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

Review #1,138: 'Independence Day' (1996)

What I remember about Roland Emmerich's Independence Day as I child is the cheesy one-liners, that Presidential speech that has everymen and war heroes alike puffing out their chest with patriotism, and a portrayal of a world where America acts as the sole voice of reason to a bunch of lesser powers who fully embrace their own stereotype. I always hated it, and could not fathom why the movie had gathered such a loyal army of fans throughout the years, even amongst critics. The film was, and still is, very much a modern-day blockbuster, but watching it again 15 or so years later, it now seems wonderfully old-fashioned.

Dismissing the more studious, and admittedly more intelligent, first contact movies of the 1970s as liberal wishful thinking, Independence Day harks back to the alien invasion pictures of the 50s, where a more us-against-them approach catered to the Cold War-influenced paranoia of the time, and squared-jawed heroes, loony scientists and military personnel alike put their heads together to defeat a force from outer space. Here, we get Will Smith as Captain Steven Hiller, a hotshot pilot who manages to capture one of the tentacled martians after a disastrous dogfight; Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson, a genius satellite technician who uncovers the aliens' plans; and Bill Pullman as President Thomas Whitmore, a young ex-pilot going through an image crisis.

The posters and trailers focused on the image of the giant alien ship looming over major American cities, and indeed the moments of catastrophic destruction (usually of famous landmarks) and giant energy beams still manage to amaze, with the special effects still holding up 20 years later. Yet the movie spends most of its time at ground level, and crams it with enough characters and side-stories to fill another 3 films. The three central, intertwining stories aside, we also have a sub-plots involving Hiller's wife Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox) encountering the wounded First Lady (Mary McDonnell), and a boozed-up crop duster played by Randy Quaid, whose claims of alien abduction have made him a laughing stock. Throw in Robert Loggia, Judd Hirsch, Harvey Fierstein and Brent Spiner, and there's enough going on to make your head spin.

Yet Independence Day manages to burst through the convolution by sheer force, delivering a story that is simplistic, ham-fisted and very stupid, but never unspectacular. The three leads help make their characters memorable and incredibly likeable with charisma alone, as the script never allows them to be anything more than an archetype. It's the very definition of big, dumb and fun, and was a bit of a game-changer in its day. Disaster movie audiences were no longer satisfied unless they witnessed carnage on a global level, and blockbusters today are still trying to replicate the success of 'ID4', including the director himself, who tried and failed on an astronomic level with the utterly atrocious 2012 (2009). I didn't see it coming, but my opinion of Independence Day has completely changed. Perhaps the movie's age gives it a nostalgic charm it never had before, so I'm hardly anticipating the sequel.


Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Randy Quaid, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spiner
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie