The Day the Earth Stood Still, in other words, "The Worst Movie of the Year". At first the movie is pretty captivating and interesting. It hooks you and slowly but surely draws you in. For about the first thirty minutes I could not stop wondering what was going to happen next. The movie was moving slow but still holding my attention.

But after that thirty minute mark I realized that the movie was going nowhere. Literally nothing was happening. The entire hour and a half that followed consisted of nothing more than a car ride to the woods, a car ride to the city, some cheesy looking orbs spawning up out of the dirt, and some bugs that ate stuff. If you throw all those things together blend it up with a piss poor plot, two mediocre CGI scenes (that both appear in the trailer), and an attempt to inform viewers about Global Warming then you have this movie.

And try as I might to figure out what was actually going on, nothing became apparent until about an hour and a half in when Keanu talks about saving the earth from humans. First you think he is a "bad guy", but then he says that hes going to save the world so you think he is a "good guy", but then he kills someone so you think hes a "bad guy" again. But then he revives him. At this point you basically are just thinking "WTF? This movie sucks. "I have to go to the bathroom, and I am going to have a hard time convincing myself to return to the theater if I leave to piss."

The acting was mediocre to say the least. By mediocre I mean the one crying scene between Jennifer Connelly and Jaden Smith. It was done exceptionally well. Other than that the acting was sub-par at best. Keanu Reeves once again showed no emotion throughout the movie. In my opinion his acting, or lack thereof, made the movie unrealistic. Of course, the plot of the movie is unrealistic, but the main goal of any sci-fi movie is to make you believe anything could happen.

The first thirty minutes of this movie had me expecting something good. The next hour and a half left me with a sour taste in my mouth, bored, and wishing I was receiving a root canal.




Speaking Only In Vowels,
Matthew K. Snyder