Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her stepson Jacob (Jaden Smith) live together with the dad and husband passed away. She is a scientist that works at a university and this was what got her invovled in the biggest thing she's ever been a part of. One night, while Helen and her son are about to have dinner, the police are at the door with news of her being taken away. Confused, she and her son go to see what the point of all this was. Soon, they all realize their fate. Scientists of all types are also taken from their homes and workplaces because the US needs all the best of minds to find a solution to the problem ahead. The problem: a huge ufo is heading towards Earth and moving at an alarming speed which cannot be stopped in time for the people of the city to evacuate. So really they are planning for the aftermath. Once the scientists think about it, they realize the world is in danger, not just the city. Soon, the object nears, but slows to a stop. A strange alien called Klaatu (Keaunu Reeves) being comes from the bright lights with hand out. Seeming friendly, the military of the US shoots anyway. Klaatu is taken into surgery and soons gets better. He tells the people of the US their plans and that we are too destructive for us to be here for we shall be the ruin of the planet. After he unleashes tiny bugs to eventually kill all the people, the alien realizes that only at the brink of break, do civilzations show their true colors and changes happen.