Independence Day (1996) review

Independence Day (1996)

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Produced by: Dean Devlin

Screenplay by: Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich

Starring: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, Harvey Fierstein

Nowadays, it seems like the only place we as Americans can feel pride in a Presidential Administration is in the infinite world of fiction. No shame, disappointment or an urge to vomit or weep, just satisfaction that our commander-in-chief will happily give a rousing inspirational speech while spearheading any effort to protect us from evil forces. So on this 4th of July, we’re going to take a look back at a relatively innocent time in American culture, which brought us one of the dumbest, yet most enjoyable crowd-pleasing popcorn flicks that usually makes the cable TV rounds every summer. This is “Independence Day,” Roland Emmerich’s cheese-fest about a worldwide alien invasion, and the Earthlings’ efforts to fight back; the main counterattacks are led by U.S. President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman), Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) of the Marine Corps, and MIT-educated satellite expert David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum). It’s incredibly shallow and silly on a character and logical level, but nevertheless entertaining and even strangely inspiring.

The story begins with America and the rest of the world waking up on July 2 to the sight of extra-terrestrials in 15-mile wide flying saucers appearing over major cities, causing technical interferences and creating mass panic. Whitmore—a former fighter pilot in the Gulf War—is unsure how to proceed, while David, whose ex-wife Constance (Margaret Colin) is the White House Communications Director, discovers a hidden signal inside Earth’s satellite system that indicates an imminent attack. He’s able to relay the news to Whitmore, but the aliens deliver devastating laser strikes, while simultaneously guarded by a defensive shield system that military counterattacks are unable to penetrate. So it’s onto the mysterious Area 51 facility in Nevada, which houses a trio of creatures that crashed over 40 years earlier. Using the information they have at the facility, as well as from an alien Steven captured, Whitmore and Levinson coordinate a massive campaign, using any help they can find, to disable the aliens’ system and fight back, hoping to give a whole new meaning to the term “Independence Day.”

That plot description alone sort of encapsulates the general mood, so don’t go in expecting much depth; it’s all about the spectacle, and I would say the first 50 minutes or so definitely delivers on that. I really like how the movie builds up the tension of when the aliens arrive; it’s a nice slow burn in showing characters’ reactions and just creating this overall sense of anxiety. This piggybacks on a terrific marketing strategy where you didn’t really see the saucers, mostly just shadow shots and reactions, only to finish with the White House literally getting destroyed. Thankfully, there’s a solid variety of CGI and practical effects; reportedly, the film’s model-making department built more than twice as many miniatures than any film, and it really helps make the crisis at least look more real. Admittedly, the aliens themselves don’t look much different than H.R. Giger’s xenomorphs, and there are a few computer shots that look really fake, but the overall production design is impressive; we hadn’t really seen a Hollywood blockbuster as massive as this.

For as silly as some of these character interactions are, these actors are making the most of it. Bill Pullman is slightly one-note as Whitmore, but you believe him in the role; Jeff Goldblum, despite playing pretty much the same character as in “Jurassic Park,” has a lot of subtle and welcome character gestures. Will Smith—in one of his first film roles after breaking out on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”—is perfectly charismatic as Steven, even though his motivations are pretty singular until the third act. There’s also Robert Loggia as the gruff-voiced Marines General Gray, Judd Hirsch as David’s rambling father Julius, and even Harry Connick Jr. as Steven’s friend Jimmy. This is one of those movies that have a lot of characters dealing with their own subplots, and they’re all conveniently brought together throughout the film. Levinson happens to know Whitmore from a past altercation, Steven runs into an RV convoy, and meets Russell Casse (Randy Quaid), an alcoholic Vietnam War veteran who claims to have once been abducted, and Whitmore’s wife Marilyn (Mary McDonnell) crashes in a helicopter and is saved by Steven’s girlfriend Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox); it’s those classic plot developments that are so contrived, they could only happen in movies like this.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s not like I’m bashing why some of these situations happen, because you expect some stupid decisions will be made regarding secrets and espionage. It’s just an example of everything going wrong before everything goes right again; what I do take issue with is the majority of the second act. After the initial Marines’ counterattack, the movie’s pacing really grinds to a halt; I feel similarly about “The Day After Tomorrow,” which Emmerich went on to direct eight years later. Most of the fun in movies like this is watching the destruction, but when it’s all done and you’re left with characters just kind of sitting around talking with lame dialogue, it gets pretty boring. The only difference is this movie picks things up again during the climax; no matter how many times I watch this, I still get chills during Whitmore’s “We will not go quietly into the night” speech, accompanied by that uplifting David Arnold musical score. It’s weird how there are many aspects of the movie even goofier than “Mars Attacks!,” the spoof film that came out the same year, but I still find myself caring about what’s happening, and even appreciating some of the character arcs.

“Independence Day” is a film I remember liking a lot as a teenager, and now, though I recognize that it’s dumb as a rock in some regard, I still have a soft spot for it. It was by far the highest-grossing film of the year and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects; but beyond that, it became an influential piece of film history, as the next several years saw disaster movies increase in popularity, depicting mass destruction from volcanoes, comets and asteroids, giant monsters, shipwrecks, terrorism—before actual terrorism put the kibosh on it for a while. Today, it seems like many filmmakers are paying tribute to the 1980s and ‘90s, but before that you had this, which feels like a hybrid of a ‘50s alien invasion flick and a big-scale Irwin Allen project like “The Poseidon Adventure” or “The Towering Inferno.” In fact, the story kind of combines “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” with the H.G. Wells “The War of the Worlds” novel, which had a successful 1953 film adaptation. In 2016, Emmerich directed a sequel called “Independence Day: Resurgence,” which pretty much removed the most likeable elements from this movie; it had no Smith, mostly CGI, an ugly color scheme, worse dialogue, little passion, etc. So if you find yourself depressed by the state of America or the world in general, kick back on this 4th of July, drink a cold one, and escape with a fun bit of cinematic nonsense like this.

My rating: 8/10