The Computer Graphics do not Mar the Message

    The writers do; however, considering the film is science fiction and a remake of the 1951 "B Movie" classic of the same title, I'm fine with that. The film is a bit preachy, but so was the original to a lesser extent. Because it is a remake, I doubt it will ever receive the moniker of classic, but with critics one never knows.

    Like the original, this version is about the alien Klaatu, portrayed by Keanu Reeves, visiting Earth to take up action with the masses about our destructive nature. This is where the two films diverge; with the first film concentrating on our violent nature and the second film focusing on our ecological destructive nature. Klaatu in the original, played by Michael Rennie, wanted to warn our citizens against the impending doom of killing each other by nuclear holocaust, or worse, exporting our brand of violence throughout our galaxy and beyond. In the second film; Klaatu, after decades of research, actually decided that humans upon the planet should be exterminated so the planet could survive.

    Now this is where the film gets a bit preachy, and remarkably nonscientific, considering the fact that it is vastly inconclusive whether man has the capacity to completely wipe the species off the face of the Earth due to their ecological degradation. Furthermore, it is a scientific fact that if man did succeed in snuffing the species, the Earth would continue and evolve.

    When Klaatu tells micro biologist Helen Benson, played by Jennifer Connelly, "If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth survives. There are only a handful of planets in the cosmos that are capable of supporting complex life," one has to punch themselves to remember that this film is science fiction, not science. If the writers meant that a "handful" were at least thousands of planets like ours "in the cosmos" that support life, then, they may be in the ballpark. Considering the almost infinite number of galaxies in our universe, and that our own galaxy, the Milky Way, has billions of stars; from a mathematical sense, there could be thousands of planets, able to sustain life, in our galactic neighborhood. We just don't know for sure. That's why science fiction is such a wonderful medium, and that is why, however, it should never be preachy about sociological machinations as they relate to pure science.

    The story, if construed as a monolithic expression, is plausible to the extent that one could suspend disbelief to the point of enjoyment; however, I can understand why others will dismiss it totally, while others embrace it. I'm just do not feel compelled to make an argument to either extent. The acting is competent, but not overwhelming. Director Scott Derrickson integrated the acting and story well enough for the film to work for me overall, but, it is the art direction that is the true winner and may have salvaged it. Regardless of its imperfections as a film, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is still worth the 104 minutes of runtime to tell its preachy story.

    Rated PG13. Released on DVD April 7, 2009.