Review of Independence Day (1996) by Byron B — 02 Jul 2013

The anti-The Day the Earth Stood Still. Emmerich's first time blowing up the White House for a Fourth of July movie release. White House Down has human terrorists and Independence Day has aliens, but they're basically the same thing.

The aliens are malevolent and the world is shown uniting not for peace, but with military might as led by the Americans' strategy. Will Smith as a fighter pilot, who wants to join NASA as an astronaut, appears fairly late in the story.

His girlfriend (Fox) is a stripper with a heart of gold. The President of the U.S. (Pullman), an ex-fighter pilot himself, has to care for his young daughter since the first lady (McDonnell) is out of town, and he must choose what actions to take based on the reports of many advisers.

Jeff Goldblum is a scientist (and hipster before the term existed), who first figures out a pattern in the signals picked up from the alien mother-ship. He and Margaret Colin, the President's sassy press secretary, are exes.

His father (Hirsch) tags along. Eventually it is admitted that Area 51 is real. Brent Spiner and Adam Baldwin work there. Under the aliens' bio-mechanical armor they are as vulnerable as we are. Goldblum hatches a plan for he and Smith to take the repaired alien ship to infect the mother-ship's system.

Meanwhile, Randy Quaid is a crazy veteran with three kids, who steps up when his country needs more men who can fly. His oldest son is played by James Duval, who is obviously trying to impersonate Johnny Depp's style from What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

The subplot with these kids was not great. I mean the whole plot is bloated and empty, but some of the characters can be charming occasionally despite the farfetched story.