However, the trigger-happy, gung-ho actions of the US military against Klaatu’s robot protector, GORT, initiate the countdown to destruction.
The Day The Earth Stood Still follows the template of Wise’s original with all the computer-generated bells and whistles you expect.
The film’s trailer gives the strong impression of Independence Day-style carnage. This may be misleading for some viewers, although there are certainly some striking scenes.
Keanu walks with purpose in slow motion while Connelly is wasted as the female lead and Will Smith’s son Jaden is surprisingly effective as a grief stricken tyke rebelling against his stepmom.
The plot trundles towards the inevitable moment of reckoning when the special effects go into overdrive and a flicker of emotion threatens to twinge Keanu’s upper lip, then, like his spaceman, is gone forever.
