Give peace a chance. That is the message delivered to us Earthlings by this film's mysterious alien visitor. In the time this film was made the message was a rather powerful one. American/Soviet tensions were high, we had entered the age of nuclear weapons and the idea that humankind may be on the verge of destroying itself was not all that far-fetched. It is in this atmosphere that Klaatu, visitor from another world, arrives on Earth. When his flying saucer lands in Washington there is understandably much apprehension. But Klaatu comes in peace. We learn that he wishes to bring all the leaders of the world together to warn them of the dangers should they continue their nuclear arms race. Seems the aliens don't much mind if us silly Earthlings kill ourselves in war after war. But our nuclear weaponry, combined with the start of space exploration, causes the people of other worlds to be concerned that their peaceful existence could soon be threatened by the people of Earth. If that comes to pass Klaatu warns us that there will be consequences. Dire consequences.
It's a rather simple story but one which certainly grabs and then holds on to your attention. In playing Klaatu, an alien who appears to be rather human, Michael Rennie turns in a quality performance. Klaatu may seem human but we always know there's something more there and Rennie portrays that otherworldliness wonderfully. When Klaatu foils our government's attempts to hold him and wanders out into society the movie kicks into life. We see this alien visitor interact with ordinary people as he tries to fulfill his mission and save us Earthlings from ourselves. Klaatu will be aided by a young boy, Bobby Benson, whom he befriends and by Bobby's friendly but wary widowed mother. They are unaware of who exactly "Mr. Carpenter", the alias Klaatu has taken, really is. Eventually though his true identity will be secret no longer and it's a race against time, and the military, as Klaatu tries to deliver his message of peace to the world without getting himself killed first.
The movie is a little dry and rather talky. A lot of words and, especially for a science fiction film, very little action. Even the ending, after all that has come before, seems somewhat anticlimactic. You might be expecting some kind of spectacular, thrilling showdown but there's nothing of the sort. But in its own way the climax works for this movie, especially taking into account the time in which it was made. Nowadays Hollywood would certainly jazz things up with all kinds of spectacular effects. But as we have seen time and again great effects do not necessarily make for a great movie. The effects in this movie are incredibly primitive. For example Klaatu's companion, the giant, menacing robot Gort, is rather obviously just a tall guy in a cheesy foam rubber suit. And the story itself requires you to occasionally suspend disbelief as well. A spaceship lands in Washington and the military leaves just two soldiers there to guard it? Really? That's just one of the contrivances necessary to allow the plot to move forward. But while there are certainly some things to quibble with the movie is still undeniably compelling. It's a simple story but it works. For all the money spent to make modern sci-fi movies look spectacular there is a lesson to be learned here that the story is the most important thing. It doesn't matter how good your movie looks if the story stinks. This old-school movie may not look spectacular but the story makes it a film well worth seeing.
It's a rather simple story but one which certainly grabs and then holds on to your attention. In playing Klaatu, an alien who appears to be rather human, Michael Rennie turns in a quality performance. Klaatu may seem human but we always know there's something more there and Rennie portrays that otherworldliness wonderfully. When Klaatu foils our government's attempts to hold him and wanders out into society the movie kicks into life. We see this alien visitor interact with ordinary people as he tries to fulfill his mission and save us Earthlings from ourselves. Klaatu will be aided by a young boy, Bobby Benson, whom he befriends and by Bobby's friendly but wary widowed mother. They are unaware of who exactly "Mr. Carpenter", the alias Klaatu has taken, really is. Eventually though his true identity will be secret no longer and it's a race against time, and the military, as Klaatu tries to deliver his message of peace to the world without getting himself killed first.
The movie is a little dry and rather talky. A lot of words and, especially for a science fiction film, very little action. Even the ending, after all that has come before, seems somewhat anticlimactic. You might be expecting some kind of spectacular, thrilling showdown but there's nothing of the sort. But in its own way the climax works for this movie, especially taking into account the time in which it was made. Nowadays Hollywood would certainly jazz things up with all kinds of spectacular effects. But as we have seen time and again great effects do not necessarily make for a great movie. The effects in this movie are incredibly primitive. For example Klaatu's companion, the giant, menacing robot Gort, is rather obviously just a tall guy in a cheesy foam rubber suit. And the story itself requires you to occasionally suspend disbelief as well. A spaceship lands in Washington and the military leaves just two soldiers there to guard it? Really? That's just one of the contrivances necessary to allow the plot to move forward. But while there are certainly some things to quibble with the movie is still undeniably compelling. It's a simple story but it works. For all the money spent to make modern sci-fi movies look spectacular there is a lesson to be learned here that the story is the most important thing. It doesn't matter how good your movie looks if the story stinks. This old-school movie may not look spectacular but the story makes it a film well worth seeing.