Utter Rubbish! (The Day The Earth Stood Still [2008] (DVD))

Member Name: sewbizzie

Product:	The Day The Earth Stood Still [2008] (DVD)
Date:	15/10/09 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good effects

Disadvantages: Boring, wooden acting at times, poor soundtrack

Helen is a scientist when one evening she is summoned by the government to 'help' them. She soon learns that something is fast approaching Earth and it is going to make impact within a few minutes. As the thing lands the Army and Government rush to see what it is and soon discover that it is an alien spaceship.

From the spaceship a creature appears and when it is fired at by the army a giant metal being comes out and attacks back. The creature is soon taken away and the bullet is removed. As the doctors are removing a bullet they make the discovery that the creature has a human form. The creature is called Klaatu and he is here to save the Earth. Little do people know that he is going to do so by killing mankind.

Helen befriends Klaatu and helps him escape so that she can try and stop him from killing the humans. Will Helen be ale to save mankind or are we all destined to die so Earth can be saved?

Well it was third time luck with this film as on the two previous attempts to watch it both me and hubby got so bored with the first 20 minutes that we turned it off. I am glad that we managed to get past this and finally watch it all as it was bugging me not knowing the ending. I will admit that I do know this is a re-make but I have never seen the original so I am unable to comment on how well or bad it was re made Hubby says it was not a bad re make but that the original was better.

The storyline was average and very dull at times. I think that so much more could have been made with it if more time and thought was put into it. The characters were good and I liked Keanu Reeves who played the role of Klaatu. He managed to give off an air of mystery and looked like he was actually scared of the job he was sent to do. I think he did work quite well with Jennifer Connelly who played the role of Helen but at times they were slightly wooden together and I think the storyline would have benefited from a bit more chemistry between the two.

There were a lot of supporting actors in the film and they did all do good jobs with what they were given and helped to give the story a little depth but not much.

The effects in the film were by far the best part. They were all well made and all looked very realistic. I found that they did help improve this otherwise awful film. The soundtrack was nothing to write home about and was very average and unmemorable. I think a lot could have been done with a better soundtrack to help with the emotions and tension throughout he film.

The running time of this film is 99minutes and I did find this was quite long enough. The certificate is a 12 and I think that this is appropriate and this film may suit the younger teenage viewers as it was just too dull for me and hubby.

The DVD which we have does have some bonus features which include:-

Film Commentary by Writer David Scarpa
Deleted Scenes
Still Galleries: Concept art, storyboards, Production Photos
4 Featurettes:-
- Re-Imagining 'The Day'
- Unleashing Gort
- Watching the Skies: In Search of extraterrestrial life
- The Day the Earth was 'green'

I have not watched any of these features as the film was not good enough to warrant a watch so I am unable to make comment on them.

I bought this DVD for £5 in Tesco and I really wish I had not as it was dull, boring, unimaginative and at times a load of rubbish so I cannot recommend it. If you still do wish to watch it then would have to recommend renting or borrowing a copy from a friend.

Summary: Klaatu has comne to save the Earth but can Helen manage to save the human race?