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All Movie Info
Starring:
Bill Pullman, Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Mary McDonnell, Robert Loggia, Brent Spiner, James Rebhorn, Vivica A. Fox, James Duval, Harry Connick Jr., Harvey Fierstein, Richard Speight Jr., Adam Baldwin, Bill Smitrovich, Mae Whitman, Kiersten Warren, Giuseppe Andrews, Devon Gummersall, Leland Orser, Raphael Sbarge, Bobby Hosea, Dan Lauria, Robert Pine, John Capodice, Lyman Ward
Directed By:
Roland Emmerich
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Independence Day (1996)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
August 7th, 2007
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'Independence Day' may not be the best alien invasion movie ever made, but it is certainly one of the most expensive, ambitious, and downright entertaining. Its special effects are still impressive, 11 years after its theatrical debut, where it was a huge box office success. The extraterrestrials in 'Independence Day' arrive in huge black ships that strategically position themselves over the world's largest cities, to strike them all simultaneously with a massive laser beam that can level them with the power of an atom bomb in a matter of minutes. Their countdown signal is found by computer whiz David Levinson (Goldblum), who uses an old flame to get in touch with the president, Thomas Whitemore (Pullman), who must find a way to deal with this intergalactic threat, while protecting his daughter and wife, Marilyn (Mary McDonnell). Will Smith is Stephen Hillard, an air force captain, on leave for the holiday, to spend time with his girlfriend Jasmine (Viveca A Fox) and her son.
Hillard's flying skills come in handy later on, as he tries in vain to shoot down the gigantic spacecraft, which is conveniently outfitted with a shield that repels all firepower, including high-grade missiles. You also have thousands of little ships that come out of the big ship, to swarm and attack Hillard and other pilots. Whitmore consults with General William Grey (Loggia) and his other advisers, one of whom knows about a secret lab at Area 51 that has been studying the aliens, their anatomy and technology, and could offer some clues as to how to defeat them. This leads to a particularly preposterous plan that has David and Stephen going to the mothership's control center, up in space, to insert a virus into the computer system and then release a rocket to blow everything up, and then jet out at the last minute before they are caught in the blast.
So, racists and bigots beware, a Jew and a black guy save us all from destruction and enslavement, and a gay German director makes it all possible. I have seen this movie multiple times, and enjoy it despite its frequent senselessness. Smith is great, as is Goldblum and they are the undoubted stars of the film. Both have their fair share of humorous one-liners and observations, along with Judd Hirsch, very funny as David's father. Pullman LOOKS like a president, but only the kind that could exist in the movies, as he is genuinely concerned about the American people and the world at large, not to mention the planet, which has often been sidelined and neglected by callous politicians too often preoccupied with lesser issues.
The movie presents yet again aliens as hostile, aggressive creatures, which is how they are usually seen in most science fiction. It is occasionally nice to see as cute, curious, and kind, as they are in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but at least the aliens in 'Independence Day' give the humans a run for their money, and force Americans to think a little rather than just resort to an instant solution that involves nuclear weapons or some other grotesque expression of hegemonic arrogance. Some people hate this movie; I do not. Taken on its own terms, it is a load of fun.
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