LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Bereamic Awesome Movie

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

paulclaassen When reviewing a film, I always try not to comment on religious or political views, and judge it on an entertainment and credibility level, regardless of whether it is a drama or fantasy. Although this fantasy drama mentioned at one point in the film Independence Day would be a world celebration if they stand together and eliminate the enemy, I couldn't help but feel this film was viewed entirely from an American perspective. I did not agree with the choice of actors for some of the characters, especially Bill Pullman as the President. I'm not sure whether the President himself was not a very strong, believable character, or whether Bill Pullman was not serious enough to portray the President. Having said that, the dialogue is riddled with unnecessary humor, which was more annoying than funny and uncalled for. The film had a serious premise, but it was handled in a very lighthearted manner, killing the potential suspense more often than not. The scenes that were done more seriously, were preceded or followed by comical scenes, deeming even the serious scenes lighthearted. The film had all the material to be an awesome action thriller, but the characters and dialogue were too stereotypical American. The film also had way too many plot holes and convenience, silly remarks and a lot of credibility issues that made me raise an eyebrow. For now, I'll only mention the scene where Will Smith volunteers to fly the alien aircraft, saying he's seen how they manoeuvre. SEEN is completely different to actually FLYING an alien aircraft, and he not only succeeds, but manages to escape through almost impossible obstacles. Another example is Randy Quaid's character, Russell Casse, volunteering to fight the aliens. He flies a plane, yes, but its one thing to be able to fly a plane, but to engage in combat is entirely different. He simply does not have the experience, so it wasn't believable in the least. The music was also too dramatic and overbearing at times.Regardless, this was indeed a very entertaining action sci-fi with some amazing action sequences and visual effects that are good to this day. The aliens in particular were very well designed.

bowmanblue I watched 'Independence Day' back in 1995 during the 'height' of the X-files-induced 'alien fever' that was so prominent in popular culture that even the President of America at the time had to address the world and point out that the Government wasn't really stashing away bodies of little grey men. Therefore me, like many, were absolutely blown away when marketing material showed a giant alien spaceship hovering over the White House and promptly blowing it to pieces. That one iconic image sold the film alone. However, I distinctly remember the sense of disappointment I felt upon leaving the cinema. I'd seen the (fleeting!) clips of aerial dogfights between fighter jets and UFOs and expected them to make up more of the film. However, what I got was effectively a two and a half hour story about one stupid decision after the next.Despite being one of the most profitable movies of all time, it hardly won any prizes for logical storytelling. If you search Google for articles about the film's numerous plot holes and daft developments (Apple laptop being the highpoint!) you'll see what I mean. I didn't hate the film at the time. I appreciated the amazing special effects (for the day) and a great deal of work had gone into showing the carnage caused by an alien attack of populated areas. No faults there. So, if the effects were really the only stand-out aspects of the film, why did I end up buying the film and still watch it to this day? Well, I guess I appreciate it for what it is. It's the very definition of loud, dumb and stupid. It's a 'popcorn' movie, designed to entertain and keep your mind vaguely occupied while you check Instagram on your phone. Granted today's generations will probably not appreciate the effects, based on the numerous superhero movies where entire cities get reduced to ruins over a period of a half hour battle sequence, but what still holds up is the general sense of eagerness. This is arguably the film that launched Will Smith's career and you just can't help but warm to him. Yes, no matter how dumb and unlikely every situation he's placed in is, he's still brilliant to watch and, along with Jeff Goldblum (who's basically playing Jeff Goldblum – again), the pair of them make the movie still relevant to this day.So, if you want to enjoy 'Independence Day' you'll definitely have to put your brain on hold and know that you're getting what became the template for disaster movies (certainly nineties ones anyway, but then 'San Andreas' was pretty much the same story). You'll also have to be okay with healthy doses of 'pro-America' scripting. If you've watched (the brilliant) 'Team America: World Police' you'll probably be singing along that song of theirs 'America… *£$% yeah!' all the way through, as it really is applicable. And then, when you're done enjoying the stupidity, treat yourself to a YouTube video on how these are the dumbest aliens ever to invade our planet (with the possible exception of that lot from 'Signs').

welshnew50 this movie is nothing but a way of saturating understanding-the-need-for-hacking (in a claim of at least counter-measures) ...AMBIGUITIES of necessity , compared to MORE SPECIFIC THINGS.that silly Dan Ackroyd one with him and bill Murray shagging the Russians while a missile's going off, did more for helping people to remember URGENCIES of various tech.this rubbish, is little more than a accept rotting, decaying, RNA-feedback,.. kinds of PRE- bio-tech ATTEMPTS at trying to get people used to certain kinds of invasions of privacy and breaches of law, in the PREMISE of belief, about what will become acceptable one day...or similarly, of a in comic books, necrotic religious gravedigger sort of character, who possesses experience with the para-dimensional, despite being a cyborg... etci.e. , 'we' know, the laws will change, so this is getting people used to it.you supposedly 'need' , to be able to create viruses... etcnothing more.pityful, compared to what the potentials of organic networks have changed in a game-changer sense, even if that was the ONLY thing you used to assess this movie with.combined with watching cowboys versus aliens, these two movies will want to make you throw up, not LEARN ABOUT TECHNOLOGY, especially sciences OUTSIDE YOUR OWN (no, that's not saying you religious lot are failing more, its saying the opposite... that scientists-too, have to go outside their own).Dismal, shallow, unimaginative, and self-important, too.

asarekrikse I know this movie doesn't seem serious now, but I still think it's a very good movie! And I'm not saying this just because Will Smith is my favourite actor... Well, maybe... But still, the movie is good! Yes, there's some scenes that seem to be funny, etc., but I think it's a great movie, it's fun, and entertaining, even tho it's old!