Watching this movie was like the night that time stood still. The first 30 minutes were almost suspenseful, but after that and the arrival of the alien the movie meandered around here and there trying to find who knows what with an annoying kid thrown into the mix. It seemed endless -- endlessly boring despite some half descent CGI and action sequences.

This is an unfortunate remake of the 1951 science fiction classic about an extraterrestrial emissary named Klaatu who came to Washington, D.C., in a flying saucer to warn earthlings that they must not apply atomic energy to spaceships and create a threat to the peace and security of other planets.

In this dreary remake, Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) shows up in a huge sphere in Manhattan's Central Park to warn earthlings that they have so badly mistreated planet Earth and have done so much damage that they must be obliterated.

The new film introduces Jennifer Connolly as scientist Helen Benson, a specialist in extraterrestrial bacteria and a single stepmother of the obnoxious kid, Jacob. On the evening of the alien’s arrival, a fleet of federal agents takes her to join a scientific team assembled to handle the crisis. Helen is sympathetic to the alien and decides to help him.

Soon, Klaatu, Helen and Jacob are on the run from the military through the New Jersey woods. To make matters worse, Kathy Bates is totally miscast as a hardball U.S.Secretary of Defense who screws up so many times it's unbelievable.

This movie tries too hard to do too many things. It tries to respect the 1951 original, by updating the story from the folly of the Cold War to the folly of environmental destruction. It tries to reconcile the strained relationship between a stepmother and stepson (where does that fit in when the Earth is about to be annihilated).

And, it tries to be original. It fails on all counts. If this appeals to you in any way, my suggestion is to skip the remake and rent the original.

Posted by In The Loop at Monday, December 22, 2008

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