The day the earth stood still 2 - Der Tag an dem die Erde stillstand 2

Once again, the direct-to-DVD movie studio The Asylum blatantly rips off a major Hollywood movie not just with its title, but with its story. Of course, the movie being ripped off is "The Day The Earth Stood Still". Make no mistake, this is a BAD movie, but I found it a little better than Asylum's other mind-numbing movie. There are a few okay special effects sequences, which come across even better when you know this was a REAL low budget movie. And star/director Howell really does seem to be trying on both sides of the camera. While his performance ends up just being adequate, he does at least score a few points with his direction, giving the government base interiors and a few outdoor locations a moody, somewhat creepy feel. But ultimately, the low budget and the screenplay defeat his efforts. Much of the movie looks really cheap, with little to no set dressing and few extras. The opening of the movie is somewhat confusing, starting at what seems to be chapter two. But the biggest problems the movie has is its tone. There seems to be no sense of urgency or panic, and although the running time is just 85 minutes, it feels like it runs at least a half hour longer. It's sad that Howell and Judd Nelson's careers have gone so low that they are working for The Asylum. Won't someone else with real Hollywood power give them another chance?

Within the first ten minutes I was thinking hard about if this was a very elaborate Youtube spoof or a serious film. The acting is so undeniably awful it makes you cringe. The camera work is cheap and amateur while the sound and lighting could be done by an undergrad making their first drama. You think I'm joking? Look for the massively over exposed shot at 00:09:98.

It just gets worse from here. Very low budget, poorly written and astounding that it made it this far. There is a weird mix between shots that blew the budget and money saving stuff that makes things look just plain nasty. How many times have you seen a government agent jumping from an expensive black truck only to start setting up a fold out table for his equipment? Mix this with cheap CGI and you have an instant looser. Should have been killed in pre-production. Watch if you want to know how not to make a feature film.

*shakes head*

Blinded by the (formerly) not so bad rating, I decided to give it a chance.

At least it could have been some nice foreplay until "the one" with Keanu comes out. (pun intended) But it wasn't.

Where do I start ... bad BAD acting of almost everybody in the movie. Especially bad editing, sometimes there are cuts that have absolutely nothing to do with the current scene. Like near the beginning when you hear two people talking and at the same time see shots of people working silently on their computers. And don't get me started on the script.

Then there's the "logic factor" once again. 666 giant robots are landing on major cities on earth, yet there are NO people on the streets, no hysteria, not even simple curiosity. Everybody is rather calm, like this would happen every day. It's like we (the unfortunate viewers of the movie) get to see them, but nobody else, apart from the principal actors.

Like other people already mentioned, the superior aliens (in human form) are landing on earth. They have great powers and great knowledge. But a simple sedative knocks them out and an even simpler cell can hold them?

In general this *could* have been a nice variation on the original theme, that's why I gave it two instead of one points.

It may have been due to budget restrictions, or that they wanted to kick it out before the Keanu-movie. Either way, it did not do it any good.

As I said in the title: It's horrible in practically every way, don't waste your time on it.

Watch the original or wait for Keanu.

Terrible, terrible, what were they thinking? Bad Acting. Bad Directing. Bad Story Line or Script. Made me wonder if they get someone to watch what they've made prior to releasing a movie. I actually sat through nearly half this movie for a laugh, then I just fast forwarded in big chunks.

Oh, we two Aliens, we wont let them talk to anyone important and we'll keep them in an old abandoned warehouse and let a low ranking officer beat them up a bit. First 2 minutes of the film look promising, don't let it fool you.

Nothing good about this movie sorry.

Did I mention this was terrible?

Some solid ideas save this from being a total washout.

Have to be honest and say that production values for the average 5 year old birthday party are higher than this - yet it is strangely watchable - it has moments that make you wonder what will happen next and how it will all end...

All in all if Sci-Fi wasn't your thing before you sat down to watch it won't be after either - but if any Sci-Fi is better than none at all you might be surprised at the fact that is is, despite a very low budget, actually watchable....

And it does kind of deal with apocalyptic themes head-on, all in all B minus.