Best Keanu: “Nothing ever truly dies. The universe wastes nothing. Everything is simply transformed.”

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a fun and entertaining film. That’s all I have to say. I honestly don’t get why this movie was so critically panned when it was released in 2008. As I’m sitting down to write this post, that’s pretty much all I can think: what is so wrong with this movie?

In a word: nothing. It has a fantastic cast. Keanu is perfect as the alien-in-human-form, Klaatu. You’ve got a young Jaden Smith bringing the film its heart and humanity. Jennifer Connelly, who will always be to me the teenager from Labyrinth, is the scientist-turned-pleading-human asking Klaatu to stop the aliens from destroying them. Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates, and John Cleese also star.

There is also a story, contrary to critics-in-2008 opinion. Alien comes to coordinate the destruction of the human race in order to save the planet earth. The powers that be want to stop him to save themselves. That works. It’s a modern sci-fi flick. What else do you need in a story?

I suppose, in 2008, we were about to experience a financial depression — nothing so bad as COVID, which would come 12 years later — and were economically vulnerable enough to reject the film’s environmental message. That ending, when the earth literally stands still, implies shutting off all the power. In 2008: oh the horrors. In 2022: maybe shutting down that electricity and getting back to the land isn’t such a bad idea. The earth, after all, is more important than any single species — human included — that lives on it. That’s what The Day the Earth Stood Still has to say, and it’s a valid message.

And an entertaining watch. This film was worth the money. Keanu was perfect in the role, with just the right amount of emotion. He does some eye acting — a Keanu signature. There’s lots of rain. A few explosions. Some alien technology that’s never really explained, but since it’s alien technology, would we be able to understand it anyway?

This is worth the rental. It’s a nice, entertaining film. It also does a nice job of hinting to the human race that we do have to change. Because if anyone in this part of the universe needs saving, it’s the earth, not us — so no E.T.s are going to save us before the planet.

August 2022