Independence Day

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. I had to take a long, hard look at “Independence Day”. Is it a legitimately good film? It’s certainly not a perfect one, but the fun ratio is high here and I don’t think it’s nostalgia talking when I give it a positive rating. Sure the plot gets downright nutty, there are too many characters and the story arcs are predictable, but the special effects are good, there are many memorable moments throughout and the leads are charismatic. Most important of all, the film is highly watchable and constantly entertaining.

On July 2, 1996, the sun above every major city on Earth is blotted out by enormous flying saucers. When the aliens attack, it’s time for Earth to fight back! The film follows a slew of characters: U. S. President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman), Computer expert David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), U. S. Marine Corps Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith), and among others, Randy Quad as Russell, an alcoholic crop duster, Vietnam veteran who seeks to give the aliens that supposedly abducted him years ago a piece of his mind. United together on the 4th of July, humanity prepares for a last-ditch assault against the extraterrestrial menace.

Whenever anyone talks about “Independence Day”, it’s always the same criticisms that come up. As such, let’s just get them out of the way. No one believes that a critical plot point in the film, an instance where human computers and alien computers are completely compatible, is remotely plausible. Even if our computers were based on some wreck we’d found in the desert of Area-51, most people have a hard enough time playing a VHS tape at home, and DVDs didn’t even reach mass acceptance until 2008! I say accept this film as a modern (though nowhere near as intelligent) retelling of “War of the Worlds” and move on.

I’m a firm believer that for every genre of film, there’s got to be one high “best of”, that one picture that’s worth seeing, maybe even owning if you want to build a library. We’ve seen many pictures like “Independence Day” (many of whom have come from director and co-writer Roland Emmerich); these stories about different people from all over the world face off against a grand disaster in an epic story where the whole of humanity is at stake, every single person has their own individual story arcs independent of the main plot, the film relies heavily on likable actors and special effects more than the script and at times, you wonder if you’re laughing with, or at it. Out of all of them, this is the best one. You look at all of the individual elements that work and it’s no wonder this film has become a holiday favorite. It delivers pretty much everything you’d want to see in a movie.

I could see people accusing this picture of being jingoistic, which it is, but I don’t think it’s intentional. The film tells you its intentions in a cheesy/awesome speech delivered by Bill Pullman. This is an idealistic picture, one that comes from a place of earnestness. It’s about an ultimate evil arriving on Earth; a threat that must be defeated. If only we can all rise up, hold hands and push back together, we just might be able to. You look at the characters involved in this film and what do you see? An African-American, a Jewish man and everyone from the most powerful man on Earth to a meager drunk all working together in a story that will transform the 4th of July into a worldwide event.

I’ll give you that there are too many subplots, but they’re all fun to see play out. Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum make one heck of a team on-screen. They’re both incredibly charismatic and together, they push you past every single flaw, and compel you to stand up and cheer. Cutting out any of the other stories would take away some of the feel-good sentiment that is used to contrast the devastation caused by the alien attacks. The film delivers on the emotional level and as a spectacle. Those sequences of landmarks being reduced to dust, of human lives being annihilated are terrific, even iconic. I like that the film takes the most basic, traditional alien designs (saucers and Greys) and redesigns them for a modern audience. This whole film is about taking a basic alien invasion story and jazzing it up with quotable dialogue, a story with so many characters that you’re guaranteed to see yourself in the heroes’ ranks and an overwhelming sense of fun.

I didn’t set out to watch “Independence Day” on July 4th. Honestly, I didn’t. I had plans to see the sequel during the weekend and I thought to myself “Why not watch the original one more time? I’ll write a review, I’ll have a lot of fun and I could use a film with awesome sequences of special effects generated destruction right now”. There’s something inherently watchable about “Independence Day”. It’s a fun movie you can go back to over and over, memorizing the best moments, cheering at the right spots and looking forward to seeing again. (On Blu-ray, July 4, 2016)