I heard about the 2008 version of The Day the Earth Stood Still when my Vancouver muse, Kim mentioned it on a film list there. I was not pleased at all to hear about that. The 1951 film is among my favorite films. Please note, that the poster on the link has nothing to do with what is in the film. I loved the original for its character work and some surprisingly good special FX. However, the film was not dependent on FX to sustain tension and create dread.

In this special FX intensive age, I worry that those little human moments will be lost. And let’s just say that I am not completely confident of Keanu Reeve’s acting ability. Still, I have to admit that the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds was quite good. And I went to that with quite a hostile attitude as I loved the 1953 film. So, I may go see this one.

The Day the Earth Stood still has a really snappy trailer that has lots of whizzes and bangs, but it also has very personal jeopardy and even some humor. It is the kind of trailer that is designed to attract a large mainstream audience. The second trailer that is the subject of much discussion at our house is for Star Trek.

Unfortunately, as anticipated as the trailer is in some quarters, what I saw will not have a mainstream appeal. Now, before the flame war starts, I have a pedigree with Trek. I was in Trekkies as a representative slash writer. My contribution to the franchise can be viewed here. I have sat in Ron Moore’s office and berated him about various Trek issues. He still talks to me.

Thus, I am not a disinterested party and have followed it in all of its forms. I am someone that should want to see this film. But I’m not talking out Trek fans and this trailer. I’m talking about a mainstream audience that doesn’t care about ship design or whether Leonard Nimoy is in the film. I bring this up because it is the subject of much discussion in out home. Our good friend Gabriel Koerner, the ultimate fanboy in both Trekkies films is very keen on the film working out. And this is despite the fact that the film heavily borrows from his enterprise ship design. I’m too polite to say they stole it, but it is awfully close.

Mainstream film goers want to know what a film is about and what kind of time they will have. This trailer is about Kirk’s origin story and Spock’s destiny. I have no idea what the film is actually about. I have no clue whatsoever. The mainstream audience isn’t burning to hear about Kirk’s formative years, and this film will need a lot more than Trek fans buying tickets for it to perform well. It doesn’t look good for box office success. It really doesn’t.

The third trailer is one that I actually have no interest in. Jon is incensed by what he sees in the trailer for The Spirit. From my point of view, the trailer is even weirder and more off putting than the one for The Watchmen. It doesn’t even have the hipness and fun verve of the trailers for Sin City. It is unlikely to be big box office. Jon is annoyed because of the apparent liberties Frank Miller took with the material. Miller professed to be a great admirer of the Spirit’s creator, Will Eisner. He said the man’s work was a great influence on his work. And Miller is also known for becoming very aggressive toward anyone he deems is subverting his work. Thus, Jon is flummoxed at what he sees in that trailer that in no way resembles the character he followed. I tell him to have heart.

There isn’t likely to be a sequel.