Guess who’s coming to dinner.
Happy Fourth of July everyone!
I wanted to take a few minutes to review quite possibly the biggest 4th of July movie of all time, and that is Independence Day. As a kid, I loved this movie and remember it being one of the best times i’ve had at the theater. But in recent years I haven’t taken the time to sit down and watch it. Not that I think it’s bad, I just haven’t taken the time to commit to watching it with my busy schedule of writing, and reviewing other media. With that said, here is my review of Independence Day!
The Good
One of my favorite aspects of this movie is the casting. I’ve always been a big fan of Jeff Goldblum (this movie happened 3 years after Jurassic Park so at the time, I just called him Ian Malcolm), and Will Smith respectively. They all played their roles well and you could tell that everyone was having fun playing their character. This movie also made Bill Pullman a household name to me.
Much like Juarssic Park, and Jaws, we don’t get much Alien screen time. As a kid I really wanted to see the Aliens right from the get go, but upon further viewing, I like that they waited a while to reveal the aliens to us. Speaking of the aliens, I really liked the design choice as well. They have a humanoid look to them without looking too cheesy but also look really creepy, especially when they are wearing the biomech suit.
Spine tingling.
A quick note, the miniatures and sets that were used all look great. Even today, seeing a huge alien space ship right over the White House and Empire State building still give chills down my spine.
Let’s not forget, one of the greatest movie speeches of all time from Bill Pullman aka Mr. President himself.
The Bad
At times, the acting in this movie can be over the top or just plain bad. Some coming from Will Smith, some coming from Bill Pullman, and several actors. I don’t think it detracts from the movie much, but there are times where you can tell it’s kinda meh.
The CGI at times is a little rough. You can definitely tell the difference between a CGI shot and practical effects shot most of the time. It’s not horrible, but it’s definitely noticeable.
I also thought it was kind of chessy that in order to defeat the aliens, we had to upload a virus to their mother ship. I can’t really explain why, but it just seemed improbable, ironically enough.
No ugly from me today. Might come off as a little biased, but I don’t care.
Recap and Score
Likeable characters, great imagery, cool villain, some bad cgi and acting, and a cheesy way to defeat the enemy. Minus the poor aspects of the movie, I think this is one of those definitive summer blockbuster movies that everyone should see, which is why I am going to give this movie an 8/10.
-Steven
Cab 88 