humans are taking proper care of the planet. It turns out we're not so of course that means that animals will hide in giant greenish orbs while humanity is eaten away by giant swarms of flies.

I hope you can sense a bit of sarcasm in that plot description because it's loaded with it.

Let me start by saying I was looking forward to this movie. It looked like it would be rather cool based on the trailers. I've never seen the original, I do know that it is very highly regarded, but I don't really have any loyalty to it or anything to compare the remake to. So it is with a completely open mind and a little bit of excitement that I sat down to watch The Day The Earth Stood Still.

And it was the most underwhelming movie of the year. I was completely uninterested from beginning to end. There is nothing to care about here. The characters are all mostly annoying and paper thin. The plot is barely there and the knock you over the head environmental message is completely thrown out the window in the end because humans are more than just destroyers of the planet. We also love which seems to make everything okay.

Honestly, there is really not a single redeeming moment in this movie. Not even the epic handsomeness of John Hamm can save this movie from the mediocre pit it falls into. The acting is unnatural and barely worthy of theaters. Keanu Reeves pretty much plays Neo with less emotion. Jennifer Connolly is so much better than we see her in this movie. I just can't express my disappointment enough.

That aside, the effects are pretty cool, if wildly over the top. The film does look great on blu-ray. The picture is crisp and clean and the sound is perfect, especially near the end when Gort is unleashed (Which oddly enough is one of the worst parts of the movie).

It's just too much for me. They sacrificed story and filled it with snazzy effects, a practice that is way too common place now a days and the movie suffers severely for it. We could have had a great sci-fi epic with a great message. Instead, we get another overblown Hollywood dud that tries to have a message.

As for the blu-ray, it is loaded with features. The best one being the third disc of the set featuring the original classic on blu-ray. The other features are standard featurettes, deleted scenes, and other things you'd expect. Honestly, I wasn't even interested in the features because the movie was such a let down. The Watching The Skies featurette is a highlight though. Your enjoyment of the special features is going to really be determined by whether or not you enjoyed the film.

Check out The Day The Earth Stood Still for yourself and if you have a different opinion, please let me know.

The Day The Earth Stood Still is available now.