ORIGINAL VS. REMAKE \ The differences

A remake of the 1951 film “The Day the Earth Stood Still” opens Friday, with Keanu Reeves as the alien visitor Klaatu, who brings a serious ultimatum to the people of Earth. Director Scott Derrickson keeps the basic structure of the original film. But there are a few differences:

New: The spaceship lands in Central Park in New York. Old: The spaceship lands on a baseball field in Washington, D.C.

New: The alien visitor Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) takes on a human form. Old: Klaatu’s (Michael Rennie) alien body is identical to humans.

New: Earth’s final hope is Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly), a scientist who must work with the secretary of defense (Kathy Bates). Old: It is up to Helen Benson (Patricia Neal), a secretary at the Department of Defense, to save the world.

New: Klaatu comes to tell the residents of Earth their time is up. Old: The aliens that Klaatu represents are not that concerned about Earth blowing itself up. They just issue a warning that any attempt to take violence to the stars will be met with total destruction.

New: “Save the planet” is the central theme. Old: The Cold War is the core political theme.

New: Klaatu visits McDonald’s. Old: Klaatu goes to the Lincoln Memorial.

New: Klaatu gets a sense humans are worth saving when he hears music by Johann Sebastian Bach. Old: The first clue for Klaatu that humans have a good side is found in the words of Abraham Lincoln.

New: Making the Earth stand still is a punishment. Old: Klaatu makes the world stand still for 30 minutes as a show of what the aliens could do if provoked.

—Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee