Barely recognizable as a remake of the 1951 masterpiece of intelligent sci-fi construction (with a minimum of special effects and a maximum of sophisticated speculation), this film fits squarely in with a clichéd cinematic mode for such films: plenty of special effects, an overly complex plot to state a simple truth, a lot of action, explosions and noise to disguise the fact that behind the sound and fury is very, very little to make it worth sitting through for nearly two hours.

In 90-minutes, the original version revealed, with utter simplicity and a huge amount of suspense, a well-bred alien who leaves his flying saucer and metallic Gort long enough to gain credibility for a warning message, first for an Einstein-like physicist, then to the people of the Earth: Set aside your atomic meddling or suffer annihilation from far superior beings of a highly advanced outer world.


As atomic warnings seem dated, the invention of a more recent threat, environmental ruin, becomes topical. "Are you a friend of ours?" Keanu Reeves' Klaatu is asked, with the meaningful, taciturn reply, "I'm a friend of the earth." Reeves' characteristic blandness serves this Klaatu adequately, but hardly rises to the suave, sophisticated persona of alien Michael Rennie - his sobriety rich with menace mixed with compassion. Nor does John Cleese survive with the same level of importance as the physicist created by Sam Jaffe.

Worst of all is the stereotypical, superficial characterization of nearly everyone - from the military force to the top representative of administration (Kathy Bates, looking and sounding as if in a trance) - all of whom rely on weaponry in excess rather than sage strategy. You've seen it all before.

Admittedly, David Tattersall's photography is impressive for a film built more around SF than reality, and Tyler Bates' thudding, moody music does what is called for in loud staccato phrases; but it hardly matches the brilliant score from Bernard Herrmann.

Worse still is David Scarpa's by-the-numbers script, hardly aided by Scott Derrickson's underplayed direction, and certainly not aided by helter-skelter editing that leaves unexplained gaps in continuity, making the whole into a confusing element, with a lot of standard wild action that suggests only a hint of the original.

Hyperbolic and needlessly complicated, even the message - so beautifully presented at the end of the original - is all but lost in the chaotic melee found here. I'll take "klaatu barada nikto" and the original Gort anytime to all this mindless sound and fury.