History Film / TheDayTheEarthStoodStill2008

* BrokenAesop: We're destroying the other species on our planet, and aliens think that's bad. Fine. So why does Helen's love for Jacob change Klaatu's mind? A mother's love for a child of her own species, while charming, doesn't really show anything except a desire to perpetuate her species. It'd be more valid if she showed love for an animal, perhaps something [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute completely dissimilar to humans]]. Instead, ThePowerOfLove conquers all. Perhaps it's the fact that Jacob is her husband's biological son and not hers?

* DullSurprise: Reeves plays an alien whose affect is chilly and inhuman, and is wonderfully natural in the part.

* FauxFluency: Keanu Reeves' Klaatu speaks to an elderly man (who is really an alien disguised in human form) in Mandarin Chinese. It's a valiant effort, but still pretty bad.

* FunWithAcronyms: The US government decides Klaatu's robot buddy is '''G'''enetically '''O'''rganized '''R'''obotic '''T'''echnology--apparently, just having Klaatu ''say'' "Gort" at some point wasn't remakey enough.

* GratuitousForeignLanguage: Mandarin Chinese. Keanu Reeves tries really hard, but still doesn't get it quite right.

* TooDumbToLive:
** The military, law enforcement, and the government in general, though all of government in all of fiction is guilty of this trope, and it's not an unexpected reaction to aliens being suddenly real. Klaatu comes to Earth and reaches out his hand to the protagonists. Clearly, putting a bullet in him is the appropriate response. Only later do they realize he was able to shut down their defense network on a whim, and so they decide imprisoning and (implicitly) ''torturing'' him is a good idea. Klaatu's decision, after consulting a spy on Earth, is naturally that HumansAreBastards and have to go, thus the swarm of nanobots begins devouring every man-made object in its path. The military bombs it, only to see it grow larger. The Secretary of Defense at least grows a brain at this point, but the president orders even more bombing as if the opinion of his military adviser isn't worth considering.
** Klatuu's people deserve extra stupidity points as well. Consider that their entire motivation for destroying humanity is to preserve the non-human portions of Earth's biosphere. They then set their nanotech-based weapon on "Dissolve Everything", ''including rocks and trees!'' In the immortal words of Creator/RobertAsprin, "Very inferior as superior beings go."

* HumanAliens: Justified, as Klaatu's human form was grown to interact with humans and survive in their environment.

* AliensAreBastards: The aliens are committing genocide against a sentient race to protect a planet which is in no appreciable danger. Even if we wipe ''ourselves'' out, life will go on, and [=CO2=] and methane scrubbing bacteria and plants will come in and clean up after us. At best, they're concerned about the other, non-sentient species of life on Earth going extinct from humanity's actions... but we’ll either kill ourselves off or wise up before too long - again, life will go on, whether we’re here or not. But even so, their plan is to just kill all humans flat out instead of just giving them more eco-friendly technology.

* ArtisticLicense: For the EMP at the end. Realistically speaking, an EMP would not be able to disable all electrical systems on earth. Many military systems are already heavily shielded to withstand an emp and many more also use analog technology.

* BrokenAesop: We're destroying the other species on our planet, and aliens think that's bad. Fine. So why does Helen's love for Jacob change Klaatu's mind? A mother's love for a child of her own species, while charming, doesn't really show anything except a desire to perpetuate her species. It'd be more valid if she showed love for an animal, perhaps something [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute completely dissimilar to humans.]] Instead, ThePowerOfLove conquers all. Perhaps it's the fact that Jacob is her husband's biological son and not hers?

* CyberCyclops: Gort has a single glowing red eye behind the visor — there's a good moment when one of the characters realises the eye is following him as he walks across the room.

* HealingPotion: Klaatu applies a salve that instantly heals his bullet wound; an added CallBack detail from the 1951 film.

* StarfishAliens: Klaatu noted that he was assuming AFormYouAreComfortableWith to interact with the humans. Upon being asked by the heroine what his true form was, he refused, stating, "[[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm It would only frighten you]]".

* TechnologyErasureEvent: Klaatu permanently disables all ability to generate electricity on Earth to prevent damage to its ecosystem.

