129 out of 134 people found the following review helpful:

utter rubbish

james calow from brighton. uk, 11th December, 2008

Just got back from the cinema- what a steaming pile of poo. Just get the original and enjoy, this new version is charmless, dull and has more green screen shots than the phantom menace.

53 out of 56 people found the following review helpful:

like sci-fi, then watch it... !

A Customer from Bristol, 14th December, 2008

'fires lasers out of his wrists...' really!  If we're to be expected to have faith in these reviewers giving us a accurate account of what to expect from a movie, then we're expecting too much from this reviewer!! Early on in the movie it is made clear that the character Klaatu has the ability to manipulate electro-magnetic energy, such as elctricity, communication signals and following on from that the laser guidance devices that the military use in their weapon systems.  Not a feature of the original but a nice touch non the less, I won't go any further or it might be a spoiler. So, reviewers, just because you don't understand something, please don't spoil it for others.  Apart from this, it's always difficult to remake a movie for a new audience but there is always the possiblity that it might be good. I enjoyed the movie, I hope you do too.

28 out of 31 people found the following review helpful:

The day the earth stood still

A Customer from Barking, 21st December, 2008

i just hope that this version of the film is as good as the one that starred Micheal Rennie i do hope so because even with the speical effects that they had years ago this film was really GOOD.As i have yet to see the new version of The day the earth stood still i have only given it a 3 star rating will change this if i think it is a better film.

24 out of 28 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

try before you buy!

A Customer from Crawley,UK, 14th December, 2008

It seems Trading Standards have no control over being mugged at the movies, or mislead with false promises with all the hype. What hollywood has not grasped yep, is that Consumers have rights and are entitled to REFUNDS.

The 1951 movie was timeless and ripe for the CGI now available. This should have been a good/great movie.
Just because it has Keanu Reeves in it, does mot make it a Matrix grade movie.
Just because the 1951 movie was way ahead of its time (and both of its time - the cold war) does not mean that Hollywood can turn gold into lead.
This time the propaganda is 'Global Warming' versa 'Commies under the bed'.

So this story is a vehicle for whatever agenda you might have, from the Cold War to Global Warming.
On the plus side, the sub narratives are real good. Like little sketches in their own right. It still presents the view that the USA thinks it speaks for the rest of the world and that the UN is irrelevant. It does hold up some truths that you cannot ignore. I just wished it has a European director or pandered to the 90% of the brain dead yanks. Maybe the sub-narratives accommodate the ‘thinking American’ .
There are some nice touches where the robot turns into a swarm of nano-bot locus to wipe the world clean of the infestation of humanity. This represents a nice mental image to hold when you are stuck in an over developed town such as Gosport with failing infrastructure that really needs to be wiped off the planet. So when I am stuck in the 30min queue to leave the town(6miles) I san see the point of this movie.

This movie is a good vehicle to help those with eyes to see that our current path is not sustainable. Whilst I hate overt preaching, that this movies leaves you with is some questions for you to answer. Yes the movie could have been better but it seems the writes had a lot to get through. Whilst it is a long movie it is over in a flash.
If the price of a movie ticket is nothing then this movie is worth watching, if you are an environmentalist then see it.

22 out of 22 people found the following review helpful:

WORST FILM OF 2008

A Customer from Northampton, 20th December, 2008

I never normally would waste my own time writing reviews on films. But I feel after just sitting through 'The day the Earth stood still' at the cinema and having about 110 minutes of my life completely wasted I should give something back to man kind, in the hope that someone might read this review who is thinking of going to see this film and then think again and not bother. There are so many better things that you can do with your life instead. One of them is pre heating your oven to 180 C. And then putting your head in it.

18 out of 20 people found the following review helpful:

Hollywood Rubbish

A Customer from Ilford, 14th December, 2008

What a disappointment and not a patch on the original sci-fi classic. It just goes to show that there is no substitute for good plot, characterisation, pacing and emotional involvement. Instead Hollywood insults the intelligence by thinking that big budgets, terrible acting and special effects which do nothing to enhance the story is enough to justify a re-make. Kneau Reeves sleep walks through the whole thing, the female lead Jennifer Connolly was just as bad. Many scenes in the film did not make any sense and the film never achieved the sense of horror and awe that was needed to make the thing believable. If you like Hollwood big action films of this type then Independance Day starring Will Smith was a much better example.

15 out of 15 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

It Was Ready For A Remake, So Why Give Us This Crap

A Customer from Oldham, 20th December, 2008

I'll start with probably the only good point about the film which is that Keanu Reeves plays Klaatu perfectly, a lot can be said about a film when a blank emotionless character was the only good talking point. Jennifer Connelly is just awful in this film, and I'm not a exactly a fan of her work anyway but she's a Oscar winning actress I expect more from her in such an easy role. Jaden Smith annoyed me to a level I couldn't see possible as Jacob the step son of Jennifer Connelly's character Helen, I know he's just a kid but bad writing made me want him left in the woods as opposed to survive. Another aspect that makes this film near unwatchable is the truly terrible scripting and it took me thirty seconds to come up with a better ending after I'd watched their miserable attempt. Hat's off to the CGI but it is just masquerading a badly directed, badly acted and badly written film, which I still want my money back for as I have never felt so ripped off. They should have just re-released the iconic original, sure they wouldn't have made anywhere near as much money because of the deteriorated intelligence of society but they wouldn't have been vilified for spoon feeding us this boring piece of Hollywood's money grabbing nature. If you want a film to watch this December watch Inkheart, then you wouldn't have to look like a crazy person and scream at students who work for 10 hours a week for your money back. I'm too timid to do this but I saw two people who weren't get dragged out by security. You could do this or you could watch the original and feel confident you didn't waste two hours of your life.

12 out of 12 people found the following review helpful:

Stand Back

ZiggyTheKid from from Dundee, 11th April, 2009

This remake misses the point that the original was trying to make; one of mistrust and warring nations; instead this settles for bad sci-fi with no political agenda and no sign of any constructive narrative and no idea what made the first such a good film.

11 out of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Poor Remake

Nicholsy from , 30th December, 2008

Well this has to be the most disappointing remake to come out of hollywood for a long time. Keanu Reeves acts very little (no surprise there) Jennifer Conolly is wasted and for John Cleese 'blink and you'll miss him' role was completely pointless. The only good thing in the film was the special effects. Avoid...

11 out of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Worst film of the year?

A Customer from Princes Risborough, 16th December, 2008

A terrible film, with terrible acting, and pretty poor special effects. Avoid like the plague!