Yes, this was not only a huge disappointment, but it was also almost alarming how bad this movie was.
I saw the original Independence Day released in 1996. It was creative, innovative and exciting, and most assuredly not predictable. This version was not only predictable (almost frame to frame), but all the worthy heroes from the first film were (literally) resurrected. Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, and Brent Spiner among others, all twenty years older and not healthy, manage to somehow pull things together. Missing, of course, was the greatest hero of all, Randy Quaid, who gave his life to save the planet the first time around, and Will Smith, who survived the first encounter, but mysteriously passed away during the intervening years.
On July 4 1996, the world was attacked by an overwhelming force of aliens from outer space, who laid waste to virtually all of our civilization. A small group of scientists and military figured out what might save us, and it did. The story kept you on the edge of your seat, and the almost cunning military solution was unexpected but thank goodness it worked, making Independence Day a great film. On July 4 2016, the aliens returned, seeking revenge and with military power superseding anything they brought to earth the first time. This time around the story is almost ho hum, as you will clearly see we can’t possibly win, but of course, as you read this you know July 4 is only four days away, and as you are probably planning some sort of family gathering and/or cookout, I can give you reasonable assurance we’ll all still be here safe and sound.
Independence Day: Resurgence
Entertainment Rating: ★
Rating: PG-13: scattered profanity, most of it blasphemous, more than enough special effects violence and death.
Possible Oscar Nominations: None
There are a number of significant problems with this movie. Certainly a terrible script is the first, but the tempo of the first hour is slow enough to put you to sleep, as the various characters, relationships, etc., are presented. We see how the Earth has been completely re-built in only twenty years, and how mankind dropped their petty grievances with one another and harmony prevails. The scriptwriters drop little hints along the way of the foreboding future attack, most of them passing over the heads of the experts on screen. The action finally begins and goes from the ridiculous to the sublime. As the frantic moments of survival or no survival reach a peak, we are treated to Judd Hirsch driving a school bus across the Nevada desert, filled with kids, one step ahead, and then one step behind a mammoth space alien chasing them. You can use your imagination from there.
I will leave you however, with something positive. I just finished reading the Pulitzer Prize winning book, “1776,” by David McCullough. It is the day-by-day story of the revolutionary war, and the first July 4. I have to tell you it is mesmerizing and a real history lesson. Whatever obstacles our movie heroes dealt with, pale in comparison with the trials and tribulations our Continental Army faced. Whatever your thoughts about George Washington, the man carried this country on his back, without him we would most likely still be British subjects. God bless America and a happy July 4 to all.
