The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 2008 American science fiction film, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. Directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, the film updates the Cold War theme of nuclear warfare to the contemporary issue of humankind's environmental damage to the planet. It was released on a rollout schedule beginning December 12, 2008, screening in both conventional theaters and IMAX screens.[1][2]
In 1928, a mountaineer (Keanu Reeves) encounters a glowing sphere while on an expedition in the snowy mountains of India. He then finds himself awakening after a sudden loss of consciousness, with the sphere now gone and a scar on his hand. In the present day, Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly), a Princeton professor, and other scientists are hastily assembled by the government in order to formulate a survival plan when it is feared that a large unknown object with a speed of 3x107m/s is on a crash course to the Earth, due to impact Manhattan in just over an hour. Nothing can be done about it because a vital military satellite has been disabled. However, the object is a large spherical biological spaceship, which slows down and lands gently in Central Park. A being (taking on the appearance of the man from the opening scene of the film) named Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) emerges from the sphere while accompanied by a large robot. Klaatu, a representative of a group of alien races, has come to assess whether humanity can reverse the environmental damage it has inflicted on planet Earth. In the ensuing confusion, Klaatu is shot, but survives. The large robot activates and proceeds to disrupt all electrical systems in the city of New York, including many of the defense systems that the military has mustered in a perimeter around the spaceship. However, before it can do any further damage, Klaatu orders it to shut down. While recovering from the wound, Klaatu is detained by Regina Jackson (Kathy Bates), the United States Secretary of Defense, and is barred from speaking to the United Nations. Klaatu manages to escape, and he soon finds himself eluding the authorities throughout Northern New Jersey, specifically Newark and the forested Highlands with Helen and her stepson Jacob (Jaden Smith).
Meanwhile, the presence of the sphere has caused a worldwide panic, and the military manages to capture the robot after it thwarts their attempts to destroy the sphere using unmanned aerial vehicles and Sidewinder missiles. Klaatu decides that humans shall be exterminated so the planet – with its rare ability to sustain complex life – can survive. He orders smaller spheres previously hidden on Earth to begin taking animal species off the planet, and Jackson, reminded of Noah's Ark, fears that a cataclysm is imminent. The robot, dubbed "GORT" (Genetically Organized Robotic Technology) by the government, is being experimented on deep within an underground facility in Virginia when it transforms into a swarm of self-replicating insect-like nanites that begin destroying everything in their path back to Manhattan, including a large contingent of the U.S. Army.
After speaking with Nobel Prize-winning Professor Barnhardt (John Cleese) about how his own species went through drastic evolution to survive its sun dying out, Klaatu is convinced by Helen and Jacob that humans can change their ways and are worth saving.[3] The three begin heading to the sphere in Central Park, but Klaatu warns that even if he manages to stop GORT there will be a price to the human way of life. The nanobot cloud arrives before they can reach the sphere and they have to hide under a bridge. There, it is revealed that Jacob and Helen have been infected by the nanites. She pleads with Klaatu to save Jacob. Klaatu saves both of them by transferring the infection to his own body, then sacrifices his physical form to stop GORT by walking through the nanites to the sphere and touching it. His actions cause the sphere to emit a massive pulse which stops GORT, saving humanity, but at the price of much of Earth's technology becoming apparently useless and immobile. Klaatu disappears, and the giant sphere leaves Earth.
