"Independence Day: Resurgence" Review

Title: Independence Day: Resurgence

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Written by: Nicolas Wright, James A. Woods, Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich, Jamie Vanderbilt, and James Vanderbilt

Year: 2016


The original Independence Day is touted as a seminal popcorn flick that is thoroughly entertaining and re-watchable. For me, I see it as a nice distraction, but nothing more. I do not place that movie on the same pedestal that many others do. As such, I walked into Independence Day: Resurgence with middling expectations. Is this the fun, global-level, disaster movie it aims to be, or does this sequel crash and burn?

It has been 20 years since the alien attack on Earth. Since then, the humans have integrated the alien technology into their own. However, the aliens are back with an even larger force. Can the humans defend their planet once again, or is the human race doomed?

Returning for this sequel is Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson. Goldblum throws himself right back into the role, once again delivering an entertaining and engaging performance. Goldblum might just be the best aspect of this film. Also back is Bill Pullman as former President Whitmore. Pullman is barely in the picture and seems to only be there for fan service, though he gives a good performance. The same can be said for Brent Spiner's character, who was believed to be dead in the last movie. Though it is enjoyable to watch Spiner on screen, Dr. Okun's being there does not make much sense. Judd Hirsch reprises his role as David's father and he is wonderful to watch. He is not in the movie much, but when he is, he conjures up a few laughs from the audience.

Many were afraid that Will Smith's absence would be heavily felt throughout the film. I personally did not care much for his absence while watching the picture as there are plenty of other characters to distract from this fact. Are any of these characters good? Not really. Patricia Whitmore (Maika Monroe), Charlie (Travis Tope), and Dylan Hiller (Jessie Usher) are poorly written characters backed by forgettable performances. Jake, played by Liam Hemsworth, is a different story. This is a character that is written quite well and serves as an effective replacement for Will Smith. But Hemsworth does not entirely sell the role. He is trying, though; Hemsworth is putting in a lot of effort to make this a memorable character, but he just does not have the chops to do so.

The main plot is simple; the aliens want revenge. For a spectacle-filled summer movie, I think that is a perfectly functional story. It is the multiple sub-plots I take issue with. There is a forced romance that adds nothing to the story; President Whitmore's storyline is useless; and a character of sorts is introduced for the sole purpose of setting up a sequel. Independence Day: Resurgence is utterly overstuffed with too many plot threads that you will not end up caring about. I do not care about Dylan and Jake's past. I do not care about Whitmore's daughter working with the new president. And I do not care about President Whitmore's life after the events of the first film. It is obvious that the script needed revision. And speaking of the script, something that really vexed me was that the side characters spent most of their time spewing exposition. It can get incredibly frustrating, especially when most of it is unnecessary.

What I can say is that this movie gives us some pretty sweet action sequences. Now that the humans' technology has been improved thanks to what the aliens left behind, our weapons are much more powerful. This makes for some really fun dog fights between the saucers and our fighters. The level of destruction in this film dwarfs its predecessor's significantly. The movie also presents a huge scope, showing places all over the world being destroyed, illustrating this invasion as a global event and that nowhere is safe, not even the moon base. The final confrontation with the aliens is also very well handled and an appropriate climax.

The cinematography of Independence Day: Resurgence took me by surprise as it is filmed superbly. During the action sequences, the spatial location of everything is made clear and the camera distances itself to showcase the grand destruction on display. Another feature I found myself enamored with was the lighting. The lighting for this movie is perfect. There is a technique known as color-contrast used in horror films to invoke a sense of uneasiness within the audience by using opposite colors. This movie does this with blues and oranges. The scenes leading up to attacks are often lit with a blue hue that looks marvelous, especially during the night scenes. In concordance, the destructive sequences are highlighted with dark oranges that set the tone exceptionally well.

As a visual effects heavy production, you should expect Independence Day: Resurgence to feature grade-A CGI; and it does. Though not a big fan of disaster movies, I must admit that the copious amount of destruction thrown on the screen is glorious to behold. The new invading ship is gargantuan and looks great, and what it can do is fully realized by excellent special effects. The effects all around are fantastic and the aliens have seen a definite upgrade in appearance since 1996.

Independence Day: Resurgence does not come as a disappointment for me, mainly because I was not expecting much to begin with. Goldblum carries the film with a great performance; the action is pretty good; the effects are top notch; and the cinematography is extraordinary. However, that is where the compliments end with this one. Poorly paced and filled with characters and stories you will not care about nor remember, Independence Day: Resurgence will not be seen as a worthy successor to the 1996 original. This movie contains the summer blockbuster fun you are looking for, but along with it comes a bad script and slow pace, which is not worth enduring in my opinion.

Grade: C