Scott Derrickson’s remake of the quintessential science fiction classic is a surprisingly sturdy vehicle for ecological didacticism, which replaces the original’s stern warnings about the threat of nuclear power. Although it deviates significantly from Robert Wise’s 1951 film, it maintains the basic foundation of humanistic science fiction, in which encounters with other worlds are intended for our benefit, not our destruction. Most interesting, though, is the fact that humankind is given a reprieve not because of the inherent goodness of humanity as embodied in an unspoiled child, but rather by the capacity of a child, and hence all of us, to change for the better. (Hollywood Jewel 16, Waco, TX)