Viewed in
2008
Premise
Remake of the 1951 classic about a mysterious alien appearing on Earth with an unknown agenda.
Who should watch
Keanu Reeves fans. Those who want to watch the original, but hate black-and-white.
Thoughts
Apparently, I liked to more than most. Perhaps because I had just seen the original, and liked all the references to it.
To my surprise, Keanu Reeves was believable as the human-looking alien. I was able to take him seriously, unlike, say the 'Matrix' movies. My other favorite part was how much the the story stuck to the original, with some nice little twists and shout outs.
In some ways, this film was superior to the original. Such as the believability of the situation and how Klaatu behaves.
If you only had time to watch one, the original is still the must-see classic.
What I would change
Saved some budget by reducing the number of gratuitous CGI scenes.
Random
I found it amusing that Jaden (Will Smith's kid) was literally following his father's footsteps by driving through a deserted New York City, a la 'I am Legend'.
Speaking of the Big Apple, what's up with the slew of deserted NYC scenes, such as these two films and 'Vanilla Sky'?
Spoiler!
My favorite twist was the cemetery scene, in which the kid asks Klaatu to revive his father. I was fine without the famous speech, mainly because that would have been too idealistic of a scene.
On the other hand, I wished the resurrection scene was kept, but I understand it wouldn't have fit in the context of the plot. And they should have sneaked in a 'Klaatu barada nikto' in there.
