Keanu Reeves is a creature from outer space. More precisely, he is playing Klaatu, a superior being from beyond the stars who takes the form of a human male visiting a planet that, despite millions of years of evolution, remains too fond of violence for its own good.
"I could really relate," says Reeves of his character, first incarnated in the now-classic 1951 movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" by the equally impassive British actor Michael Rennie. "The character makes total sense. It's the guys on Earth who are making war: Those are the ones who could be or should be looked at as being alien, if you know what I mean."
The film, then and now, can be seen as embodying an antiwar message specific to its era — Korea then, Iraq now. But it's also about the self-destructiveness of humanity, whether via wars or everyday aggression and violence.