Absolutely amazing

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I love scifi & despite what some overinflated critic hack might claim; there is no lack of demand for this genre. There is a lack of original stories and competent directors.I was astonished to read 650 of 700 reviews posted here all agreed about the bratty kid character who ruined every scene of the movie for all of us. (Will Smith, this is what happens when a child has no punishment for bad behavior. They don't learn without sufficient consequences.)I blame the screenwriter & director for the terrible characters they developed with even worse dialogue. The worst character was the bratty kid. He was simply awful. This was not an ethnic issue. This was an attitude issue. A smart mouthed brat constantly back talking & causing nothing but trouble & fails to behave. He does exactly the opposite of what he has been told. Nor does his caretaker pay attention to his behavior as she foolishly brings him along with her instead of leaving him with a neighbor or relative as she did at the beginning. What's worse, the kids role & dialogue controlled the entire movie. The audience felt he needed a good paddling.The kid literally ruined the movie for everyone. He was nothing like the wide-eyed boy with curiosity & amazement as in the original movie.Dr Helen was no better. Neither her demeanor nor her dialogue were believable in her role. She acted more like some inexperienced teen than a respectable doctor. Arguing with the gov't before learning their purpose for her expertise. Her inability to control or monitor the brat was evident of this characters lack of experience & maturity.Then we have a Sec of defense who goes out of her way to provoke the alien into a conflict. No diplomatic skills there. She also does everything possible to make the alien hate us. She was clearly overbearing.Keanu Reeves made a great alien but his character in the script never bothered to discuss his purpose before the destruction was unleashed. Nor did they provide a second chance warning. Or consideration for those who were innocent. The first movie at least received a warning to all nations. I didn't know why some reviewers kept referring to "canoe". I now realize it was a nickname used for Keanu by those who can't properly pronounce KEY AW NEW.Then we had an incomplete ending & unsure of the actual ramifications. Permanently without power or temp? What about medical technology? This portion of the film was incomplete. Also, with the alien leaving without explanation or threats, the gov'ts would continue their bad management. Nothing would be accomplished without a terrifying warning of what they needed to do to avoid utter destruction.I have to agree with those who complain about the constant use of NYC or Washington DC as focal point locations for these films. There are plenty of other cities. But I do realize that those 2 cities are also focal points for the UN and the US gov't. However, I always wondered why Paris was the locale for so many peace treaties (Rev war, War of 1812, Viet Nam war, etc).Those rednecks (who are always blaming leftists in their comments) are the ones responsible for global environmental destruction, wars, violence, pollution & corrupt gov't. Shouldn't you be out killing some endangered animal instead of watching scifi you clearly don't understand? Or are they those who are Incarcerated without the ability to change the channel.The special effects were interesting but nothing could overcome such horrible dialogue & weak characters. We needed the wisdom & calm demeanor of Morgan Freeman in this film.The movie is watchable but the kid will still ruin it for everyone.

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.

The plot is naive to say the least. And very common. Once more aliens want to destroy humanity for their evil (or not so evil) purposes.It is a remake of an older movie.Keanu Reeves reprises his persona and set of movements from Neo in the Matrix, the son of Smith is as annoying as a little brat could be and Jennifer Connelly although she looks "intelligent" her character is surprisingly dumb in the movie.You want to see it? Go and see it. Don't expect an epiphany or a solid conclusion though. Humans are destroying Earth but they have ...soul and they are willing (really?) to change for the better.

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.