The Day The Earth Stood Still DVD Review Film (2008)

For Boys                       For Girls

B- 6/10                          H - 7/10

A - 6/10                          R - 4/10

W - 5/10                         W - 4/10

T HE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
DVD REVIEW

Certificate: 12A

Genre: Action

Chris' Verdict On The Day The Earth Stood Still DVD Review:
6/10- "After all the hype and the expensive budget, I was expecting a
lot more from this film in nearly every area. Unfortunately in no area
did it fulfil its potential, even the special effects were poor in places."

Ellie's Verdict on The Day The Earth Stood Still DVD Review:
4/10- "I do not normally like this type of film and this The Day The
Earth Stood Still confirmed my dislike of the genre. The acting was
dull and the film offered little to get excited about. "

For more information read the review below

Film Release date: 22nd December 2008

The Day The Earth Stood Still DVD Movie Review

The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of the most hyped and definitely one of the
most anticipated films of the year. The film is a remake of the original 1951 sci-fi
film that was is regarded as a pretty decent movie and one of the better rated sci-fi
movies of its time. The question was, could the remake be as good as the original
and would it even be a decent film. In this destructive sci-fi film there is probably
no-one better suited to the role of a dangerous emotionless alien then Keanu
Reeves. While his acting abilities have been questioned, he is still the main man in
this genre following his performances in both the Matrix Trilogy and Constantine.
The story develops as an alien, known as Klaatu, played by Keanu Reeves, and
his bodyguard Gort arrive on Earth. Klaatu avoids the pleasantries and instead
tells of the Earth’s impending destruction unless harmony is restored throughout
the world. As it might sound, the whole idea seems ridiculous to those in powerful
positions but after things start to go wrong then a typical Hollywood action movie
panic sets in. Maybe Ryne Douglas Pearson is intending the movie to be a
warning to the world’s current leaders?

Anyway, back to this The Day The Earth Stood Still review. The main draw of this
film and indeed the focus of the trailer is the violence and action that this film
promises. While the alien figure is trying to make the Earth’s nations live in
harmony, this ultimately results in unparalleled destruction and some of the best
special effect sequences that we have seen in a Hollywood film. In one scene, the
Allianz arena, home to Bayern Munich football team is annihilated. There is
another point when a cloud is sweeping across the land and destroying everything
in its path which was pretty impressive to watch. The one drawback with this film is
that there is little reality in the film at all and little that you can actually relate to.
CGI is used for nearly everything and in places it is not that well finished.
Moreover, the robot bodyguard, Gort is definitely not an endearing character and
was actually quite repulsive in appearance doing little other than annoying me at
how bad and gormless he looked. The action was good and impressive in places
but there was an inability to maintain the high standards throughout the film which
lets the film down and results in a less than favourable The Day the Earth Stood
Still review.

The acting is probably the next thing that I should consider in The Day the Earth
Stood Still review. Keanu Reeves is the lead and delivers a relatively believable
performance. He has little charisma and has an inability to show anything other
than seriousness and confusion. Nevertheless, his inability to show a range of
emotions helps him perform well in this film and suit his part perfectly. The other
main performance comes from Jennifer Connelly who plays the secretary of
defence and subsequently has a big job to do to save America and the world. She
gives a decent albeit unspectacular performance. There are also cameo
appearances from the classy John Cleese and Hollywood’s new favourite child
actor, Jaden Smith, who both give ok performances, with John Cleese only
appearing relatively briefly.

Overall, The Day the Earth Stood Still has a number of the ingredients required to
be a successful sci-fi movie but it never really reaches either its hype or potential.
If the time had been taken to iron out some of the creases then the result may
have been a lot different. The cast all give ok performances while there are no
fireworks from anyone despite the explosive nature of the film’s plot line. Overall, if
you are a fan of this genre, then despite the film’s flaws, you may still enjoy The
Day the Earth Stood Still. However, for the rest of you, I would steer clear of this
film and I would not even recommend renting it.

The Day The Earth Stood Still DVD Review

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