The movie starts with orbs of light appearing all over the world and the best scientists from the country being flown in to examine the biggest one, which lands in Central Park. As a creature begins to emerge from the light, a nervous military grunt fires a shot and takes down the creature. As a result, a large robot comes out and starts destroying everything in order to protect its master. But the destruction stops when the alien gives it a command and passes out. The Day the Earth Stood Still has a pretty big beginning, and even if it has a few slow points, it doesn't really get much worse.
Reeves plays the alien who was shot and is known only as Klaatu. When he is rushed to a nearby base, he is examined and his strange alien body morphs into a human form. It is then that he delivers his message. The Earth needs to survive, but humanity is killing it. The race has been given numerous chances to correct its wrongs, and Klaatu is here to pass judgment.
Feeling sorry for the alien, Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) helps him escape and begins attempting to convince him that the human race can change and that they shouldn't be destroyed. Joining her is her step-son, Jacob (Jaden Smith). The pair's relationship isn't an easy one. When Jacob's dad died and left Helen alone with the kid, Jacob pulled away and saw her as the woman that was stuck with him. Consequently, he never listens to her (a trait that gets them all into a lot of trouble over and over again), and the pair's emotion-filled fights flair up frequently in the film.
Klaatu and the Bensons' journey takes them in a few different directions. One stop on their voyage is to a man named Mr. Wu (James Hong), who is apparently of Klaatu's race and has been living on Earth for many years. Another visit is to Professor Barnhardt (John Cleese), in the hopes that the scholared-man can convince Klaatu to give humanity a second chance.
To say that The Day the Earth Stood Still has a message is to say there is some water in the ocean. The movie doesn't try to hide its eco-friendly statements and if it wasn't for the fact that the original film was just as blatant about it's red-threat message, I would say this re-imagining of the film could have been more subtle. As it is, the hammer-to-the-head method of conveying it's moral is in itself another homage to the classic 1951 movie.
What is great about this release is the inclusion of not only a digital copy of this film, but also the original movie on a separate Blu-ray disc. So those that haven't had a chance to see Klaatu and his robot Gort's first appearance on the big screen will get a chance to see it, and compare the two films on their own. There are quite a few other special features with this release, but the one I found the most interesting was the making-of that talked about how much effort went into re-imagining the movie and what care was taken to try and stick to the original ideas, but still make it its own, modern movie.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is an enjoyable movie and not a bad modernization of a classic Sci-Fi film. Fans of the original shouldn't have too many problems with this updated version, meanwhile newcomers to the title should get a lot of enjoyment from it. Granted the film relies a bit too heavily on CG and could go into a bit more character development, but it gets the job done and conveys its message loud and clear.
