Review #1,141: 'Independence Day: Resurgence' (2016)

By the time the 300-mile wide alien spacecraft appears in the skies and touches down on our world, it had become quite clear that Independence Day: Resurgence, the belated sequel to the beloved 1996 disaster movie, was here simply for our money. For anyone expecting anything else but lifeless CGI akin to a video-game cut-scene and actors with less charisma than the beers I felt myself needing to consume throughout this complete waste of time and money will be sorely disappointed, but hardly surprised. The original Independence Day was just as daft and just as stupid, yet it had a charming innocence about it, which possibly stemmed from the sight of famous landmarks being obliterated before 9/11 made it slightly uncomfortable to watch some mindless carnage. It also had Will Smith, who probably read the script for Resurgence and decided that it was so bad that he opted to do Suicide Squad instead.

Just like in real life, 20 years have past since those gigantic spaceships destroyed a host of major cities before being taken down by the combined efforts of... well, America. Just like in Alan Moore's Watchmen, the devastation caused by the alien race has brought humanity together, putting their differences aside to fight a common enemy. There's also been some amazing leaps in technology thanks to the debris left by the alien crafts, and a space station on the moon acts as humanity's first line of defence against another invasion. David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) is now one of the top figures in alien research, and when he meets up with African war-lord Umbutu (Deobia Oparei) in 'Central Africa', discovers that the defeated aliens sent a telepathic distress signal to their home planet 20 years ago. Umbutu receives some of these messages due to his close encounters with the creatures, as does former President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) and Dr. Brakish Okun (Brent Spiner).

Of the new arrivals, there's the cocky and hunky hot-shot pilot Jake Morrison who, when we first meet him, is using his cockiness and hunkyness to save the space station from catastrophe. He is played by Liam Hemsworth, an actor I find utterly boring even in his better roles, who is clearly here for an easy payday since the script requires him to do little more than shout a defiant "aaaaaaaagh!" every time he faces danger in the cockpit. Jake is caught in some kind of squabble with Dylan Hiller (Jessie T. Usher), the son of Will Smith's character in the first film. Independence Day turned the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air into one the most bankable A-listers in the business, but Resurgence certainly won't be doing the same for Usher. He is one of many forgettable new faces in a packed ensemble which also includes President Whitmore's daughter (Maika Monroe), the current lady President (Sela Ward), the competent General Adams (William Fichtner), and Levinson's former flame Dr. Catherine Marceaux (Charlotte Gainsbourg in one of the greatest ever "what the hell am I doing here?" performances).

While I recognise that development only occurred sporadically throughout the last 20 years, the best that the 5 (yes, 5) screenwriters behind Independence Day: Resurgence could come up with is to simply remake virtually everything that came before. There are shots of people gazing into the sky, landmarks turning into balls of flame, a dog-fight during which the enemies' weakness is exposed, a rousing Presidential speech which Pullman half-arses here, and Jeff Goldblum doing his Jeff Goldblum thang. The Force Awakens (2015) was criticised for doing the same, but at least it introduced a whole new bunch of likeable characters and exciting set-pieces to distract us from this obvious flaw. Here, we get wise-cracks by Jake as millions of people die around him, and a climax that feels like the boss level from a computer game. And all without Will Smith. Simply put, Roland Emmerich's sequel is a boring, soulless ejaculation of digital nonsense that cares about nothing but filling its pockets with the cash of the unsuspecting.


Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Jessie T. Usher, Bill Pullman, Maika Monroe, Judd Hirsch, William Fichtner, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Country: USA

Rating: *

Tom Gillespie