In the Karakoram Mountains of India in 1928, a bearded explorer (Keanu Reeves) discovers a glowing sphere high up in the mountains in a blizzard. As he tries to explorer it further with his pick axe, the sphere’s light accelerates to a blinding rate until he finds himself unconscious. When he awakens, he finds the sphere gone and a noticeable scar the size of a quarter on his right hand. Jump to modern times at Princeton University, as Dr. Helen Benson’s (Jennifer Connelly) class is discussing bacterium and environmental issues. Later she returns home to be with her step son Jacob (Jaden Smith), whom she has taken over as single parent after her husband and his father was killed in the Gulf War. Shortly after arriving home, she receives a phone call and is quickly whisked away in mystery and taken into Federal Custody. She is given a police escort and put on a military helicopter with several scientists whom are equally at the top of their field with no knowledge of why or what is in store for them. When Dr. Benson and the others arrives at their destination at Ft. Linwood Military Academy in New Jersey, she is quickly brought up to speed when she bumps into a colleague who explains they are there to help come up with a plan on surviving a huge object that is due to impact the city of Manhattan in just little over an hour.
When the military satellites are some how disabled all appears to be lost. However, when the shiny object enters the Earth’s atmosphere it slows down and instead of crashing and destroying Manhattan, gently lands in Central Park. The scientists in their bio suits walk into the smoke and shadows to take reading of what looks like a giant version of the sphere that we saw in India. Before they can take any reading, a slew of military personal appear to take control of the situation by any means necessary. A human like creature (looking much like a liquid steel T-2000 from Terminator 2) emerges out of the light and walks right up to Dr. Benson. As she tries to make contact a trigger happy soldier shoots him. Immediately a large robot, skyscraper in size, emerges from the light with a beaming red eye and a deafening pulsating sound that knocks out power for miles around. As he starts to attack everyone around them, the wounded alien awakens and orders the robot to stand down. The injured alien is taken to a hidden military facility and is brought into surgery. The doctors are dumb founded but quickly realizes the alien is in a cocoon like state. When he finishes metamorphosizing, he looks completely human and introduces himself as Klaatu (Keanu Reeves). When his request to speak to the United Nations is denied and is instead detained by Regina Jackson (Kathy Bates) the United States Secretary of Defense, Klaatu escapes with help by Dr. Benson.
So begins the cautionary tale about contact with an alien creature, will Klaatu destroy the planet per his orders or will he see the potential of the human race and give them a second chance to rectify their mistakes. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a re-imagined version of the classic sci-fi b-movie that had some fans jeer at the big budget take. Along with the feature film, there are some great bonus features for you to enjoy.
First up this special edition arrives with a digital copy of the new version for your mp3 players including your iPod. But if that isn’t enough you even have a copy of the original 1951 classic to enjoy and compare as well. Some may remember they did re-release the 1951 film last year re-mastered on Blu-ray, however this version unfortunately comes with none of the great bonus features that came with that edition. On the new edition of the film we have a commentary track by writer David Scarpe who is great in comparing and discussing the differences of the current and 1951 film. There is also a PIP option that allows you to watch behind the scenes footage and storyboards of the film while watching the film. There are 3 deleted scenes for you to watch. A weird but semi-interesting option to “Build Your Own Gort” game that also shows you some of the original Gort concept art while you are making yours. A thirty plus minute “Re-Imagining the Day” featurette on how and why they made the film. “Unleashing Gort” is a thirteen plus minute feature on the ideas and reasoning for updating the robot Gort. “Watching the Skies: In Search of Extraterrestrial Life” is a interesting feature intertwined with film footage and interviews discussing the notion of alien life. “The Day the Earth was Green” further discusses the theme of environmental dangers that are part of the story of the new version of the film. Finally there are still galleries and a theatrical trailer rounding out the bonus material.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi classic that many fans had problems being re-made and re-imagined. However, if you go into it as two separate stories, you may find the filmmakers had their hearts in the right place and you can enjoy the film with no bias. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a special effects driven film with a nice little environmental theme that is a perfect vehicle for actor Keanu Reeves. See for yourself and pick up the film on Blu-ray and watch both for the price of one.
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