MovieChat Forums > The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) Discussion > The difference between the original movi...

The difference between the original movie and the new one

posted 10 years ago by Askur
7 replies | jump to latest

It's been a while since I saw this movie, but from what I remember:

In the original movie an alien civilization had created a robotic police force programmed to destroy everybody who tried to bring mass destruction weapons into space, including their own creators. Once they had been activated, there was no way to stop them. But being just machines, the robots couldn't care less as long as no weapons left the worlds where they were created.
The lesson of the movie appeared to be that nobody was strong enough not to go to war if they alone had to make the decision, they needed to be forced not to act in a destructive way.
Klaatu wanted to warn people for their own good.

In this movie; the robots are just the servants of another race that wants to find out if humans are too destructive to be allowed to live, and if not, they intend to save all species on earth except for humans.
Klaatu was there to judge the human race (the old humanity on trial concept combined with environmentalism).

I think this movie would have been better if they had stuck with a version of the concept used in the first movie instead.

[–] tvfranke 10 years ago

I can give you one other big difference, although this probably isn't the sort of thing you were looking for. In the original, the kid (played by Billy Gray) was likeable, courteous, respectful. In the remake, Jaden Smith's character was a whiny angry brat who made trying to watch the movie something akin to torture.

[–] blust2 10 years ago

Don't forget one odd thing: his mother is played by a white actress.

[–] Jakealope 10 years ago

It is a remake, not a copy

What are they doing? Why do they come here?
Some kind of instinct, memory, what they used to do.

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

It is a remake, not a copy.

True and I think it's a pretty good remake. The main thread of the story and most of the characters are kept, with the central threat now caused by ecological damage, rather than the nuclear threat surrounding the 50's and the Cold War.

It's to be expected that a remake, 57 years later, of an original low-budget SF classic, is going to up the SFX factor. And I don't think the Jacob character works as well as the Bobby character in the original.

But all in all, I think though it's a successful remake in it's own right, it still pays clear respect to its original sources (not ignoring the short story).🐭

[–] Jakealope 10 years ago

We all tend to look at remakes with nostalgia goggles.

What are they doing? Why do they come here?
Some kind of instinct, memory, what they used to do.

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

Shouldn't that be ...

We all tend to look at (originals) with nostalgia goggles.

?🐭

[–] nerevar59 10 years ago

Rose tinted glasses.