Review of Independence Day (1996) by Benjamin O — 07 Jul 2016

The 90s was a decade where CGI was still new to the seventh art, as now the limitations of practical effects weren't an issue anymore. But as with every new tool, CGI was exploited in order to show audiences the new possibilities of said tool, with many disaster films just existing to showcase them, with an example being the polarizing "Independence Day".

Normally I write a small synopsis, but this film can only be summarized as humanity vs aliens, as there is geniality so little story in this film.

Once in a while you come across a film that divides audiences to the extreme, it is either loved or hated, and a perfect example of this statement is "Independence Day". "ID4" is a film that has average but fun to watch acting, (Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Brent Spiner being the highlights due to their charismatic screen presence), charming special effects that still hold up most of the time, over the top destruction that still looks imposing, and action sequences that are enjoyable (despite its more than evident attempt to be Star Wars). But still, this film has more than a handful of flaws. The characters are forgettable and are just stereotypes, unintentionally hilarious dialog, the design of the aliens technology is so by the numbers that you could find something more visually interesting in a 50s sci-fi film, the aliens themselves are just blatant Giger rip-offs, the number of characters is unnecessarily high (not surprising from Emmerich), an inconsistent tone that goes from imitating classic Spielberg to mindless destruction porn, a shockingly bad screenplay that will make you laugh out loud at supposedly serious dramatic moments (this being constant due to overly serious directing), and the excessive USA patriotism (almost jingoistic) got into my nerves (not being a USA citizen, it is groan inducing the "America Fuck Yeah!" vibe of this film).

"Independence Day" is one of stupidest sci-fi films ever made and it is Hollywood´s version of a B movie as it has all the elements required in a B movie (which I don't know if that was the intention). While its huge sense of USA patriotism is irritating, it still harmless and mindless fun at times but most of its running it's unintentionally hilarious. Recommendable if you just want to have a fun time, if not then you will struggle with the stupidity of this story.