The Movie Oracle: The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

The gods are coming back?

Dionysos, god of wine: Yes, we are! Long ago the gods grew weary of man's problems and "outsourced" our duties to upstart religions. But retirement got boring and now we're turning once again to the mortal realm, and finding it a very different world. Where to begin getting in touch with this new culture? With movies, of course!

Athena, goddess of wisdom: And other things. I look out for social issues, Dio for aesthetics. Apollo goes for the intellectual, Ares for action, Hera for family values, and so on. Each god gives their unique view on today's cinema and society.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

Ares, god of war: Aw, man, what a drag. I go to a movie about aliens wiping out the planet, and all I get is a sphere and this hokey giant robot that looks like a Sentinel from the old X-Men comics. They could've at least given it some wicked claws like Wolverine. And what's up with the military trying to wipe out the sphere with piddly sidewinder missiles? I don't understand why they don't just nuke the thing. Thumbs down.

Artemis, goddess of wilderness: Well, besides the fact that it was in the center of Manhattan, nuclear radiation would have pushed the ecological crisis over the edge--which was the point of the whole movie. The environmental angle, new in this version, was the movie's saving grace. For that, I congratulate it. Thumbs up.

Dionysos, god of wine: As for the sphere and the giant robot, you know they were remaking a 1951 movie, right? They kept the same imagery for the robot, while updating the theme. In the original, the aliens were concerned about humans' development of the atomic bomb. In this one, it's ecological disaster. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, they should have left the old movie dead and buried. Kathy Bates gives the only worthy performance. Jennifer Connelly is hot as always, but that can't balance out Keanu Reeves at his most boring. Thumbs down.

One thumb up, two thumbs down

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
When alien visitor Klaatu (Reeves) plops down in Manhattan's Central Park in a stadium-sized sphere, humans are reasonably alarmed. Apparently offering peace, Klaatu is shot by a nervous soldier. Humans struggle to prove they are a race worth saving, despite their violence and environmental negligence.
Director: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, Kathy Bates
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 20% fresh
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN THEATERS NOW
Get tickets from

DID YOU KNOW? According to Hesiod, the end of mankind will come when Shame and Retribution depart from the world, leaving only sorrows and no help against evil.