The Day The Earth Stood Still

A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can reverse the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. Klaatu himself already has a negative opinion of humans, and when detained by Regina Jackson, the United States Secretary of Defense, and barred from speaking to the United Nations, he decides they shall be exterminated so the planet – with its rare ability to sustain complex life – can survive. At Klaatu's command, Gort turns into a swarm of nanites that destroy everything in its path. Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her stepson Jacob (Jaden Smith) finally convince Klaatu that humans can change their ways and are worth saving. Convinced by the two, Klaatu has them take him to the sphere in Central Park, warning them that even if he manages to stop Gort there will be a price to the human way of life. At the sphere, the nanobot cloud arrives before they can reach the sphere and they have to hide under a bridge. There it is revealed that Jacob has been infected by the nanites. Klaatu saves him, then sacrifices his physical form to stop Gort by walking through the nanites to the sphere and touching it. His actions cause the sphere to emit a massive EMP which fries Gort, saving humanity, but at the price of all of Earth's technology becoming useless. Afterward, the sphere leaves Earth. Jacob's last comment might hint that Klaatu did not die but rather was a part of the sphere's energy.

Before its release, The Day the Earth Stood Still was nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound at the 2008 Satellite Awards. On the film's December 12, 2008 release, the Deep Space Communications Network at Cape Canaveral was to transmit the film to Alpha Centauri.

The film received generally negative reviews. Based on 126 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, only 22% of reviewers gave the film positive write-ups; the website stated the majority found the film "heavy on special effects, but without a coherent story at its base, [the film] is subpar re-imagining of the 1951 science-fiction classic". Similarly, Metacritic's collection of 24 reviews showed an average score of 39 out of 100.

The film grossed $11,600,000 on its opening night, December 12, 2008.

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