10 Most Disappointing Movie Reboots Since 2000

5. The Day The Earth Stood Still

In Robert Wise’s 1951 original, our planet was brought to its knees by Klaatu, a surrogate Christ who adopted the name “Carpenter” during his time on Earth. Killed by the people he was attempting to help, Klaatu was resurrected and urged world leaders to embrace pacifism before returning to the stars.

This 2008 remake casts Keanu Reeves as Klaatu and the filmmakers have unwisely retained the Messianic angle, even throwing in a scene where Keanu appears to be walking on water. That should at least guarantee a few cheap laughs, but the film’s ultimately too sluggish and po-faced to be funny.

Instead, the filmmakers jettison the whole pacifism plot so in this version the Earth doesn’t actually stand still, it has to be destroyed in order to save it. Or something. Then someone persuades Klaatu that humanity isn’t really so bad so he relents, and the last person left in the theater goes to the box office to demand their money back.