Blu-ray Movie Reviews

20th Century Fox Movie •½ Disc ••••

Robert Wise's original 1951 film of The Day the Earth Stood Still may be an acknowledged classic, but I think that, deep down inside, even very serious admirers understand that it's at least slightly silly. This story of a highly advanced, humanoid alien who visits our planet to warn us to stop messing with those nukes (or we'll have to be neutralized for the benefit of the universe) is packed with bromides and clichés. Then again, it's also packed with visual imagination, atmosphere, committed performances, and great Bernard Herrmann music.

Fast-forward to 2008: It's almost shocking that Scott Derrickson's remake could be such a thorough botch. One that's much sillier than the original.

It didn't have to be. After all, there's a certain logic in casting the often hilariously inexpressive Keanu Reeves as the super-logical extraterrestrial Klaatu, for instance. But turning the plot into an eco-thriller, as it were? Setting huge swaths of the putative action in the swamps of New Jersey? Casting Will Smith and Jada Pinkett's son as a loud-mouthed, snot-nosed brat whose next birthday present should be a "Stop Snitching" T-shirt? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

The Blu-ray Disc does look very crisp (although, how crisp can those Jersey swamps get?). And the initial high-def release does include an excellent transfer of the original film. Then again, that's a move that may lead some consumers to conclude they were asked to pay for the wrong movie.