The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)Movie Reviews

Gifts + Promos

• So-so Based on 15,255 reviews
  Breakdown:

• Sort by: Helpfulness
• Review Date

• No
  Written December 17, 2008

  The Day My Brain Stood Still

  by

  I sat there, waiting and waiting, for something original to happen. You know? There is always supposed to be at least ONE wow-factor moment. This movie is a re-hashed direction of tired special effects, poor writing, and supporting actors going through the motions of reprimanding us little-people of the errors of our ways. The Evil Americans Strike Again.
  
  Gratuitous bi-racial relationships, environmental speeches, and gloom-and-doom foretellings make this hum-drum movie nearly unwatchable.
  
  Please, save your soapbox for the street corner.

  • 135 out of 151 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• So-so
  Written December 12, 2008

  The Day I Sat Still In My Seat

  by Half-Breed

  I went to the sneak preview on Thursday night, and since I got free tickets to see it in IMAX, I can't really complain too much. However, I can say that everything in this movie seemed too big for the movie to handle (and not because it was on a screen 60+feet tall). I think the idea of the movie is a good starting point and could have gone somewhere, but it just felt to me that we were going down the same road that so many movies like this have already traveled. To give you a quick example; many mysterious "things" from space come down to earth. "Are they good or bad? How should we deal with them?" Kinda sounds like Independence Day right? However, unlike ID4, this movie didn't have that "Let's kick those Aliens' butts, hoooooraaaahhh" kind of energy. So you may think this is going to be a "deeper" type movie, but with so many token moments and sappy lines, it's hard to take seriously.
  P.S. I've never seen the original of this movie.
  

  • 114 out of 122 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• So-so
  Written December 12, 2008

  This movie was not your typical action flick like you expected But...

  by foxasher

  Okay we have a monotonous Keanu Reeves that does a great job on his acting part. When I went into the sneak peek tonight of course I was expecting this all out flick that would surpass War of the Worlds. It was a totally different approach. Imagine say, Tree huggers making love to Sci-Fi Gurus and this is what the film basically is. The little kid in the flick is just annoying, the ARK balls are visually appealing but really have no effect whatsoever in this entire movie, yes that's right. No massive attacks on a nationwide scale, no mass rioting visible, or mass suicides which would mark apocalyptic style endings, just a conflicting talk the whole movie how humanity can change its evil ways towards each other. They did not even show the conclusion or after math of what happens when the aliens leave. For the budget this film spent, they could've conveyd and entertained a lot more movie goers.

  • 80 out of 88 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• Must Go!
  Written December 13, 2008

  What's with all the negativity? This was a great sci-fi movie.

  by jtm1974

  I don't get it. Did you naysayers see the same movie I did? Or are you just all Keanu haters that rag on any movie he's in whether it's good or not? Because this movie definatly didn't suck like you all claim it did.
  
  I saw this today and it was very good. It kept me on the edge of my seat; very intense. The only thing I was disappointed with was the ending but still overall is was well worth seeing. If you like intensity buildup and cool special effects, you'll enjoy this movie. It's not all action, but it still moves along well and the intensity and suspense keeps your eyes glued to the screen. And I have to say Keanu might not be the best actor, but he does have screen presence and he's cool. He's at his best in sci-fi movies so he should just stick to that genre and give up the boring romance movies. I am even considering seeing it again next week.
  

  • 35 out of 41 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• Oh No!
  Written December 16, 2008

  Another "Day After Tomorrow"

  by 808_State

  So I was excited to see the film but was disapointed by the dull and poor acting, Mr. Reeves must have taken a pill, with all due respect to Will Smith, your son did not come through but to be fair he did not have much to work with, and this "save the planet" script...give me an F'n break. I wanted to walk out about 30 mins into the film but my wife wanted to give it a chance, afterwards she agreed we should have walked out. Do not waste your hard earned money on this refuse pile of a movie. If you must see this one, please rent it.
  *
  I'd had rather pay someone to kick me in the pants then see this movie....in fact I wish I had on Friday night...it would have been alot less painfull.

