The Day the Earth Stood Still proves to be a hallmark of classic science fiction movie that is still remembered to this day for shaping the science fiction film genre. The movie revolves around an unidentified flying object that lands in Washington D.C. and carries an alien that has a message for the entire planet. While the alien initially attempts to speak with Earth in a reasonable manner, attempting to approach whoever is in charge, he is soon attacked by a group of military soldiers that surround his unidentified flying object after he lands. However, once matters come down and the alien is brought to a local hospital, he begins to go by the name of Carpenter and begins to inform certain officials about his true purpose of arriving. Carpenter, who's real name is Klaatu, has come to Earth because of how Earth is beginning to utilize the threat of nuclear power. Despite this, Carpenter isn't sure who he can trust to relay his mission, especially because he wants to tell his purpose to all of Earth's greatest leaders and minds at the same time, instead of favoring just one country in particular. This leads to Carpenter sneaking away from the military and staying at a local hotel or inn of sorts that is home to several different groups of people. Of these people, a single mother, Helen Benson, and her son, Bobby, have the ability to influence Carpenter and show him all the wonders of the planet. Bobby teaches Carpenter about peace and all that's good on Earth, and Helen acts as one of the few people that genuinely believes the alien that has arrived may be something more than just a menace, even though she and Bobby are both still unaware of who Carpenter really is. As Carpenter begins to learn about the ways of Earth and tries to figure out how to inform all of Earth of his message, the entire world is captivated by the potential threat of a missing alien. Furthermore, the whole world seems to be terrified of Gort, a giant robot that is made of practically indestructible material and plenty of technological advances. As Carpenter and Gort both terrify the masses, the entire world begins to wonder what their true purpose is. 
 The Day the Earth Stood Still is a fantastic representation of science fiction at its finest. The movie introduced plenty of eccentric science fiction concepts that are still utilized to this day. There's plenty of that noteworthy alien music, which comes from the usage of the theremin and sounds eerie as a result. The movie also centers around robots, technology and aliens, which are all staples of the genre, and the combination of all three allows the movie to highlight plenty of science fiction focal points. The film also revolves around a conflict that is bigger than just a single town and affects the fate of the entire planet.  
 The Day the Earth Stood Still is famous for being slightly controversial at the time. While the message of the movie is one of pacifism and anti-war, blaming all conflict on Earth on everyone, many found this to be somewhat anti-nationalist because the Korean War was going on at this time. However, this doesn't stop the theme from being well-constructed and elucidated nearly flawlessly. The movie provokes audiences in wondering if Earth could actually exist in a peaceful world without peace, and even if the planet did function like this, audiences can only wonder if that meant things would be better for everyone. 
 The Day the Earth Stood Still is an absolute classic work of science fiction. Aided by plenty of spectacular performances, the real star of the movie is Michael Rennie as Klaatu, who was selected for the role of because he was relatively unknown beforehand and the director wanted the character to feel more alien-like. There's a concise and cohesive plot, a meaningful theme, and plenty of substantial science fiction concepts that have still affected the genre to this day. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an impressive 95%, which is just as remarkable as it sounds, and an outstanding 90% of Google users liked the movie, solidifying the concept that the movie is a good fit for a wide variety of audiences. For all of this, the movie still deserves to be seen.