Posted on 12/11/2008 6:23:15 AM PST by Cincinatus
NEW YORK -- If aliens ever visit Earth, they'll be coming to reprimand us for bad behavior.
That's the premise of the 1951 classic sci-fi film "The Day the Earth Stood Still," as well as the brand-new Fox remake of the same name, in theaters Friday. In the intervening 50 years, humanity hasn't gotten any better, the filmmakers seem to conclude -- we've just switched to new transgressions.
In the mid 20th century our most pressing concern about ourselves was the threat of humans annihilating each other with nuclear weapons. The original film follows Klaatu, a human-looking alien who comes to Earth with his bodyguard robot Gort, to warn people to cease and desist with the nukes before we contaminate the rest of the Galaxy with them.
The new version of the film focuses on a more contemporary preoccupation: the threat of climate change and environmental degradation. The new Klaatu, played by Keanu Reeves, couldn't care less if we blew ourselves to bits, but would we mind not taking out the rest of the species on Earth, as well as our rare habitable planet, with us?
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
In the original, Klaatu used diamonds for money.
What does the new Klaatu use?
Carbon credits?
Who is Keanu Reeves related to that he would keep getting hired to do movies in that dead pan emotionless delivery? I mean he has to be someone’s nephew or son or grand child.
New movie message = Stop polluting with your antiquated devices producing CO2. And don't even think about asking me how to make the wonderful, efficient, non-polluting, inexhaustible, free energy that I used to get here. You wouldn't understand it.
Doesn’t bother me us in the least, it’s a movie. We’ll probably see it just because it looks to be entertaining.
That pretty much makes sense, but who cares if everything isn’t original, they can still be entertaining.
Yes, it was an extremely condescending attack on the Cold War by peaceniks.
I loved how asinine Klaatu's message was: Stop using nuclear weapons or we'll commit genocide against you.
Keanu Watcha Noway
Congratulations, Fox. I laughed so hard when I read this that coffee came out my nose.
The hubris involved in re-making one of the great films into a galaxy-sized stink bomb is just too funny not to comment upon.
I think he’s “married to David Geffen.
I guess if you look at the science fiction of the 50’s era, mankind was supposed to be able to send rockets everywhere and colonize space relatively soon, so the aliens just came to “nip it in the bud” — somewhat like the first-contact approach to warp-capable species in the later Star Trek.
As to this flick, I enjoyed the original but won’t waste my $$$ on the trendy re-make...
I do however want to see the movie coming out on the assassination attempt on Hitler by a group of his own officers.
NICE!
The original was about the dangers of nuclear proliferation — this about environmental issues. Makes sense to me.
Its just a movie. I don’t mind liberal message or two in movies, just so long as it isn’t obnoxious and the surrounding story is good. Its the nature of seeing a Hollywood-produced movie.
SnakeDoc
What about Mars Needs Women?
I hear the alien offers them a choice, Sign the Kyoto Protocol or the enact the Fairness Doctrine, or everybody dies ...
>> I hear the alien offers them a choice, Sign the Kyoto Protocol or the enact the Fairness Doctrine, or everybody dies ...
Then at least the portrayal of liberal activists is accurate.
SnakeDoc
I agree. “Valkyrie” looks good.
I’ve been waiting for this movie for a while now. I may not go on Christmas Day but I’ll see it in the first couple of weeks.
I finally saw "The day after tomorrow", or whatever that stupid movie was called, and I was entertained by it. Not by its message, but by the adventure of trying to survive a global apocalypse.
Reeves might actually be a good fit for this role. He plays ignorant types quite well in movies (Bill and Ted, Matrix). In this movie, he plays someone ignorant about human beings, and then sets out to learn about them. Who knows, maybe it wont be half bad.
I'll probably go and see it soon, and enjoy what I can of it.
Blast ‘em.
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