"The imagery is spectacular"
This film is very good. It genuinely exceeded my expectations and did the original justice. In fact I would go so far as to say its what the original would have been if they had had the technology back then.
The story follows Klatu as he descends to save the earth from the one thing that can destroy it....US! He is sent to decide whether the humans can in fact change or if its necessary to save samples of all the other species and destroy the human race Noah style. Its up to Jennifer Connolly to save the us all and judging by the amazing performances in the film we are most definitely in good hands.
The performances throughout our great and even Will Smiths young son does well (though he does get close to becoming very annoying by the end) which is fantastic to see. Most the time an effects driven movie is exactly that, but a far more personal story and emotion journey for our extra terrestrial friend draw you into the movie and help you really care about the (slightly predictable) outcome. Keanu (who really can't act) does very well too. Mainly because the part requires a wooden and emotionless performance (something he pulls off superbly) Klatu never fully humanises as a character, which is good because he isn't human. He does however start to see the beauty of humanity and this is shown in the characters thought process which does it justice. Had Klatu started crying and saying how much he loved humans it would have been really poor. The supporting cast were also good and the robot was great. It does very little but what it does do is memorable.
Plus John Cleese is in the movie. He has a main credit at the films opening and is only in it 5 minutes or so, he however has the most important things in the whole film to say during his screen time.
The film is also stunningly beautiful to look at, the space ship and alien effects are astounding. We know that anything can be done with CGI and so the director has obviously decided a flying saucer and a few big bangs would not do. So he turned everything into a stunning work of art. The space ship is awe inspiring and the swarm of locus as they eat through everything is epic and scary at the same time. The lighting is superb and each shot is brilliantly composed to get the maximum reaction from the audience with out going over the top. That said the special effects weren't all great. What disappointed me was the CGI aeroplanes, helicopters and tanks all of which looked fake. It wasn't enough to spoil the experience but it did make a difference as you would hope that something like this wouldn't be as over looked as that.
Over all The day the Earth stood still did the original film justice. When I first heard it was being made I, like many others asked why it was needed. The film makers have answered that question with a confident, beautiful and effective piece of cinema that must be seen (in IMAX if possible) in cinemas. Not one to wait until the DVD. Its something I would definitly see again before its cinematic run is over
I give it a strong
4 stars
