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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Popcornmeter

21%

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195 Reviews

27%

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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

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.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 8, 2009

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David Edelstein

New York Magazine/Vulture

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.

Dec 15, 2008

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Christopher Orr

The New Republic

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.

Dec 12, 2008

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Emiliano Basile

EscribiendoCine

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]

Rated: 4/10

Feb 18, 2025

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

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.

Rated: 3/10

Nov 28, 2020

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

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

Rated: 1.5/4.0

Sep 5, 2020

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Samara H

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/20/25

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Ralph R

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.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/26/25

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Ann C

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/20/25

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Jason C

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.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/25/25

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Audience Member

Huh 2 bad scores. Corny as f. But good/fun corn.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/22/25

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M. S

We just came across this last night while looking for another movie. I loved the original and really was excited that they had remade it. But even with a great cast it was so disappointing. The whole point of the movie was that Klatu got to make a big speech to earth telling us all to clean up our act and stop fighting and polluting (likely at the time more about war) or the other beings would save earth from us. I can just imagine the spin in this modern scenario. All the "bugs" just fell to the sky and the aliens just went away. Our politicians would say they defeated them and carry on as usual. The big message wasn't there and it was a huge let down. I wish there was a Klatu as we need someone to save us from ourselves.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/14/25

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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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