Remake Or Original? The Day The Earth Stood Still

  












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REMAKE OR ORIGINAL: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

The Remake or Original posts will be a new thing I do. This is where I compare 2 movies. The remake, and the original. Today I will be talking about the film The Day The Earth Stood Still.

PLOT OF ORIGINAL MOVIE: A flying saucer orbits the 1950s Earth. It lands in Washington, DC, on the Mall. The lone occupant steps out and is shot by a jumpy soldier. Gort, a large and very powerful robot appears to save himWhen a sphere from outer space lands in the Central Park in Manhattan, a group of scientists are summoned by the American government under the call of the Secretary of Defense Regina Jackson. The reborn alien form Klaatu is brought to a military facility and Dr. Helen Benson decides to help him to escape and become the only chance to save the mankind from destruction and is able to melt tanks with the slightest bit of his power. The wounded alien orders Gort to stop his rampage and is taken to a hospital from which he escapes in order to learn more about this planet, even moving in as a boarder with an Earth family. When they begin to suspect him, he reveals himself, along with the news that Gort is a member of a race of super-robot enforcers invented to keep the peace of the galaxy that will destroy the Earth if provoked.

PLOT OF REMAKE:When a sphere from outer space lands in the Central Park in Manhattan, a group of scientists are summoned by the American government under the call of the Secretary of Defense Regina Jackson. The reborn alien form Klaatu is brought to a military facility and Dr. Helen Benson decides to help him to escape and become the only chance to save the mankind from destruction.

PROS OF ORIGINAL: The dialog you will find here is some of the best in any science fiction movie. The alien, Klaatu, is in a human body, so he is much more beliveable than if he was wearing some sort of suit. The writing is good enough so that it actullay seems like he is an alien, and he gives some inteteresting and well written speeches about human nature and how war will destroy the planet. Of course, it always nice when the aliens are not blindly just killing humans. The alien in this movie warns the humans that if  they continue waging wars and killing each other, he will be forced to destroy Earth. Overall nice plot, and some of the best writing you will see in  a Sci-Fi movie. Not to mention, the special effects are pretty decent for a movie made in 1951.

PROS OF REMAKE: This is definitely a more action oriented movie. That is not necessarily a bad thing. The special effects are good, and even though there is not a ton of action, the movie still manages to be pretty entertaining.  Of course I love Keanu Reeves in all his roles, and he was excellent in this. The role of a logical alien observing the human race is right up his alley, and I think he is what made this movie so special for me. The new addition of killer nanobites that eat up everything in their path is pretty cool, and it is executed well. This movie definetly has more action than the first one though, and is more popcorn-movie-ish.

CONS of Original: I really loved the original, and I couldn't find anything wrong with it. For what it does, it is a great movie.

CONS of Remake: Tries to be something it is not. The movie wants to be an action thriller, along with a doomsday movie, along with an intelligent-thinking- type movie. While it pulls all of these off fairly well, it seems to lose focus towards the end.

BOTTOM LINE: Both of these are excellent films, and I would recommend both to any science fiction fan. If you are looking for a timeless classic that seems to get better with age, the first one is for you. If you are looking for a great movie, while not all that memorable, still good, than the second one is for you.

SCORES: 

ORIGINAL 9.5/10

REMAKE 8.8/10

REWATCH?

Original: Yes

Remake: Yes

FUNNY?

Both: No