AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

jensleeroth I don't understand why people dislike this movie so much. Many seems to compare it with the original, which I have never seen, but I still think each movie deserves to be judged independently either way. Secondly, people seem to have some problem with Jaden Smith? Sure, he might be a spoiled brat, but in the movie it makes perfect sense why he's acting the way he does towards Helen since he feels that she's not her real parent and probably wouldn't want to be around him if the circumstances were different. Keanu Reeves as an unemotional (at least according to human standards) alien makes perfect sense and he fits the role well. Sure the CGI is cheap, and it's a bit low to have product placement in big movies, but it's not like it distracted me that much. Overall the plot is good, the motives make sense and all in all it's just another satisfying Sci-Fi movie with some geopolitical and philosophical elements. Sure, it might not be a 10 star movie, but it surely doesn't deserve the massive hate and outrage of 1 star votes that it got here. And according to me deserves a higher average score than 5.5,

griffnut-92986 If Klatu and his robot had come to Earth to kill Jaden Smith, i would have given this Movie 10 stars. I'll be Frank. this kid ruined the movie for me. The 1951 version is still my favorite. 2008 version has some good effects, But changing the storyline is stupid. Casting is atrocious. And I'll say it again Jaden Smith killed the Movie for me.

Mathewdixon42 This film stands apart from other Sci-fi remakes of the day, as it did not take the effect heavy action/blockbuster route. While thrilling, this movie focuses more on the moral implications of it's subject matter, rather than just blowing stuff up for an hour and a half. I should say right off the bat, I only saw the original 1951 film once. So I won't be making too many comparisons in this review. I'll be looking at this film on it's own merits. I have always loved Jennifer Connelly. I have always thought she should do more big budget films, as she is a wonderful leading lady. Having said that, her character Helen is not as interesting. For the most part she is a cardboard scientist. The scenes involving her and Jaden Smith are very poignant and emotional however. Jaden Smith was pretty convincing as a bratty kid in this film. He just lost his father and is living with his stepmother. Smith seems to be the most down to earth character in the film. During all of the world-ending danger going on throughout, his simply wants his father back. This is exactly what a real kid would do, think about their own world. Smith handles this well and is very believable in his sincerity. Keanu Reeves. He is a talented man, he has shown in the past that he has a decent amount of range. Since then he seems to have settled on stoicism. He is good at it, it may not work in all of his films, but it works very well here. His monotone performance is very compelling and alien in nature. The supporting roles are filled by several very talented actors. While I don't have the space to go into detail for each of them, I wanted to name them out of respect for their performances. Jon Cleese, James Hong and Kathy Bates all perform their respective roles very well. As for the story, I acknowledge that the "Humans are destroying the earth and ourselves" plot has been done so many times now it borders on cliché. I believe it works here for one simple reason, the 1951 film was one of the first to do it. This film is unique in using the Step-Mother/Step-Son relationship to show humanities capability to grow. It it well done and is not something you'd normally see in wide release film-making. The visuals and special effects are well done. Most of all they do not distract from the acting or the story driving quieter moments that I believe make the film. 7/10. This film gains points for mostly the performances of Jaden Smith and Keanu Reeves. The inclusion of the Step-Mother/Step-Son plot was very emotional and unique. It only loses points for its sometimes clichéd nature. It also has several uninteresting performances and characters. The heavy CGI moments do not add much to the film and are for the most part unnecessary.

John Brown I've seen this film a couple of times and that's more than enough. I've probably seen the original a dozen times and I'll happily watch it again. The difference between the 2 films is very simple - the first was good and this remake is rubbish.Special effects, dramatic music and a few explosions can never compensate for a poorly scripted, poorly directed and poorly acted storyline, and a film full of implausible and unexplained nonsense. The ludicrously aggressive and jingoistic vice president is a parody, as are the arrogant military types who pop up from time to time. The gaggle of scientists that's brought together at the start seems to be pretty much superfluous to the rest of the story, as it's only the good looking girl (surprise, surprise !) who plays any prolonged part. The utterly unnecessary child is, presumably, included for box office reasons only, as his part could have been equally well played by a furry animal. As a whole, it's hard to imagine what audience this was made for, or what audience it would appeal to.As others have written before, the characters have no warmth and engender no sympathy. They all seem to be doing little more than 'going through the motions'. Indeed, if I were Klaatu, I'd want to wipe them all out too.I suppose that one day, someone will make a good film, one with a sensible story, good script, good direction and real acting, and without the special effects, flashy cinematography, constantly shifting scenes and portentous music. One day.