* NoEndorHolocaust: The movie ends with Klaatu causing his ship to emit a massive EMP wave that shuts down all the GORT nanites. It also shuts down every piece of technology on the planet, even things that should not be [[ArtisticLicense Affected by EMP]], such as analog watches. This means millions dead in hospitals, planes falling out of the sky, no way to get food or water to starving masses, etc. And billions of dead silicon-based nanites covering the landscape. Good luck making use of that land. Yes, Klaatu mentions our way of life will have to change. He just didn't mention most of us would die, while he happily flies off home, mission complete. Bear in mind that in the original movie, Klaatu selectively applies his pulse such that said hospitals, planes, etc. are unaffected, in order to cause as little harm as possible. It is possible that was his intention. Reduce the human population, take away our ability to mess up our planet. Perhaps, as he may have reasoned, this might give us the chance to start over, be more green, especially with less mouths to feed. He did tell Helen that saving Humanity "Would have a price".

* Attackbackfire: Every attack on the nanite swarm only increases its size and spread.

* BrownNote: Both Klaatu and GORT demonstrate the ability to create debilitating sound.

* GreyGoo: How GORT was going to wipe out humanity.

* HumanAliens: Justified, as Klaatu was tailor-made to interact with humans.

* ScaryDogmaticAliens: The aliens are depicted as ecoterrorists, who want to wipe out human civilization and infrastructure to preserve the biosphere. Klaatu ended up with a [[RestoredMyFaithInHumanity change of heart]], but before that his mission was not to warn anyone, but to skip straight to the EXTERMINATE-part.
** He did try to speak with Earth's leaders, but as in the original the U.S. government decides they'd rather play it private and with hardball.

* TheSwarm: The metal insects that comprise Gort.

* YouWontFeelAThing: Speaking about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the human race]], Klaatu says "the pain will only be momentary."

* NoEndorHolocaust: The movie ends with Klaatu causing his ship to emit a massive EMP wave that shuts down all the GORT nanites. It also shuts down every piece of technology on the planet, even things that should not be [[ArtisticLicense Affected by EMP]], such as analog watches. This means millions dead in hospitals, planes falling out of the sky, no way to get food or water to starving masses, etc. And billions of dead silicon-based nanites covering the landscape. Good luck making use of that land. Yes, Klaatu mentions our way of life will have to change. He just didn't mention most of us would die, while he happily flies off home, mission complete. Bear in mind that in the original movie, Klaatu selectively applies his pulse such that said hospitals, planes, etc. are unaffected, in order to cause as little harm as possible.
** It is possible that was his intention. Reduce the human population, take away our ability to mess up our planet. Perhaps, as he may have reasoned, this might give us the chance to start over, be more green, especially with less mouths to feed.
*** He did tell Helen that saving Humanity "Would have a price".

* AliensAreBastards: The aliens are committing genocide against a sentient race to protect a planet which is in no appreciable danger. Even if we wipe ourselves out life will go on, and [=CO2=] and methane scrubbing bacteria and plants will come in and clean up after us. At best, they're concerned about the other, non-sentient species of life on Earth going extinct from humanity's actions... but we’ll either kill ourselves off or wise up before too long - again, life will go on, whether we’re here or not. But even so, their plan is to just kill all humans flat out instead of just giving them more eco-friendly technology.

* NoEndorHolocaust: The movie ends with Klaatu causing his ship to emit a massive EMP wave that shuts down all the GORT nanites. It also shuts down every piece of technology on the planet, even things that should not be affected by EMP, such as analog watches. This means millions dead in hospitals, planes falling out of the sky, no way to get food or water to starving masses, etc. And billions of dead silicon-based nanites covering the landscape. Good luck making use of that land. Yes, Klaatu mentions our way of life will have to change. He just didn't mention most of us would die, while he happily flies off home, mission complete. Bear in mind that in the original movie, Klaatu selectively applies his pulse such that said hospitals, planes, etc. are unaffected, in order to cause as little harm as possible.

* Artistic LicenseEmp: realistically speaking, an EMP would not be able to disable all electrical systems on earth. Many military systems are already heavily shielded to withstand an emp and many more also use analog technology.

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