Der Tag, an dem die Erde stillstand (2008)

Der Tag, an dem die Erde stillstand: Directed by Scott Derrickson. With Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, Jaden Smith. A remake of the 1951 classic science fiction film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth.

“Probably the biggest letdown of my sci-fi viewing life. Even worse than the 3rd u0026quot;Alienu0026quot; movie. So many bad points that I canu0026#39;t remember them all. Iu0026#39;ll touch on the lowlights.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirst, as the unidentified object approached earth, everyone seemed dumb on the reason for the change in direction. Duh uh, like wouldnu0026#39;t a spacecraft immediately come to mind as a possibility?? Then the excitement and anticipation of a visible ship was taken away by clouds and fog and a vague vessel.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs stated elsewhere, the initial contact in the park was ended with Klatu getting shot for an offered handshake (no mysterious equipment popping open). And several times in the movie, there were vehicles, equipment and/or people more evenly spaced out (in large areas) than a marching band.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRather than go over a scene by scene critique, the following complaints come to mind. 1)bad writing; all actors had trite and often repetitive lines. 2)The Secretary of State was scary, illogical, and didnu0026#39;t seem to be in much contact with the bosses(the President and VP). 3)Poor or no acting by the u0026quot;Starsu0026quot; and the kid. 4) choppy flow, frequently too slow or unclear. Weak continuity, scenes seemed to be just stuck together. 5) Gort was pathetic. Like the recent u0026quot;Hulksu0026quot;, unconvincing CG and too big to realistically show it in contact with humans. (should have gotten Shaq for the part)…. 6) No actor to actor chemistry ever formed. 7) The final scenes completely missed out on the dramas of the u0026quot;standing stillu0026quot; time and the alien departure. What message did he leave us with? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSince Iu0026#39;m a poor typist and canu0026#39;t immediately recall all of my issues with the film, Iu0026#39;ll end my comments by saying that I have no problem with changing a remake so that it is more up to date and offers some different twists to add interest. However, this film completely missed the mark of maintaining the strengths that the original script had, namely convincing acting with consistent story and character build-up leading to a dramatic final scene with a clear message to all of the world.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThey could and should have done far far better.”