Cast
- Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, an alien messenger in human form. Reeves dislikes remakes, but was impressed by the script, which he deemed a reimagining. He enjoyed the original film as a child and became fonder of it as an adult when he understood how relevant it was, but liked this interpretation because it lacked the contradictory message of Klaatu "laying down the law [...] almost as though the alien had the bigger stick".[4] Reeves acknowledged his Klaatu is "inverted" from the original, starting "sinister and tough" but becomes "more human", whereas the original was "more human than human" before revealing his "big stick" in his ending speech.[5] He compared the remake's Klaatu to the wrathful God who floods the world in the Old Testament, but is gentle and forgiving by the time of the New Testament.[6] He spent many weeks advising the script, trying to make Klaatu's transition from alien in human form to one who appreciates their emotions and beliefs subtle and nuanced.[3] Derrickson said although Reeves would not use actions "that are highly unusual or highly quirky", he nevertheless "keeps you aware of the fact that this being you're walking through this movie with is not a human being".[7] At Reeves' insistence, the classic line "Klaatu barada nikto" was added to the script after initially being omitted.[8] The line was recorded many times, and it was decided to combine two versions; one where Reeves just said it, and a reversed version of a recording where he said the line backwards, creating an alien effect.[9]
- Jennifer Connelly as Helen Benson, a famed astrobiologist at Princeton University who is recruited by the government to study Klaatu. Connelly was Derrickson's first choice for the part.[7] She is a fan of the original film and felt Patricia Neal's original portrayal of Helen was "fabulous", but trusted the filmmakers with their reinterpretation of the story and Helen, who was a secretary in the original.[8] Connelly emphasized Helen is amazed when she meets Klaatu, as she never believed she would encounter a sentient alien like him after speculating on extraterrestrial life for so long.[3] Connelly was dedicated to understanding her scientific jargon, with Seth Shostak stating she did "everything short of writing a NASA grant application".[10]
- Jaden Smith as Jacob Benson, Helen's rebellious eight-year old stepson. His conflict with his stepmother was worsened by the death of his father, and initially dislikes Klaatu, believing he is a potential stepfather. Jacob replaces the character of Bobby (Billy Gray) from the original, and his relationship with Helen was written as a microcosm of how Klaatu comes to see humanity – the alien sees their cold and distant relationship as proof positive of normal human behavior, and their reconciliation forces him to change his mind. Smith said he found Jacob difficult to play because he felt the character an "opposite" of his personality. Smith had met Reeves before on the set of The Matrix sequels with his mother Jada Pinkett-Smith.[3]
- John Cleese as Professor Karl Barnhardt, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who specializes in the evolutionary basis of altruism. Helen takes Klaatu to him to further change his mind. The role was the most difficult to cast, and eventually the filmmakers decided to approach Cleese, noting "Who would you rather make the argument [to Klaatu] for mankind than John Cleese?"[11] Stoff had met Cleese a few times beforehand and had noted his intellect.[3] The actor was surprised the filmmakers were interested in him, and decided playing a dramatic role would be easier than to play a manic, comedic one at his age. He was often reminded to speed up his dialogue so Reeves would not appear in sync with normal human speech patterns.[4] Cleese said he is not interested in extraterrestrial life because he often philosophizes about the purpose of life and why humans are distracted by trivial matters.[3] The scene in which Klaatu corrects a complex mathematical formula Barnhardt has written on a blackboard appears to be rendered similarly to the original. Cleese spoke of portraying abilities outside his own experience: "“The trouble is, I had to be able to write the equation, because Barnhardt has been working on it for 60 years. I learned to carefully copy things down that mean nothing to me at all. In A Fish Called Wanda, I spoke a lot of Russian without having any idea what it means.”[3] The crew enjoyed working with Cleese and were sad when he finished his part.[11]
- Jon Hamm as Dr. Michael Granier, a NASA official who recruits Helen into his scientific team investigating Klaatu. Granier is fascinated by Klaatu, but is torn between his official obligation to detain the alien and protect his country.[3] Hamm acknowledged science fiction was a niche genre when the original film was made, and that it used science fiction to make topical issues more approachable. Hamm had the same feelings for this remake.[11] Originally, Hamm's character was French and named Michel.[12] Although he is interested in math and science, Hamm found his technical dialogue difficult and had to film his lines repeatedly.[3]
- Kathy Bates as Regina Jackson, the United States Secretary of Defense. Bates had only two weeks to film her scenes, so she often requested Derrickson act out her lines so she would directly understand his aims for her dialogue, rather than interpret vague directions.[3]
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