Post by DTH on Dec 15, 2008 11:09:26 GMT -5
SPOILER ALERT!
Along time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Nintendo released the original Mario Kart on the SNES. That game was literally the reason why my brothers and I even owned a SNES. We must have spent hours and hours playing that game and not a single moment was ever wasted. The only other game that came close to that "value for money" was Streets of Rage 2 on the Megadrive (Genesis to you Americans).
Of the next generation of machines, we ended up getting the N64, what with the quality of Super Mario 64, Starfox and the awesome promise of Mario Kart 64.
Super Mario 64 and Starfox delivered in spades. We got Golden Eye and the memory upgrade and definitely knew we'd got the right machine.
The anticipation of getting Mario Kart 64 was almost just too much to bear. I mean, we considered how much fun a FOUR PLAYER version of Mario Kart was going to be. Man, its amazing how vividly I can recall that. Good times
When we finally got Mario Kart 64, we didn't like it. It was all wrong: it wasn't as slick, the karts were a bit erratic and certainly not as smoothly controlled as Mario Kart and they completely overcomplicated the level structure. Considering it was just a silly video game, we were pretty disappointed.
The original version of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (henceforth, TDTESS) is the "Super Mario Kart" in this analogy. Imagine my reaction when I learned they were remaking it...this called for only one thing: RANDOM INTERNET VENTING! Dun dun dah!
I had major misgivings but thanks to the good people of this forum, I had my mind opened to the prospect that there was the hint of a possibility that it might actually be good and therefore a worth a look.
I mean, the original movie is over 50 years old and that, while its message is still very relevant today, a more modern version could help bring that message to a wider audience.
So, I went to see the movie. Aaaaaaaand, it wasn't a "Mario Kart 64"... no, it was more like playing the original Mario Kart on a Nintendo emulator: the same game, just a bit different... you may enjoy it well enough but all the while you are playing the game, you just know that isn't really an improvement. Someone just took the original game and presented it on a more modern format.
The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) is about a visitor from another world coming to our planet to speak with the "Leaders of Earth". This goes rather awry when a soldier shoots the visitor...
What happens next is pretty much the same in both versions, only in the 50s version, Klaatu (the name of the visitor from another world), goes on something of a walkabout to see something of this Earth for himself, whereas in the new version, he's pretty much on the run from the Government.
Both films have the same message: the people of this planet have to grow up and realise their actions have consequences. And time is running out to change.
But there are a number of significant differences;
The 50s version is obviously set against a backdrop of the Cold War and the threat of atomic destruction.
The 2008 version is about climate change and the destruction of the environment.
Both have an alien observer, but in the former, he's here to warn Earth that if they continue down this path, steps will be taken. In the latter, Klaatu is Judge, Jury and Executioner...
The recent version is more sophisticated and certainly has better effects, also the message is more relevant (I mean, climate change is pretty much the "in issue" for Governments to focus on, other than the virtual collapse of the global economy...).
It also has wider appeal...I mean, Jennifer Connelly, Keanu Reeves, Jaden Smith and John Cleese... people are going to see this movie. Those same people will probably enjoy the cool CGI and the 'splosions.
Myself? Well, the film was entertaining, so it succeeded there. Also, the key philosophy to the film, i.e. "Change within the human race will only occur when humanity is forced to change" is a personal belief that I've held for a long time, so in that way, that was kinda cool.
And yet, the film literally went from A to B and at no point would anybody be surprised by the events that took place. And this view was shared by someone who hadn't even seen the original.
Let me stress that this film is NOT a shot for shot remake. Yes, key scenes are taken directly from the original script and translated but this is a complete remake, even down to the naming of GORT (in the modern version, GORT is a military acronym given to the guardian robot, whereas in the original, that is Klaatu's name for the robot).
Where this version triumphs over the original is in the details. Little things like Klaatu's alien-ness and his power over electricity etc and the use of nanotechnology. None of these things would even have been dreamt of back in the 1950s, so I give a small round of applause for those little things.
And yet, I found the direction was mediocre and I did not like the edits made: it just felt like any scene that didn't have Keanu Reeves in it was half the time it needed to be.
Ultimately, the film's "success" hangs on the relationship and acting abilities of Jennifer Connelly and Jaden Smith. Unfortunately, neither were able to convince me that the Earth was worth saving and I bl**dy well live here!
*sigh*
Here on this forum, the question was raised of whether 20th Century Fox should ever have remade The Day The Earth Stood Still. The answer prior to release was "I will have to wait until I have seen it". I have to say, for all my vehemence in this review, I'm glad that it has. Paying homage to what many consider to be a cornerstone of the science fiction genre is a wonderful thing and this new version is a good legacy.
Whether or not it is better than the original, well, that's a very subjective question. All I can say is, Mario Kart 64 did not live up to its predecessor but for many, this would be the first time they ever got to experience a Mario Kart game at all and isn't it better to have Mario Karted and lost than to never have Mario Karted at all?
