I saw the original version of the Robert Wise movie, “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” when I was a kid, but I was already a fan of science fiction. I loved it.
I hadn’t been able to watch last year’s remake by Scott Derrickson and starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly until today. I finally understood why it has been so heavily criticized. Perhaps we are now so familiar with special effects that the movie failed to surprise us. I had definitely expected more emotion and technology.
I believe, however, that the major cause of criticism is the fact that the film conveyed the same old and always crappy message: mankind is destroying the Earth and if they don’t change their attitudes, they will be destroyed along with it.
It urges us to become aware of the fact that the environmental degradation brought about by mankind is the cause of our imminent destruction, and states that we are not the owners of the planet, which, in addition to Americans’ tendency to portray themselves as the rulers of humanity, made viewers dislike the remake.
It’s worth a reflection: we don’t need to have an alien reminding us that we do not have the right to destroy the home that provides us shelter. Are we, as one of the characters said, already so close to the edge of the cliff that it’s too late to change? Should we stop caring for a beloved terminally ill patient just because he is condemned to die? Or should we use all of the resources available to try to spare him from greater suffering?
All debates aside, I liked the film. I was disappointed by the lack of action and suspense, even though the new robot was quite frightening. Also, it had more technological resources (I love teleportation, lasers and all that Star-treky paraphernalia).
And, as usual, I cried when I saw the scene with the boy next to his dad’s grave. That was inevitable. It hits my mother-without-a-kid side. In the end, I turned the film into a romantic drama.
