DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL remake

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL: Keanu Reeves is the unofficial ambassador for big budget genre films. His role as Neo in the Matrix trilogy all put his face on the dollar bill, and he seems to understand (much as Will Smith does) that sci-fi / fantasy films connect with audiences the way few other films can. And like Smith, his acting abilities have slowly evolved to a semi-professional level. Street Kings was the best performance of Reeve’s career, but it was a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of film. The remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still had the full power of Fox’s marketing machine behind it, grossed $230 million worldwide and a seemed to put the actor back in his element as an ambassador of an entirely different sort. Arriving on Earth inside a luminescent sphere with a 100 foot tall robot to back him up, Klaatu (Reeves) is mankind’s judge, jury and executioner, finding us guilty for ruining a perfectly good planet...something that is apparently pretty scarce in the universe. Reeve’s robotic performance fits the character well, with a hint of malevolence the actor hasn’t shown before. While it never seems to settle on a consistent tone (is this a thoughtful morality play like the 1951 original or a end-of-the-world potboiler like Independence Day?), the film itself isn’t nearly the catastrophe critics made it out to be. And Fox makes a commendable move to placate angry fans by including the Robert Wise original on Blu-ray as part of their new 3-disc set. Other extras include deleted scenes, picture-in-picture commentary and a “Build Your Own Gort” feature exclusive to hi-def, along with a bonus digital copy of the film.