Along time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Nintendo released the original Mario Kart on the SNES. That game was literally the reason why my brothers and I even owned a SNES. We must have spent hours and hours playing that game and not a single moment was ever wasted. The only other game that came close to that "value for money" was Streets of Rage 2 on the Megadrive (Genesis to you Americans).
Of the next generation of machines, we ended up getting the N64, what with the quality of Super Mario 64, Starfox and the awesome promise of Mario Kart 64.
Super Mario 64 and Starfox delivered in spades. We got Golden Eye and the memory upgrade and definitely knew we'd got the right machine.
The anticipation of getting Mario Kart 64 was almost just too much to bear. I mean, we considered how much fun a FOUR PLAYER version of Mario Kart was going to be. Man, its amazing how vividly I can recall that. Good times
When we finally got Mario Kart 64, we didn't like it. It was all wrong: it wasn't as slick, the karts were a bit erratic and certainly not as smoothly controlled as Mario Kart and they completely overcomplicated the level structure. Considering it was just a silly video game, we were pretty disappointed.
The original version of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (henceforth, TDTESS) is the "Super Mario Kart" in this analogy. Imagine my reaction when I learned they were remaking it...this called for only one thing: RANDOM INTERNET VENTING! Dun dun dah!
I had major misgivings but thanks to the good people of this forum, I had my mind opened to the prospect that there was the hint of a possibility that it might actually be good and therefore a worth a look.
I mean, the original movie is over 50 years old and that, while its message is still very relevant today, a more modern version could help bring that message to a wider audience.
So, I went to see the movie. Aaaaaaaand, it wasn't a "Mario Kart 64"... no, it was more like playing the original Mario Kart on a Nintendo emulator: the same game, just a bit different... you may enjoy it well enough but all the while you are playing the game, you just know that isn't really an improvement. Someone just took the original game and presented it on a more modern format.
The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) is about a visitor from another world coming to our planet to speak with the "Leaders of Earth". This goes rather awry when a soldier shoots the visitor...
What happens next is pretty much the same in both versions, only in the 50s version, Klaatu (the name of the visitor from another world), goes on something of a walkabout to see something of this Earth for himself, whereas in the new version, he's pretty much on the run from the Government.
Both films have the same message: the people of this planet have to grow up and realise their actions have consequences. And time is running out to change.
But there are a number of significant differences;
The 50s version is obviously set against a backdrop of the Cold War and the threat of atomic destruction.
The 2008 version is about climate change and the destruction of the environment.
Both have an alien observer, but in the former, he's here to warn Earth that if they continue down this path, steps will be taken. In the latter, Klaatu is Judge, Jury and Executioner...
The recent version is more sophisticated and certainly has better effects, also the message is more relevant (I mean, climate change is pretty much the "in issue" for Governments to focus on, other than the virtual collapse of the global economy...).
It also has wider appeal...I mean, Jennifer Connelly, Keanu Reeves, Jaden Smith and John Cleese... people are going to see this movie. Those same people will probably enjoy the cool CGI and the 'splosions.
Myself? Well, the film was entertaining, so it succeeded there. Also, the key philosophy to the film, i.e. "Change within the human race will only occur when humanity is forced to change" is a personal belief that I've held for a long time, so in that way, that was kinda cool.
And yet, the film literally went from A to B and at no point would anybody be surprised by the events that took place. And this view was shared by someone who hadn't even seen the original.
Let me stress that this film is NOT a shot for shot remake. Yes, key scenes are taken directly from the original script and translated but this is a complete remake, even down to the naming of GORT (in the modern version, GORT is a military acronym given to the guardian robot, whereas in the original, that is Klaatu's name for the robot).
Where this version triumphs over the original is in the details. Little things like Klaatu's alien-ness and his power over electricity etc and the use of nanotechnology. None of these things would even have been dreamt of back in the 1950s, so I give a small round of applause for those little things.
And yet, I found the direction was mediocre and I did not like the edits made: it just felt like any scene that didn't have Keanu Reeves in it was half the time it needed to be.
Ultimately, the film's "success" hangs on the relationship and acting abilities of Jennifer Connelly and Jaden Smith. Unfortunately, neither were able to convince me that the Earth was worth saving and I bl**dy well live here!
*sigh*
Here on this forum, the question was raised of whether 20th Century Fox should ever have remade The Day The Earth Stood Still. The answer prior to release was "I will have to wait until I have seen it". I have to say, for all my vehemence in this review, I'm glad that it has. Paying homage to what many consider to be a cornerstone of the science fiction genre is a wonderful thing and this new version is a good legacy.
Whether or not it is better than the original, well, that's a very subjective question. All I can say is, Mario Kart 64 did not live up to its predecessor but for many, this would be the first time they ever got to experience a Mario Kart game at all and isn't it better to have Mario Karted and lost than to never have Mario Karted at all?
Of course that only proves the predictive power of the forum. But those were just guesses. It's important that you gave the movie a fair chance and analysis. Your judgment convinced me. Good job!