In the current climate of
reincarnating and rebooting beloved movies, 1996’s seminal disaster movie
Independence Day gets a sequel 20 years later – and probably at least 15 years
too late. Original director, Roland Emmerich (Hollywood’s go-to guy for
disaster movies) wants a piece of the reboot pie – and brings back (most of)
the original cast and some new characters to the fore. However, it seems that
to make a sequel, Emmerich thinks that by hiding a very weak (and convenient)
story behind mindboggling special effects, a blockbuster it will make. To a certain extent and to a certain type of
audience this may well be true, but for the rest of us, we have a weaker sequel
desperately out of time, hanging onto the coattails of a ground breaking
original.
I loved the first movie and using
talent like Will Smith, Jeff “The Goldblum” Goldblum and Bill Pullman was
brilliant as they are all fantastic actors. Sadly, Will Smith doesn’t reprise
his role as we are suggested to that his character has been killed in a test
flight and is no longer part of the team. However, those who are disappointed
in this can be rest assured that they have cast a suitable replacement as his
son – who is basically a cardboard cut-out likeness of a younger Smith but
without the sass and Smith-ness that we come to expect from him. However, we
could have had Jayden Smith as the heir to the character, but based on his
previous performances in other movies I think we dodged that worry.
New cast members are younger, as
if taking the reins from Goldblum and co. and such whippersnappers include Liam
Hemsworth. He heads up the next generation, fresh from the Hunger Games and
does a good job. The remaining young ‘uns are all there to tick off boxes
really – token black guy (the Will Smith dude), hot Chinese girl for the geeky
sidekick and the girl who becomes the love interest for Liam’s character. Goldblum
and Pullman reprise their roles and great comic relief from Star Trek: The Next
Generation’s Brent Spiner add some gravitas and links to the previous film, but
although it goes some way to smooth the ride, it’s still not enough to let it
stand aside its predecessor.
The story goes that 20 years on,
Earth has learned to put aside its differences after winning the war against
the aliens – and we have been using their technology to bolster earth should
they return (which Goldblum is convinced they will). As we need something to
happen in the story, of course, they come back! However, the technology is
better and we are again in a hopeless situation – and what follows is what you
would expect – and that is where the film isn’t as good as it could have been.
The biggest problem is that the
movie is a basic paint by numbers of a disaster movie/sci fi invasion movie
with overwhelmingly convenient moments to help the main characters out. And, like previous Emmerich movie 2012, the
characters face certain doom on multiple occasions but the 1% chance of
survival ALWAYS comes through. As a result you are left with an ‘on the edge of
your seat’ style movie without the tension because you know the characters will
always survive. It also has an undercurrent of patriotism and a little bit too
much of “yay, America” -this sentiment might have worked in the 90’s but the
world has moved on from such isolated views (maybe).
Overall though, even though it has
its faults, it’s an enjoyable sci-fi/action adventure – a bit predictable but
very exciting even so. Worth a watch, I reckon.
POPSCORE: 7/10
What am I talking about? Independence Day: Resurgence movie
Where can I find out more? http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/independence-day-resurgence
If you liked this try: Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012 (oh hang on they are all Roland Emmerich movies ain't they?), Mars Attacks, San Andreas
Anything else?
Will Smith isn't in this one, though you might see his picture on the wall of the White House.
