'The Day the Earth Stood Still' review

Jennifer Connelly and Keanu Reeves (Credit: Doane Gregory/20th Century Fox )

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A huge, mysterious object is going to collide with Manhattan! Wait, no, it's just a giant, glowing marble from outer space, from which walks Klaatu (Keanu Reeves), who claims he's a friend of Earth even though his large metallic pal GORT keeps blowing stuff up. While looking out for her stubborn stepson (Jaden Smith), scientist Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) seeks to protect Klaatu—who may favor the Earth more than its people—from government officials (including Kathy Bates) who want him dead.

The buzz: The 1951 original still resonates as a restrained, intelligent assessment of peace and communication, and human nature’s ability to screw up both. Very little of the new version was done with similar calm or wisdom. And, uh, what made anyone think Reeves was right to play an expressionless drone?

The verdict: After a completely unnecessary prologue, "Earth" starts out OK, since widespread paranoia and excitement is easy to muster when a UFO is rocketing toward the planet. From there the movie's like a skydiver whose parachute never opens, plummeting towards an ending that basically says, "Humans: Awful at Environmentalism, Great at Hugging." The mother-stepson business elevates things from stupid and stupid-looking into blandly cliché, while ditching any useful allegory for routine family drama and what at times seems like a combo of "The Happening" and "The Incredible Hulk." The most memorable scene is an unintentionally hilarious, tough-equation-on-a-chalkboard tag-team between Reeves and John Cleese that looks like a rejected audition for "Good Will Hunting."

Did you know? Wall Street goes totally wild and plummets after the alien arrival. The impact is a bit lost considering the fickle stock market seems to treat the smallest external force—it's cloudy!—like an extraterrestrial invasion.

Video: Watch the review of 'Day the Earth Stood Still'

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