These days it seem to be harder and harder to find a movie that rather than rely on special effects depends on the actors and people that they play to create the tension and mood. I must say in many ways “The Taking of Pelham 123” really does deliver thanks to great strong performances from Travolta and Denzel Washington.

Funny enough the special effects used in the film, although in places quite impressive, especially the futuristic hovering over the city map, actually felt more like a commercial break than part of the story. You have this great back and forth with the two main characters and then every couple of minutes it goes all zoom-in, zoom-out, speed-up, slow-down, a car chase here, a car crash there, end then back to the plot…

There are a few inconsistencies and an annoying teenage girlfriend who obviously doesn’t get what a “hostage situation” means. Ah, those clingy teenagers that need to here “I love you” every five seconds… Secondly the final scene made me crave for some kind of twist after the credits, rather than the several shots of a train in the underground.

Overall however it was a great experience. The special effects seemed somewhat disconnected but they did not get in the way of the story and acting. And these definitely stood out considering the amounts of mediocre stuff out there. One thing did bug me though - what’s with the glittery earrings???

I love movies and I believe that before you criticize something you should try it out yourself. That’s why I haven’t been put off by the nasty reviews all over the papers for “The day the Earth stood still”. I guess also being a big fan of s-f  and alien themes helps a lot.

Yes, Keanu Reeves does play a very emotionless extraterrestrial being. However everyone seems to forget he comes with a mission, a very big part of which is to make an objective decision. Also many little things in his behaviour do show that he is not devoid of compassion for lesser creatures.

It is like modern men making decision for a tribal village - people take into account the greater good, rather than individual feelings of each of the tribe’s members. Especially as their opinions will be hugely biased by their inferior knowledge.

Kids and Animals are the hardest to work with

There are annoyances in the movie - one of the biggest being the kid. He admittedly is young, but the amount of stupid things and misbehaviour is just irritating. Although there was one interesting scene where Jacob talks to Klaatu:

“I told Helen we should kill you…”
“Did you mean it?”
“Before….”

This is one place where the kid is actually useful and exposes a certain mentality. In a way he is exactly like the alien. Before he got to know more, he was quick to jump to conclusions and kill the threat. However after some time, he changes his mind.

All through the movie, we are shown more and more reasons that justify the extraterrestrial’s decision. Humans are selfish, aggressive, destructive in their attempts to understand the things around them, deceitful and parasitic. There is not much counterweight to show of the good side of humanity, which supposedly in the end enchants the alien visitors.

The SF in The Day the Earth Stood Still

Personally I liked the special effects, and they were worth viewing on the big screen. Especially the nano-bot cloud of destruction. It reminded me of the concept that I read about some time ago related to space colonization. It stated that space exploration by means of self replicating machines supersedes exploration in person. And as such they also are an extremely more efficient way of eradicating the planet of humans and technology.

Not Green Enough

Some reviews claimed that the ecological message was not presented clearly enough. I would have to disagree. We experience the “green” nagging ever single day, and it is good we are made aware of things, however in a movie a subtle message works better. “The day the Earth stood still” is not a documentary about the Earth’s withering, at the end of the day it is Hollywood entertainment, and when you look at it from this perspective not making the environmental issue the focal point will make the message reach a wider audience.