Review of Independence Day (1996) by Matthew F. J — 27 Jun 2016

1996 was a vastly different time for big time blockbusters. Independence Day is easily one of the most famous end-of-the-world blockbusters, but sadly, 20 years later, it doesn't necessarily hold up. With painfully cheesy one-liners and one-too many characters to follow, it's a less than stellar take on the alien invasion genre.

One thing that does stand out is the ensemble cast. Perhaps besides Harvey Fierstein, I really enjoyed the entire cast. With a powerhouse like Will Smith bringing the charisma and most of the film's comedy, all you need is some solid supporting cast members to carry the rest of the weight, although let's face it, Jeff Goldblum plays the exact same character he does in Jurassic Park. Having said that, there are far too many characters that feel entirely unnecessary and end up bloating the film to an hour and a half. Cut half of the supporting roles and 30min of screen time and you have a much more re-watchable film.

I can't entirely blame the film for having dated special effects, especially since it won an Oscar for them. However, I can blame the film for having a script and direction that doesn't seem to care enough to develop the characters and story into a respectable blockbuster territory. Perhaps it's because we are so inundated with mega-films that do all of these things so well that I got a little upset watching Independence Day. How many times can Roland Emmerich zoom the camera in on someone giving a shocked face at the alien's ship? It happens at least 20 times within the first hour.

This film definitely has its copycats, as Emmerich recently pointed out in an interview. But he took a lot from the previous sci-fi epics that came before him. Everything from the music, end credits (visually), to the space battles felt like something out of a Star Wars or Star Trek film. With that said, none of those films have as good of a speech as Bill Pullman does as he rallied the pilots before the final takedown. That's right about when I began to accept the film for what it is and forgive some of the horrifically cheesy moments.

Although the film is over 140 minutes long, we never really get a sense as to the alien's motivations or backstory as to their appearance on earth, which was disappointing for sure. Why did we need to follow the kids of one of the pilots, who barely had a role, and not get a little bit more insight from the aliens point of view? These are just a few of the issues I had with the film, but really, it's mindless fun that doesn't really need to be dissected to such an extent. Overall, it's half way decent and likely better than it has any right to be.

+Will Smith's ridiculous one-liners.

+Pullman's speech.

+Mindless fun.

-Enough with the close-ups.

-Too many side characters...

-...And they are focused on way too much.

6.0/10.