Keanu Reeves? Seriously? Keanu Reeves as Klaatu? No, no, they can’t, they just can’t. Remaking ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still‘ is just pathetic, it’s sacrilege. Why does it even need to be remade? It’s one of the most pristine and remarkable works of science fiction ever made. Hell, beyond that, it’s just a seriously spectacular movie. It’s easily one of the best films of the 20th century, although often sadly overlooked. Michael Rennie’s performance as Klatu was un-freaking-believable, and Patricia Neal was brilliant. How can they possibly replace them with Jennifer Connolly and… KEANU REEVES?!?!?!
But perhaps worst of all (although I don’t know if it can get worse than Keanu Reeves), they’ve made it an action movie. A freaking action movie. It was never, ever, ever, ever, ever meant to be an action movie!! What were they thinking?! Did they not even see the original? Did they ever stop to think that maybe it wasn’t about the spaceships, it wasn’t about explosions, it wasn’t even about the robot? Did they even stop to realize the meaning of the film given its era and the impact it had on the 1950’s!?! Noooooo, it’s so much easier to just pillage from classic films rather than come up with something original! Why do that when you can pick apart classic films that don’t need to be touched all so you can make a few bucks on ready-made plots, twist them up, turn them into a merchandising vehicle, and then completely screw up the whole meaning of the original film’s legacy?! It looks so radically different, why even call it ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ at all?!
There shouldn’t even be a question of “original film” when it comes to ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’. It should be one, that one, left alone, untouched.
I’m not even sure if I want them to put Gort – the robot – in the movie. But how could they not? *sigh*… He’s like a ready-made, no-hassle, don’t-need-to-bother-being-creative merchandising ploy, delivered to them on a silver platter. (Well, kinda literally, come to think of it…)
Rawr. Keanu Reeves… Even according to Rocky Horror, Michael Rennie was the one there in silver underwear, NOT Keanu Reeves! Eesh, Keanu Reeves! Next thing you know Will Ferrell will star in a remake of ‘Harvey’. I’m pretty sure that’s one of the signs of the apocalypse.
Bleh. I’ve been up all night with a nasty sinus infection. Of course, I do feel a bit silly being such a snobby film critic after spending the entire night going through a box of tissues while mindlessly watching ‘Saved By the Bell’. Life is tough when your face feels like mush and you’ve already gone through almost the entire comedy collection in Netflix’s Instant Viewing library…
PS: I’ve just found out they’re remaking ‘Strangers On a Train’. Oh for the love of Hitchcock, why?!?! How could anyone possibly top the performances of Farley Granger and Robert Walker!? Let alone the direction of Hitchcock and that spectacular carousel scene at the end!!
*sigh* I give up on Hollywood, they’ve totally lost it… again.
Yeah, how can they make a remake of Strangers on a Train when the Billy Crystal/Danny Davito remake was clearly definative.
Don’t knock Keeanu, his work in Bill & Ted’s, Speed, Johnny Mnemonic, My Own Private Idaho, Sweet November, Dangerous Liasons show him to be a man of immense acting talent. Besides he’s Johnny Freakin’ Utah. I am looking forward to the action movie concept. Perhaps the Gort rampage scene can have tanks and a car chase and stuff. That’d be classy.
My six foot, three and a half inch tall pooka agrees with your sentiments Heather, but points out that ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ was already “remade”, so to speak, in 1954. It even starred Patricia Neal! However, I’m of the opinion I told him, that since there is a sphere featured in the latest venture, the film itself must be a remake of ‘The Cosmic Man’! Somebody merely got the titles wrong.
Do you suppose for “Strangers on a Train” they’ll want a cameo of Patricia Hitchcock in place of her dad, thus making her the one to carry the bass instrument aboard?
“Don’t be screwy,” my leporine friend chides.
Dear Heather, unfortunately i don’t have a blog in English, and I will have to spend a couple of years to translate all the material I have there now, after all I had it for more then 4 years. I think the solution might be in doubling all the posts in English, like some of my friends who speak several languages do, but that is very time consuming. In any case, a lot of my posts contain jokes and poetry that is impossible to interpret, but I accept you offer to create a blog for me, thank you for that! I love when somebody tries to bribe me into something:))
I grew up in the 60’s and my Mom would always watched black & white movies, so that’s where/how I saw the original TDTESS. I was completely blindsided seeing this remake trailer. I’m glad I hadn’t had alot of popcorn or I would have lost it!
I’m also glad that you, being a generation younger than myself, appreciates the older, classic movie. I do plan on seeing the remake. Probably a month after it comes out – when its at the bargain theaters.