Keanu Reeves is learning. Not learning how to act, but learning how to use his lack of expressions effectively. His latest inexpressive character is Klaatu, the foreboding alien at the center of The Day the Earth Stood Still. This effects-laden remake is about as exciting as listening to Reeves reading a senate environmental bill.
A mysterious space object lands in Central Park. (Because anybody who’s anybody attacks New York first). But instead of an asteroid, scientists find a large glowing orb. Two beings emerge from it: a surprisingly retro robot/alien hybrid named Gort and an alien life form quickly reborn as Keanu Reeves. When the alien’s intentions become clear, the government tries to strengthen its hold on him and he takes off with a sympathetic scientist (Jennifer Connelly) and her son (Jaden Smith).
Sounds exciting, right? Not really. Aside from a few scenes that can best be described as “creepy,” the film is all talk. The scientists wonder what the alien could want, a government bigwig (in this case, Kathy Bates) feeling threatened, the alien escapes and then… they talk some more! It’s not that the film suffers from too much set-up and too little pay-off. The talking just moves around in circle and, despite all the talk of impending doom, no one ever actually seems worried. And when the apocalypse finally arrives, it can best be described as mind-numbing. Never before has the destruction of mankind been so boring.
And it’s not as if the film suffers from a lack of ambience. Director Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) fills the film with appropriately eerie scenes of misty forests and sparse landscapes, all of which tie into the film’s unabashed green sensibilities. If only the script gave the filmmakers some thrills to work with. Reeves’ lack of versatility actually serves him well – let’s face it, no one seems more natural at being flat than him. Connelly, Jon Hamm and Kyle Chandler provide sufficient support, even if they all looks the same. It’s almost as if mankind already suffered an alien attack that obliterated everyone with brightly-colored hair.
Whether or not The Day the Earth Stood Still warranted a remake is beside the point. When the results are this mediocre, there’s no point in arguing for or against. It shows that the director can make pretty pictures, but not much else. And it shows that Keanu Reeves can convincingly play an unemotional alien. But we already knew that.
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