We were down to the Andover flicks this evening to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still" featuring Keanu Reeves as the humanity-exterminating-but-somehow-chic alien Klaatu.
Keanu has the extreme Green position that humans are causing a global biocide, and for the sake of galactically-precious-biosphere-preservation, must be removed from the scene forthwith .
The idiotic American military do their militaristic best to buttress this possibly-shaky premise, but the heroic female scientist and her adopted trans-racial child convince Keanu - sorry, Klaatu but where's the difference? - that there is hope yet for human redemption.
Redemption appears in the end to be the complete and utter destruction of technology, which would reduce the Earth's carrying capacity for humankind to maybe a few million at most. Let the die-off commence!
The CGI special effects were beautifully wonky.
We loved it!
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Note: No angular momentum was unconserved in this film.
Note: No cliche was left unturned in this film. For example, it is well known that 'biologist Lewis Thomas was asked what message he thought should be sent to outer space aliens. He answered, "the complete works of J.S. Bach". And then he added as an afterthought, "But that would be boasting"' (here).
Inevitably then, as Keanu is in the home of the distinguished research scientist who is trying to impress him that we're worth saving, what is playing loudly in the background but the Goldberg Variations. The female scientist says helpfully "It's Bach".
Wonderful!
