So I watched the 1951 classic yesterday on DVD again to remember the flow and ebb of the story and the film. And I have seen the trailers for the new adaptation/remake and was a bit... hesitant. Looked too much like a summer blockbuster instead of a thought provoking, story driven film.

Thank goodness I was wrong.

The remake obviously has the cool special effects in it- if you have seen the trailers or commercial spots for it, you see the sports stadium being destroyed. Won't spoil what is exactly happening, but it does look cool on the big screen. However, the movie was very story and message driven. Whereas the 51 version focused on societal events of that period, this movie does a good job of debating and bringing to the forefront our struggles as a society in 08. It was a good message, just like the old one, and was laid out easily for all to understand.

Of course, some suspension of belief has to be had for these types of movies. And while the message was solid... sometimes the delivery was not really presented all that well. The remake definitely changed some things to make it more modern, as well as just changing some parts of the story- some I liked... some I did not. Again, won't spoil anything... but there was one major plot point I did not like that they brought in/changed pertaining to Klaatu.

I did not like how they used the giant robot in this one. Hated it. The old version was far better. And they changed the robot (not just cosmetically) and I did not like those changes either. Only one part I liked about the change with the robot- when it was being "tested" towards the end of the movie. That was cool.

I will say this on both movies though... Why in the heck do humans honestly believe that if an alien spaceship was to travel 'z' amount of miles across numerous galaxies to our planet, that said spaceship can easily be destroyed via missles and tanks and guns?!? Honestly, is that what we believe? That our M-16 rifles and glocks are going to penetrate an outer frickin spaceship???

That is just one thing that always has bothered me in film pertaining to this subject. If aliens were to publically land on our planet... do we really believe that our weapons is going to defeat their craft? Considering that if it was to happen that the assumption would be that their technology and tangible items are far far far more superior than anything we have, I highly doubt a tank is going to destroy it. If anything it is just going to show aggression and upset it, and then we will witness true power and destruction. Just a personal pet peeve I guess, but that always cracks me up in these movies

Overall score- 7.5/10. Worth a watch at a matinee, maybe a viewing with On Demand when that time comes. Own depending on the special features...

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I can take a half-pound hammer and render the shuttle unflyable, so why not?

Remember in Independence Day when they beat the aliens by uploading a virus into the alien computer system? It's a good thing those aliens from outer space happened to be using a system compatible with Apple's....

Ha ha those are movies, and the obvious suspension of disbelief. There are multiple suspensions that I had to have to enjoy the movie today... but I guess I am in the minority when I just feel that human technology will probably not do anything to a spaceship with alien technology.

Then again, I think it is probably more with humanity being too aggressive instead of having patience and being reactionary. Maybe if aliens did publically land, humans should pause and react to what happens instead of always on the offensive. But that is just me. See what the aliens have, and react to that.

But that is semi off topic. Seems like the movie is being slammed all over. Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at 23% which is pretty awful. I did not think it was awful... I thought it was decent. Not as good as the 51 original, but decent enough to be better than 23% in my book.

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Who the fuck keeps casting Keanu Reeves in movies?

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lol, just read this:

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What do you want an alien being to do if it lands on our planet? Do some country line dancing with you? Do a stand up comedy routine? Do the hokey pokey?

Maybe aliens don't have emotions like humans do. Who knows? Seems like a silly critique. Maybe the director/writer/producer presented emotionless aliens to the screen... in which case, Reeves played the role perfectly. Besides-

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This movie was bad.

Did I sleep through the Klaatu Barada Nikto part or was it just not there.

Aside from the abrupt ending, I didn't think this was that bad at all. I enjoyed it.