The Day the Earth Stood Still
If there's one movie I regret not sitting down and watching earlier (the original Star Wars films excluded, because they still outrank this one as far as that sorta regret goes), it's The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). My dad has long been a HUGE fan of this movie, and I have seen bits and pieces walking through the living room, but never have I simply taken the time to sat down and watch it.
The Day the Earth Stood Still has all the deep thought that so many of today's movies tragically lack. At the beginning, a ship (the ever-popular flying saucer, to be precise) from outer space lands in the middle of a park in Washington, D.C. Out of it step a huge metal robot and a man in a metallic suit. The "space man," though he has honorable and non-aggressive intentions, is shot.
Klatu's (the space man, played by Michael Rennie) mission on Earth relates to a "growing problem" an alliance of planets outside Earth has noticed: now that the violent people of Earth are experimenting with rockets, their violence could extend to the rest of the galaxy. Why is this a problem? The rest of the galaxy has successfully taken measures to completely eliminate aggression, for which the penalty is death by...well...vaporization.
I think I'm a bit sleepy to do this movie justice with more summarization, but I'm just going to say...wow. Eliminating aggression. You know, the galaxy in Serenity tried that, too...know how that turned out?
Anyway, I thought this was a pretty good science fiction movie. I enjoy movies that make me think. I'm not sure I'd like to see the remake with Keanu Reeves...but I probably will rent it or something just to see if it can compare. Doubt it.