Horror’s Keanu Reeves Portrays Irreverent Klaatu In "Day The Earth Stood Still"

Keanu Reeves brings us a new Klaatu. From watching the original Day The Earth Stood Stood Still film, you get the feeling that it’s not so much about a visitor from another planet, as it is about humans destroying each other, whether via global destruction, or just plain violence in general.

You can see the latest images from the film at Bloody-Disgusting. Based on what we know, how does Keanu Reeves’ portrayal compare to Rennie’s portrayal in the original movie?

I recall the original character, Klaatu, seemed to be such a peaceful individual (I mean…alien). After all, he takes much care in the contact he has with humans. Little did we realize, that Klaatu served as a messenger of sorts to warn us that other races in the galaxy are fearful of our use of atomic power. In this remake, the fear is updated towards the Cold War.

Word is that Reeves’ Klaatu is not as warm and fuzzy as the original Klaatu (portrayed by Michael Rennie in the 1951 original), and that he’s more of an “alien inside a human body”.

Whether Reeves is portraying a real estate agent to the prince of blood (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) or a chain-smoking demon exorcist (Constantine), he will always be one of our favorite horror (and sci-fi) actors.

Based on the trailers, and a take on his previous roles, I think Reeves brings a different type of “humanity” to the role of Klaatu, one that’s not sugar-coated, but nevertheless, one that faithfully shows the sorrow and perhaps pity that the humans must well deserve in this film.

Via IGN; Image with permission from Newscom; DVD image via Amazon.com