The Day the Earth Stood Still

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The Day the Earth Stood Still

PG-13

2008

1h 44m

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

21%

Tomatometer

195 Reviews

27%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Klaatu (Keanu Reeves), an extraterrestrial visitor to planet Earth, becomes the herald of upheaval on a global scale. As the world's governments and scientists race to understand what is happening and how to stop it, Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her stepson come to understand the chilling ramifications behind Klaatu's statement that he is a "friend to the Earth."

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Critics Consensus

Heavy on special effects, but without a coherent story at its base, The Day the Earth Stood Still is subpar re-imagining of the 1951 science-fiction classic.

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David Stratton

The Australian

01/08/2009

3.5/5

Derrickson and his team take a much-loved sci-fi classic and, even if they can't improve on the original, at least rework it in intriguing ways.

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David Edelstein

New York Magazine/Vulture

12/15/2008

The remake of that fine old fifties alien-invasion picture The Day the Earth Stood Still comes to a standstill about an hour before the Earth does in the wilds of New Jersey.

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Christopher Orr

The New Republic

12/12/2008

One can only hope that in the future [Reeves] will devote himself to playing androids, less-self-aware species of undead, stylish pieces of contemporary furniture, and other roles that do not require the exhibition of any recognizably human traits.

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Emiliano Basile

EscribiendoCine

Feb 18

4/10

Ultimately, the story of The Day the Earth Stood Still is as naive as the one from 1951, something that should have been adapted a little more to the times. [Full review in Spanish]

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

11/28/2020

3/10

The computer animation and picture quality is significantly cleaner and more impressive than the low-budget, man-in-a-foam-suit costuming of the 1951 classic.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/05/2020

1.5/4.0

If you look past the fairly cool special effects you're going to see a film at war with itself.

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jai t

@jaheytomkavitch Dec 7

fuck the black kid with no dad

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Scott E

Nov 28

Great beginning. Good middle. Terrible ending.

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Samara H

Sep 20

I loved this movie i think this sheds a important light on situations going on right now and how we really do need to focus more on helping the earth and saving por planet

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Ralph R

Aug 26

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) is a movie that got plenty of criticism when it first came out, and honestly, most of it is fair. The story feels clunky at times, the pacing is uneven, and the script doesn’t really do justice to the weight of its original 1951 classic. But despite all that, a big part of its draw is Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. Keanu’s calm, almost alien-like presence fits Klaatu perfectly, while Connelly brings enough emotional weight to balance out the coldness of the narrative. Without them, I doubt the film would stick with many people beyond a single viewing. Visually, it has its moments. The effects may not have aged flawlessly, but the design of GORT and the atmosphere around the bigger set pieces do have a certain impact. The directing feels serviceable, not standout, and the score tries to elevate what the script sometimes fails to deliver. For me, it’s not great sci-fi, but it does have that strange rewatchable pull, mostly thanks to the cast.

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Ann C

Aug 20

I loved it brilliant what a remake of this classic movie available on Prime

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Jason C

Jul 25

Movie was ok. Decent sci-fi. But wow.. the child actor was terrrrible. Hopefully, he left acting and went into some sort of trade work.

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Scott Derrickson

Director

Keanu Reeves

Klaatu

Jennifer Connelly

Dr. Helen Benson

Kathy Bates

Regina Jackson

Jaden Smith

Jacob Benson

John Cleese

Professor Barnhardt

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The Day the Earth Stood Still: Trailer 1

1:46

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Synopsis

Klaatu (Keanu Reeves), an extraterrestrial visitor to planet Earth, becomes the herald of upheaval on a global scale. As the world's governments and scientists race to understand what is happening and how to stop it, Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her stepson come to understand the chilling ramifications behind Klaatu's statement that he is a "friend to the Earth."

Director: Scott Derrickson
Producer: Gregory Goodman, Paul Harris Boardman, Erwin Stoff
Screenwriter: David Scarpa
Production Co: 3 Arts Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Violence|Some Sci-Fi Disaster Images)
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $79.4M
Runtime: 1h 44m

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