  • 18 out of 21 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• Oh No!
  Written December 12, 2008

  The re-write of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL was a master FXXX UP

  by scififan100

  When there is a movie so well known...that is truely a classic production it was stupiid. The re-write deleted the impact of the 'Cold War" era film. The feeling of the new production is confused and lacking in impact and direction. The onscreen characterizations were uninspired and the acting was wrong for Keanu Reeves who is was probably not the best choice.
  
  The importance of the original story line is completely lost and the idiot writer minimized the characters and just was not engrossing at all. Badly re-written, poorly shot and the special effects featuring the Police Robot Gort were minimized. Please keep this writer and director from ever touching a science fiction genre movie...he or she are not qualitfied. Perhaps JOE JOHNSON, STEPHEN SOMMERS, ROBERT ZEMMECKIS, WOLFGANG PETERSEN or JOHN MCTIERNAN would have all been better to bring this re-make to fruition in style and energy. THIS MOVIE IS THE WORST DISAPPOINTMENT FOR 2009.

  • 15 out of 21 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• So-so
  Written December 12, 2008

  a plot cannot stand on a paradox

  by mischiefmeister

  Despite the excellent special effects and geek-tastic casting choice of Keanu as the alien Clatu, I'm afraid this movie has nothing to offer. The entire plot of the original, if you recall, fellow sci-fi buffs out there, was that the aliens believed humans would threaten the intergalactic politics of their association. Clatu stopped the destruction of humanity but left the robot behind, in order to prevent humanity from leaving the planetary surface, and thus become a nuisance. However, THIS Clatu was sent to preserve all life on earth BESIDE humans, under the preposterous assertion that there "are only a few planets that can support life". What? You have nanotech, can repair biology, bring dead bodies back to life, deconstruct organisms and recombine them into arbitrary shapes and you say that you need INCUBATORS???? WTF? Go terraform another world, you lazy half-assed space-police! Next time, do more research before you destroy a planet. Listen to Bach on Itunes in advance.

  • 14 out of 19 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• Oh No!
  Written December 24, 2008

  "The Day The Earth Demanded a Refund"

  by slave2six

  This movie brings an entirely new definition to "appalling drivel from the pits of the netherworld of your choice."
  
  It wasn't merely that the script was apparently written by Al Gore's retarded twin brother or that the special effects were special in the same sense that Al Gore's twin brother is. Nor was it that Keanu Reeves acted like an android with the IQ of his character in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Nor was it that the rest of the third-rate cast members, even "cute black kid who has lost both his parents and is being raised by his white step mother," clearly never attended acting school, (it is doubtful that any of the cast made it through elementary school).
  
  What made this movie a total toilet clogger was that even Kathy Bates stunk!Imagine Jimmy Stewart playing a stripper in a gay bar and you'll get an idea of how I felt about this performance by the Kathster.
  
  I don't know what it was but when Kathy Bates sucks, it's time for Hollywood to pack up and go home

  • 13 out of 17 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• So-so
  Written December 14, 2008

  The Day the Earth Stood Still

  by madddawg

  As Si-Fi goes, it was nice to see it tied to the Pulp Mag days in the 50's. It was nice to see it tie all the way back to the creation of time and man, and even the somewhat touch and go connection to Biblical creation, the Arc and the Flood .. pretty cool.
  
  However, I am a tad tired of listening to Hollywood tell me about science, the biology of the planet, global warming and it's current description of "change" and how stupid we are as a animal species.
  
  Worse, I am totally tired of hearing about how we should grab hands and sing until we become one, that is die and lose our individual selves, and join the cosmic energy flow as a non- being, and help ever thing by so doing. Go Buda! Wait a minute, he died. What a goal .. be dead and stay that way.
  
  I am also tired of hearing how the military mind set is shoot first and ask questions later. They don't have that mind set!
  
