Gort, Keanu Barata Nikto!
It's starting to seem like there are far more remakes out there than original movies, and now they've decied to re-do one of the all-time great Cold War science fiction B-movies - The Day the Earth Stood Still, with Keanu Reeves in the lead as Klaatu.
Now, there are those wags out there who will say that Keanu ought to play the silent, emotionless, all-but faceless robot Gort, but that would be mean.
I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Keanu has had some fair success with sci-fi films (she understated). And as good as the original was, it was inevitably hobbled by the limited special effects possible in the day. If they keep the story strong and don't overwhelm it with special effects at the expense of emotion, it could work.
This could introduce a whole new generation of movie-goers to one of the classics, and, I hope, spur a fabulous new release of the original in any event. Yay!
Michael Rennie, the original Klaatu, played it with a cool intellectual superiority. Keanu can do it. At least they didn't pick Tom Cruise.
Keanu Reeves/by Evan Agostini, Getty Images
Comments
Re Keanu playing Klaatu: wouldn’t it be nice if they stayed a bit closer to the original story - Farewell To The Master - with that devastating last line. Keanu, by the way, I believe is a fine enough actor, just doesn’t need to be so seldom tries. The same might be said of Tom Cruise, but I can’t see him in the role of Klaatu. With a wealth of never filmed science fiction to draw on why do a remake anyway? The original still remains a very decent film.
Richard