kellym40 film review

20 years later, ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ fails to surge

Rating 2/5

Earlier this summer, a sequel hit theaters supposedly 20 years in the making. Independence Day: Resurgence appeared, on the surface, to be a near carbon copy of the 1996 original with a few new characters and plot points. Roland Emmerich, the “master” of disaster films, took the script from writers Nicolas Wright and James A. Woods (and others) and made a two hour, sci-fi, special effects extravaganza – and not in a good way.

I think I liked this film better when it was just called Independence Day. Of course, that’s not saying much. This time around, some returning cast members play out their characters in much of the same fashion as the original. Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, and Judd Hirsch return as David Levinson, ex-President Whitmore, and Julius Levinson, respectively. Another returning character Dr. Brakish Okun (Brent Spiner) received a few laughs from his minor part, but overall it wasn’t noteworthy. Newcomers Maika Monroe, Jessie T. Usher and Liam Hemsworth offer up decent performances as the former president’s daughter Patricia Whitmore, Dylan Hiller (the son of Will Smith’s deceased character, and Jake Morrison (a hotshot pilot), respectively.

The problem with this film is that there are similarities with the events in the first film. The dialogue is one of those problems. While it may suit your average summer popcorn flick, it does little to tell a new engaging story to capture audiences. I suppose that is why Emmerich relies on special effects and CGI. I would say if his intention was to deliver a film with a heavy dose of special effects, explosions, and spaceship battles – with very little substance otherwise – then I would say a job well done. But shouldn’t there be more than that? I read in an article, shortly after this film was released, that Emmerich had a problem with the superhero movies these days. He claimed they “stole” his “ideas” and uses of world destruction in those films. Really? I wasn’t aware you could claim property on the concept of world destruction. Besides, the Marvel films do it so much better than Emmerich,because he doesn’t seem to bother about things like plot, story, and character in his disaster films.

There appears to be a notion that the bigger something is, the better it is. That is not the case in everything. It is certainly not the case with Roland Emmerich. It seems when he makes these big blockbusters, these disaster films, he fails on telling a story with substance and depends greatly on special effects, explosions, and anything else he can find to go boom as in films like 2012 (2009), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), and 1998’s failed Godzilla. However, in films like The Patriot (2000) and White House Down (2013), Emmerich does bring substance and story to the screen. Those films are few and far between from Emmerich. And he has stated he wants to make a third Independence Day film. Only time will tell if that will happen. If it does, it just better not be another 20 years.

 

 

kellym40 film review

Special effects prevalent in ‘Independence Day’

Rating 2.5/5

Every summer there is at least one “blockbuster” filled with action, special effects, explosions, and the quintessential disaster dialogue while everyone is running and screaming to and from the camera. This film pretty much fits the bill. Roland Emmerich directed Independence Day, who also co-wrote the script with Dean Devlin, and he brought us a typical special effect heavy film designed to entertain audiences. This film was entertaining but it did rely on special effects to awe audiences, which were mostly effective but not overly impressive. Most of the dialogue is trite and designed to stir emotions in the scene and for us (the audience).

The characters appear to be “copies” of other alien invasion disaster films of the 1950’s. We are introduced to Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith), David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), Julius Levinson (Judd Hirsch), and President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman). At the beginning, the alien crafts come and hover over various cities all over the world – and wait. What are they waiting for? They are waiting for the exact moment for a coordinated attack, because apparently the aliens use the same time we do. When the time comes, the invasion begins, the main characters, and an assortment of supporting characters, discuss the necessary actions to take against their unwanted guests.

The President, David and his dad Julius, and a few others are taken to Area 51 (the famous secret area where the government is supposedly harboring aliens and alien spacecrafts. This secret lab is run by Dr. Brakish Okun (Brent Spiner), probably the most comical character in the film. Here David gets the idea on how to destroy the alien ships by using one of the ships the government has “captured.”

During the attack, the White House (of course) and the Empire State Building are destroyed. If the aliens can wipe out buildings in a flash, then why don’t they attack everything with their mighty force at once? Well, if they did that there obviously wouldn’t be a movie. It’s kind of like watching a film with a fight scene involving martial arts. The hero will take out several opponents one by one as the others dance around in a threatening manner. The action moves around quickly in Independence Day without giving much time for the characters to fully react to what is going on around them. The Air Force launches their fighter jets for their attack in hopes of destroying the alien visitors, only to be engaged by them in aerial dogfights reminiscent of the old war movies.

Emmerich planned this film around the special effects, while negating other important elements like character development and story. Independence Day is one of those movies designed for summer fun. I suppose it was somewhat entertaining on that level.