To be fair, Klatuu states that as long as we were squabbling among ourselves, his peers didn’t care. But it was the threat, through our upcoming advancement in space travel, to extend our violence to the stars that brought about his ultimatum.
Your ideas for the re-working have merit. So it’ll never happen.
I had the impression that it would be with nuclear weapons.
They could, of course, just let a few dozen Gorts kill us.
My beef was why bother to wipe us out if we tried to venture into space? Their technology they could quarantine Earth with a couple of ships and robot pilots.
“I am leaving soon and you will forgive me if I speak bluntly. The universe grows smaller every day and the threat of aggression by any group anywhere can no longer be tolerated. There must be security for all or no one is secure. Now this does not mean giving up any freedom, except the freedom to act irresponsibly. Your ancestors knew this when they made laws to govern themselves and hired policemen to enforce them. We, of the other planets, have long accepted this principle. We have an organization for the mutual protection of all planets and for the complete elimination of aggression. The test of any such higher authority is, of course, the police force that supports it. For our policemen we created a race of robots. Their function is to patrol the planets in spaceships like this one and preserve the peace. In matters of aggression we have given them absolute power over us. This power cannot be revoked. At the first signs of violence they act automatically against the aggressor. The penalty for provoking their action is too terrible to risk. The result is we live in peace without arms or armies, secure in the knowledge that we are free from aggression and war, free to pursue more profitable enterprises. Now, we do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works. I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet, but if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you.”
One “Outer Limits” that I liked had the alien show up and say “Hu-mons! These wars of yours are pathetic and contemptible. However, we will give you one more chance. You have one week to change your ways, or you will be destroyed!”
So all world leaders meet together, and feverishly work out a plan for world peace. At the end of the week, the new world government presents the achievement to the aliens.
And the alien replies, “Stupid Hu-mons! We need interstellar warriors for our battles! You are not nearly savage enough, and this horrible cowardly peace agreement shows just how right we are to destroy you weaklings.”
That was a Twillight Zone (The 80s series) Episode. I loved that one. Essentially Humans were genetically bred by this race and they came to show thier disapointment in us and as failures we had to be erradicated so they could start again. The Leaders of the world decide they can show Humans are worth Saving by solving all of our disputes in a week.
The Aliens See this and laugh… “You don’t understand we bread you to be a warrior race.” Before they destroy the Earth they laugh again at the joke.
Ohh a bit more… It is an episode called “A Small Talent for war”
The aliens praise humans “delightful sense of the absurd” and his parting words are, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard You might take some comfort in that”.
I have no problem whatsoever with a re-make of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Classic though it was, it bore almost no resemblance to the story off of which it was ostensibly based, and I think there’s still room for a movie version of “Farewell to the Master”. Or maybe even for something else, which departs from the original in different ways, but which might still be good.