DVD
REVIEW: The Day The Earth Stood Still
04/02/09
SYNOPSIS: Epic
action and mind-blowing effects rock the planet in this
thrilling reinvention of the sci-fi classic, THE DAY THE
EARTH STOOD STILL. Keanu Reeves portrays Klaatu, an
otherworldly being whose arrival on Earth triggers an
unstoppable series of events that threaten all of mankind.
In a desperate attempt to save humanity, governments and
scientists race to unravel the mystery behind the visitor’s
appearance. When a woman (Jennifer Connelly) and her young
stepson find themselves embroiled in the alien’s plan, they
become the world’s only hope to stave off apocalyptic
annihilation.
REVIEW:
Klaatu: If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth
survives.
That is basically what it boils down to, that is the
message, and it is very strongly suggested. Now for you
non-sci-fi fans, don’t bother, you already know you are not
going to like this movie. Sci-fi fans, listen up . . . you
might hear negativity surrounding this movie, I know I have,
but if you are a true fan of anything sci-fi you will not be
disappointed. I mean sure, this is not the best movie ever
made and you might even consider War of the Worlds or I Am
Legend to be better, a little more intense and dramatic, but
all in all this a well done sci-fi thriller that is spooky
and mysterious, catastrophic and filled with hopelessness.
There is a fair amount of action and drama as it explores
the human condition and how it affects the Earth’s
condition, as well as the fine line between life and death.
This movie is very high tech and the special effects are top
notch. I would go so far as to say that the visuals alone in
this movie make it worth the watch. It is really good stuff.
Well, actually, I guess it helped that I was fortunate
enough to see it in an IMAX theater, so yeah, you might want
to heavily consider that option if you plan to see it. IMAX
really has it going on. I think all movies should be shown
in IMAX. You’ve got the incredible screen size and the sound
system is just as impressive as the screen. It really takes
movie watching to a whole new level.
In another taste test, let’s compare it to two other movies
that have very similar themes. I would say that it is not as
good as Cloverfield (I loved Cloverfield, thought it was a
fantastic movie, gave it 5 stars) but it is definitely
better than Fantastic 4, Silver Surfer. The added bonus in
this film is Keanu playing the lead role as Klaatu, the
extraterrestrial. It was reminiscent of his most prolific
role, Neo from the Matrix series (my favorite movie series
of all time, so far). The cold, emotionless stares, the
monotone speech, and the deliberate and robotic motions were
perfectly done by Mr. Reeves. You can say that I highly
agree with the casting in this movie. That includes Jennifer
Connelly who I think is at her best when she is in a
hopeless situation and her eyes well up with tears. She
plays Dr. Helen Benson who is one of the few people Klaatu
seems to get along with. The puzzling part of the cast is
Kathy Bates as Regina Jackson, a Presidential right-hand
woman, and John Cleese as Professor Barnhardt, a scientist
and Nobel Prize winner. It is awkward seeing Kathy play a
political role and even more awkward is seeing John play a
serious role. They both did good jobs, though, but it was
just awkward.
Even though the storyline is predictable and at times a
little corny, the message does get across in the simplest of
forms. It is summarized by that one quote from the movie
above. There have been plenty of movies lately that promote
environmental friendliness, but none cut to point as
directly as this one. I appreciate the message that this
movie gives the most: if we kill the Earth we kill
ourselves; if we save the Earth, we save ourselves. It’s
that simple. The overall dialogue in this movie was just as
simple and direct too. Considering that Director Scott
Derrickson has only done a handful of movies, no matter what
people say, I think he did a very decent job with this one.
Now I haven’t read the book or seen the original version of
this motion picture so I can’t compare it to either. As a
stand alone production, however, it is worth the watch but
you need to be a fan of sci-fi to really enjoy it.
Film
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
DVD: THE DAY THE
EARTH STOOD STILL special edition DVD is presented in
widescreen format (2.35:1 aspect ratio) with English 5.1
Dolby Digital Sound and Spanish and French Dolby
Surround with English, Spanish and French subtitles.
Packaged with the original 1951 version of the film. The
transfer looks clean, judging from the watermark
screening received, however it is very difficult to
determine the real quality of the video and sound.
The DVD is loaded with
close to 90 minutes of special features. It includes
three short deleted scenes, which are so short that I
dont know why they even bother to add them to the DVD.
However it includes three interesting featurettes that
are totally recommended. The first one is "Re-Imagining
“The Day” ", in which the filmmakers and cast talk about
the Original film and about the process of re-imaging
the film. The next featurette is "Unleashing Gort", in
this one the filmmakers talk about the ideas behind
creating the new Gort for the Re-Imaging and finally a
featurette that sci-fi aficionados will find very
interesting "Watching The Skies: In Search Of
Extraterrestrial Life", in the featurette a group
of Astronomers share their ideas about the
possibilities of life in another planets.
Overall The Day The Earth
Stood Still Special Edition DVD has enough quality in
film quality as well as special features to be
recommended.
VIDEO:
Widescreen
format (2.35:1 aspect ratio)
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish
French - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Commentary
By Writer David Scarpa
Deleted Scenes:
A total of 3 short deleted scenes that don't add
anything to the story. (1:53)
Re-Imagining “The Day” Featurette
Filmmakers and cast talk about
the Original film and about the process of re-imaging the
film. I found this feature very interesting. Best featurette
of the DVD. (30:05)
Unleashing Gort Featurette:
Another interesting featurette in which the filmmakers talk
about the ideas behind creating the new Gort for the
Re-Imaging (13:52)
Watching The Skies: In Search Of Extraterrestrial Life
Featurette :
A group of Astronomers share their ideas about the
possibilities of life in another planets. Believers will
find this featurette very interesting. I know I did (23:08)
The
Day The Earth Was “Green” Featurette:
Filmmakers talk about how it was to shoot a Green film.
(14:04)
Concept Art
Digital Copy
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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