Review of "The Day the Earth Stood Still," DVD starring Keanu Reeves

Review of

The Day the Earth Stood Still, DVD starring Keanu Reeves

Five out of five stars

 This remake of the classic science fiction movie of the same name uses much more advanced special effects and CGI, but the fundamental structure of the plot remains. An advanced alien civilization is convinced that humans are destroying Earth and their warlike nature has the potential for far greater damage.

 Therefore, Klaatu the humanoid and Gort the robot arrive in a spherical spaceship to make the final determination as to whether Earth needs to be cleansed of the human “infestation” and then repopulated with the flora and fauna. Humanity reacts in the usual way with fear and paranoia, imprisoning Klaatu and trying to neutralize Gort.

 Klaatu initially concludes that humanity needs to be exterminated and sets that process in motion by creating and stocking a series of spherical arks containing samples of all Earth’s creatures. However, as Klaatu interacts with a white scientist and her black stepson, he sees the other aspects of humanity and reconsiders.

 The American government is once again portrayed as rigid with a military force as first resort mentality. Kathy Bates stars as the American Secretary of Defense and is the face of that policy, although at times she does question the orders of the unseen president. As is the case in most stories of this nature, the revelation of space aliens leads to panic and a loss of civil order.

 This is a very good movie for it does what good science fiction does, it forces the person experiencing it to ponder how humans will react to scenarios that have so far only been in the realm of science fiction.