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The Hour and Three-Quarters My Brain Stood Still

Starring:
Keanu Reeves as Klaatu
Jennifer Connelly as Helen Benson
Kathy Bates as Regina Jackson
Jaden Smith as Jacob Benson
John Cleese as Professor Barnhardt

This review of the 2008 remake of the 1951 classic 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' is aimed at those who, like myself, have seen the original and consider it one of their favourite films and possibly the best classic sci-fi film ever made, with its script of intelligence and depth, and who, like myself, were curious to see what an updated version of this unique gem would be like.

Well, basically, pretty much the only resemblance between this film and the original is the title and the fact that the two principal characters are called Klaatu and Helen Benson. Aside from that, it's a completely different story with completely different characters.

It thinly retains a similar basic plot line, that of a man from outer space who comes to Earth to tell them that they are on the slippery slope to not just ruining their own planet but possibly threatening others as well, and that he is the representative of a league of more advanced extra-terrestrials who want to warn humankind that it may be necessary to destroy life on Earth for the greater good if they don't stop their aggressive ways.

But unfortunately that's where all resemblance ends, and this dog's dinner of a supposed remake turns out to be nothing more than an absolutely mediocre action movie with lots of glitzy special effects, not much of a story (and what little story there is, is confusing and muddled) and very shallow, cardboard-cutout characters none of whom you feel able to care about.

Keanu Reeves plays Klaatu, the man from another planet, as if sleepwalking through the role, saying very little and most of which is monosyllabic and delivered drearily (well, OK, it is Keanu Reeves after all), the exact opposite of the very wellspoken, talkative, engaging and likeable Klaatu portrayed by Michael Rennie (who seemed born to play the role!) in the original. I do actually like Keanu Reeves, but did not enjoy his performance in this film at all.

Unlike the original film where Klaatu is the main character and has the most screen time and dialogue, in this remake he has very little to do and never becomes more than an enigmatic husk who speaks as if in a dream and uses shows of murderous violence in order to try to convince the Earth folks that he means business. The original Klaatu, although he threatened using

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