Twenty
years ago, the summer blockbuster “Independence Day” hit theaters. Directed by
Roland Emmerich, the film told of an alien race declaring war with humanity,
and it’s up to the military forces and scientists of Area 51 to combat this
threat. While nothing special, the film managed to be a massive hit at the box
office, and at the time was the second highest grossing film of all time. It
may not have been the smartest sci-fi blockbuster to come out, but what makes
the film so memorable and loved by fans is the charisma and sense of fun that
it has. Ever since then, there are people who will pop the film in and enjoy it
for the popcorn film that it is.
Talks
of a sequel have been brewing around for so long, mostly because the film
makers were trying so desperately to get Will Smith on board. However, with him
asking for expensive payments, they decided to go ahead with the project
without him. It’s sad, because this was among the three films that made him a
blockbuster juggernaut to begin with, so you’d think he’d be up for a reunion.
Oh well.
And
so, after twenty years, we now have the long awaited sequel to the
mega-blockbuster hit. Was it worth the wait? I certainly think so. It may not
be as good as the first film, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had a good
time with it.
Twenty
years after the invasion, humanity has been able to use the alien technology to
advance their defenses, as well as unite them closer together. However, when
they discover a distress call on one of the ships that was left, it’s revealed
that more of them are coming, and a major key to winning is with another life
form that comes to warn them. It does sound a little more farfetched than the
last film, but considering the twenty year span in this world, it didn’t bother
me that much.
It’s
really nice to see most of the cast from the first film make a return. Jeff
Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Brent Spiner, and others are still as good
as they were in the first film. You can definitely see in their performances
that they’re having fun with this, and that it’s a joy to finally be working on
something that was teased at them for so long. And I thought how they were able
to work off of the new cast members was done nicely. While it does make me sad
that Will Smith couldn’t return, I thought Jessie Usher as his son was decent enough.
The way his relationship with Liam Hemsworth’s character was investing, as
Hemsworth is more reckless than he is, yet ended up with the girl from their
flight squadron. It’s an interesting conflict between the two, but it does
work, especially since their storyline is what we focus on during the war.
I
also loved the relationship with Bill Pullman and his daughter, who is a pilot
and Hemsworth’s fiancé, as you have a daughter wanting to make sure her dad’s
in good health, yet Pullman’s the one wanting her to see a future for Earth
more. My only complaint with it, was with the casting of the daughter. Don’t
get me wrong, Maika Monroe is excellent, but I would have loved to have seen
the daughter from the first movie reprise her role, who by the way was played
by Mae Whitman. Yeah, Katara was Pullman’s daughter in the first movie. Kind of
surprised I didn’t realize that sooner.
As
for the action scenes and effects, I had so much fun watching them. Sure, they
might have the same kind of tension as they did with the first film, trying to
go for the whole “bigger, badder, and better” attempt, but I still thought what
I got was satisfying. I still got pumped for what was going on, especially
during the climactic battle with the alien mother queen and her last swarm.
Overall,
while not as good as the first, I still think “Independence Day: Resurgence” is
a film worth recommending. It’s got great action, likable characters, high
tension, and an overall sense of fun. It’s a fun blockbuster that I’m proud to
say that I loved. I mean, it’s still miles better than that god-awful “Warcraft”
movie.
Rating: 8/10
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