--- title: "The Day the Earth Stood Still: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-2008/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-2008" critics_score: 38 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008): what the critics said Critics' score 38 from 16 reviews: 3 positive, 1 mixed, 12 negative. Most critics find The Day the Earth Stood Still a sluggish remake that does too little to justify revisiting the original. The main complaints concern thin characters, a heavy-handed environmental message and spectacle that displaces ideas without supplying much excitement. Praise is scattered rather than shared: several reviews find Keanu Reeves well suited to the detached alien Klaatu, while some credit the effects with providing serviceable action. Even sympathetic accounts acknowledge that the film simplifies its message. The spread is wide, although negative reviews clearly dominate. Empire finds a relevant, tense thriller, and Paste sees a sincere, reasonably coherent update for blockbuster audiences. Reeves is a particular dividing point: The Guardian regards his performance as torpid, while several warmer reviews make him the chief attraction. The effects divide critics too, drawing appreciation for their spectacle from some and complaints about their quality or emotional emptiness from others. ## Empire — Helen O'Hara Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. The remake closely follows the spirit of the 1951 original while updating the threat to environmental catastrophe. It succeeds as a relevant, tense thriller with a strong central performance from Keanu Reeves. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/day-earth-stood-still-3-review/) ## The Times — James Christopher Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. The critic finds it entertaining tongue-in-cheek tosh with strong effects and a hypnotic Reeves performance, though the message could have been delivered more simply. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-frsdkdfqxcg) ## The AV Club — Tasha Robinson Rating C+. 12 December 2008. The remake thoughtfully explores sorrow over a suicidal race for part of its runtime but lacks the courage of its convictions and is irritatingly broad about why humanity might need to die. It prioritizes special effects and military details over meaningful contemporary relevance or emotional stakes. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-1798205384) ## Radio Times — Jamie Russell Rating 2/5. The critic calls it a fatuous and pointless remake that ditches the original's subtext and suffers in comparison, though passable on its own terms with good CGI action. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-di1di7/the-day-the-earth-stood-still/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 12 December 2008. A sluggish reboot that merges action and family drama unsuccessfully, with overdone seriousness and only Reeves somewhat effective as the alien. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-day-the-earth-stood-still/4042309.article) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. The remake invites viewers to feel fleetingly bad about humanity's fate while encouraging them to laugh it off as camp, turning the fear of apocalypse into something more palatable. Any hope that the film might rise above its pulpy silliness rests mainly on Keanu Reeves' performance as the weary extraterrestrial Klaatu. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/movies/12stil.html) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. The inert remake misses opportunities and feels limp and perfunctory in its environmental update to the original premise. Wooden archetypes and amateurish effects fail to make a compelling case, though the tossed-off moral minimizes preaching compared to the predecessor. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-3935/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 12 December 2008. The critic calls the film a stupendously dull remake of the 1951 classic, with Keanu Reeves giving a torpid performance as the alien Klaatu. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/dec/12/day-the-earth-stood-still) ## The Hollywood Reporter Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. The critic finds the remake tired and corny despite the efforts of its stars. It updates the story with a green theme but delivers the message in a gimmicky, dated way that falls far short of the original in ideas and issues. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/film-review-day-earth-stood-125148/) ## Time Out — David Jenkins Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. This daft and pointless sci-fi remake has very little to recommend it, being tonally confused, poorly cast (especially Reeves), and missing the original's spectacle and message. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-3) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2008. This botched remake seriously dishonors the fine 1951 original by failing to justify the reworking with any deep thought, as the premise now feels overly familiar. The film lacks primal defining imagery and sticks to dull, uninteresting versions of the source material's characters and plot points. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2008/film/reviews/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-2-1117939195/) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 2008. The remake is as dull as ditchwater with nothing new to add; Reeves has the charisma of a speak-your-weight machine and Derrickson directs without inspiration. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/b13c5c0c-c6cc-11dd-97a5-000077b07658) ## Paste — Jeffrey Bloomer Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 December 2008. The critic views the remake as a sincere, reasonably coherent attempt to update the classic for modern blockbuster audiences, praising Keanu Reeves' fitting performance as the alien Klaatu while noting it prioritizes effects over the original's ideas. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/scott-derrickson/the-day-the-earth-stood-still) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 12 December 2008. The critic criticizes Keanu Reeves' wooden performance and the film's lack of emotional depth or character development, calling out clichéd plotting, soulless CGI effects, and failure to match the original's sophistication or relevance. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a138210/the-day-the-earth-stood-still/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 14 December 2008. The critic finds the remake a dull, humorless travesty with little action beyond CGI flashes and unengaging performances, especially from Keanu Reeves as an emotionless Klaatu. It praises the basic concept of saving Earth from humanity but criticizes the execution as a lifeless script weighed down by seriousness. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Den of Geek — Ron Hogan Rating 1/5. 14 December 2008. The critic pans the remake for stripping out the original's strengths, replacing them with poor CGI, unexciting chases, and a heavy-handed environmental message; praises John Cleese's small role as the lone bright spot. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-2008.md