Being a remake, Scott Derrickson’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” will be viewed critically by avid fans of the original. Having seen both, I personally feel the remake is definitely worth seeing – by both fans of the original and those who never heard of it.
The setting for the remake is New York City – a choice that may seem insensitive, but is understandable given the fact that the United Nations is headquartered there. (The setting of the original was Washington, DC).
When a large object hurtling through space at supersonic speeds makes it way towards Earth, a team of the top scientists in the United States are assembled to find a way to prevent the object from making impact. What they discover, however, is that the object is no meteorite, but an organic space vessel carrying an extraterrestrial and its extra-large android. And rather than crashing, it lands – in New York’s Central Park.
Then, out walks Klaatu, an alien who appears as a human surrounded by an organic encasing, which is later removed by scientists.
Unsure what the alien’s motives are for landing on earth, the US Government attempts to interrogate it – or rather him, as it appears to be male. The alien, played by Keanu Reeves, however, insists on speaking only to the leaders of the world, and eventually escapes captivity.
With the help of one of the scientists, Klaatu makes his way to meet up with a fellow alien in disguise to receive its report after years of observing the human race as a human.
The verdict? The human race is destructive – though there’s something about them that the alien is drawn to.
The sentence? The end of the human race.
