Trailer Tuesday: The Day the Earth Stood Still

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I bitch and moan about remakes quite regularly here, but I can't in all honesty say I'm always opposed to them. Sure, remakes of Rosemary's Baby, Karate Kid and Footloose (all in development at the moment) are fat wastes of time and energy. However, there are those remakes that do, kind of, make sense - largely because the original films aren't something you routinely stumble across on TV. If you want to watch these classics most of the time you have to make the effort: go out or head online, and actually buy the DVD.

The Day the Earth Stood Still, based on the 1951 sci-fi classic, is one of those remakes.

Then again, perhaps my intro paragraph above is a lot of bull. Having never seen the original Day, I'm just not precious about it. Studio execs and director Scott (Exorcism of Emily Rose) Derrickson have free reign to do whatever they want with the creative property. In fact, watching the trailer I'm certainly intrigued (mmmm... Apocalyptic city destruction), and will definitely be catching this one at the cinema. Especially since we're not exactly overwhelmed this festive season with must-see releases.


Anyway, The Day the Earth Stood Still seems to have pretty much the same premise as the original film.

Keanu Reeves portrays Klaatu, an alien whose arrival on Earth in a giant spherical spacecraft sends the world into a panic. As governments and scientists race to unravel the mystery behind the visitor's appearance, Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her young stepson (Jaden Smith) are caught up in Klaatu's potentially deadly mission. John Cleese and Kathy Bates co-star.


The Day the Earth Stood Still opens this Friday, 12 December, in North America and locally.

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