Just got back from seeing the remake of TDtESS…it’s not terrible, but it certainly doesn’t match the original in terms of impact. I’d say it’s worth going to see anyway, it’s well made, with good performances and effects. Spoilers follow (for both movies) if you click on to read more.

The biggest problem I have with it (besides the limited use of ‘Klaatu Barada Nicto’) was the ending and the unanswered questions it leaves. Will the power ever come back on? What exactly is there to force the human race to change? (Klaatu only really delivered the message to a few people, how exactly do they spread the word amongst all the other theories that’ll be spread by the 99% of survivors…especially given that fact that there’s no longer any technology working)

Then there’s the question of what gave Klaatu the power to make that decision - the decision to spare the human race? Why can he make up his own mind about it when he wouldn’t accept the views of the guy who has been living on earth for 70 years? (To be fair, he did say we had to be destroyed though)

Maybe I’m nitpicking, but I don’t think there was any need to screw with the original plot, it’s not like the world has solved its problems with aggression/violence against each other since the 50s. Yes, it was a current topic at the time of the movie, as global warming/destruction is just now, but the ending message, delivered to every single person on planet earth in the original was far more powerful than anything ultimately delivered in the remake.

Overall ***