  Much more interested in Sci-Fi ... prediction of future technology and human interaction, like of old

  • 9 out of 10 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• So-so
  Written December 23, 2008

  The Day the Earth Stood Still

  by d2k1323

  This movie was decent but nothing really spectacular. It wasnt boring, pleasant to watch but it was the typical humans are killing planet earth and aliens have to get rid of the human race to save planet earth and how we should change blah blah blah. I'd wait for the dvd.

  • 8 out of 8 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• Must Go!
  Written December 29, 2008

  Much better than the critics stated . . .

  by spock38019

  I liked this movie. It held fairly well to the original B&W release from the 1950's. I'm not certain why the critics did not like it. I'm not a big fan of K. Reeves' acting -- yet I thought he did a good job in this movie. Of course, the special effects were fantastic. One almost feels as if one is experiencing the alien invasion. It was a far better movie than Independence Day which had junk science and incorrect technical information (a computer virus developed on a P.C. or a Mac can't "infect" a computer in an alien spaceship, running a different operating system), yet it's amazing how many people loved that movie despite its plot holes). The Day the Earth Stood Still was exciting, the plot was coherent, even the music was good. I suppose one could argue that the Earth did not "stand still" as in the original movie (in the original, everything electric was halted for 24 hours). But I still liked the new version of the older movie despite this difference. Please go see it.

  • 7 out of 7 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• Go
  Written December 13, 2008

  A Science Fiction Fan Speaks Up.....

  by densteele

  I've been a science fiction fan all my life, and I've seen the 1950's version of The Day the Earth Stood Still 30 times or more. I really like this film. So, after reading some of the negative fan reviews in this forum, I wasn't too sure whether I'd bother to see the remake. It's my philosophy that one needs to see a film first-hand before making a judgment, so it was off to the movie-house yesterday.
  As the film evolved on the screen, it became clear to me that the screen writer had the core of the story well in-hand. The thrust of the film has to do with the Klaatu saving the Earth -- not the inhabitants of the planet. As in the original, Earthlings are on the brink of losing their planet because of their own actions. In the end, the "humanity" of both the Earthlings and alien prevail.I would have liked to see more of GORT, and for the first time learned what G.O.R.T. means. Kinda neat! Dennis

  • 11 out of 15 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• Go
  Written December 19, 2008

  Not so bad

  by GLfan

  I was really looking forward to this one, being a big fan of the original. Yes, the original IS better, hands down. That said, though, this one isn't as bad as some people are making it out to be. The special effects are fantastic. The whole beginning sequence of events was well done and suspenseful - and I loved Gort! At times the movie seemed a bit slow, but then again I suppose the original was, too! The only real thing I was truly disappointed in was the ending. I won't give it away, of course, but I will just say that it was really abrupt! I wanted more! Oh well. The plot could have been deeper and the characters fleshed out a bit more, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. Go see it - just don't expect a big blockbuster type film. Seeing it in IMAX would be a great plus.

  • 27 out of 47 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• No
  Written December 17, 2008

  Another "America sucks and is the root of all evil " movie.

  by GreekSyrinx

  Seriously, I was so mad. Once again, the movie makers think it is necessary to make our military men and women look stupid and incompetent. After a failed attempt at attacking the aliens, America's military leader throws up his hands and yells at his men..."Well, anybody got another idea???" Duh....and of course he says it with a strong southern accent...so I guess he is REALLY stupid then huh?
  
  The whole world of course protest America because we are holding the alien info close to the vest and won't share.... blah blah blah. Bite me..
  
  The reason why most people like the beginning of the movie and end up thinking it sucks is because at the beginning, there are awesome fast paced scenes of America kicking into gear getting ready for an invasion. The military, police, scientists, politicians, everyone is working together, looking very confident. As the story unfolds, one at a time all of these groups is made to look stupid.
  
  

  • 9 out of 12 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No
• Must Go!
  Written December 16, 2008

  Awesome..

  by Hi_I_play_Bass

  Effect awesome, acting awesome, story was a little slow but otherwise a really good movie. Must go.

  • 9 out of 12 found this review helpful.
  • Was this helpful to you? 
  • Yes
  • No

• Page: 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• More Reviews