The original Independence Day has long been one of my family’s favorite movies. It’s one of those that we all stop to watch, at least for a while, when it comes on. Who wouldn’t love an alien-blasting, blow-up-everything, Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum summer blockbuster? But I didn’t exactly have high expectations for this long-awaited sequel, and in that, I wasn’t disappointed. I saw it in 3D with The Kids and The Hub, and we all agreed that it wasn’t a great sequel, but it was a fun film.
A pre-show note – because we saw it in 3D, we got to see a special commercial from Air BNB. When we sat down – in the almost completely empty theater, which should have been a warning sign – there was a second pair of special viewing glasses at each seat, only for this one ad. The company has had a theme of “live there, don’t just visit” running (if you’re not familiar with Air BNB, you’ve been living under a rock, but it’s Uber for vacation rentals – regular people offering homes and apartments for rent), and we figured out that the top of each lens had a different tint than the bottom. The gimmick was that as they showed the 3 minute ad, you tilted your head up and down – if you tilted it up, you saw the experience of “living” in the city – making friends, visiting cafes, etc; and if you tilted down, you saw the supposedly lesser experience of “visiting”, with Segway tours and group events. Kinda cool!
Anyway, back to ID. The film starts with a voiceover recap, detailing what happened 20 years ago and how the world has changed. A lot has been learned from alien technology recovered during the first attack. New defenses have been built, including a station on the moon. Here’s a “mockumentary” news report on how the world has changed since the first attack.
Will Smith’s character died some time ago, and his son (stepson? Jessie Usher) is now a hotshot pilot with the “Legacy” squad. His biggest rival is Jake (Liam Hemsworth), who is hotshottier, and engaged to the former President’s all grown up daughter (Maika Monroe), also a pilot, and now working for the current President (Sela Ward, in a throwaway role). Jeff Goldblum is now Director of something, and his father, Judd Hirsch, is peddling a book called “How I Saved the World.” Harvey Fierstein presumably died. Former President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) is living in some seclusion, and not in great shape. Alien expert/resident nutcase Dr. Brackish Okun (Brent Spiner) has been in a coma since being attacked by an alien prisoner, and is being cared for by a friend I can’t swear was in the original, who knits sweaters and brings him orchids. Nowhere to be seen is Jeff Goldblum’s ex-wife, Margaret Colin. Will Smith’s stripper bride Jasmine (Vivica A Fox) makes a short-but-confusing return as a doctor? nurse?, adding nothing to the plot. Got all that?
So you probably already know the plot – character intro, aliens return, Earth threatened, close call, close call, almost!, oops didn’t mean to, funny part, lame romance, funny part, close call, explosion explosion explosion, Earth wins. The biggest surprise was the last-minute setup for a third film. For this kind of film, the plot’s predictability wasn’t a bit problem, although it would have been nice to have some truly shocking moments.
Special effects were great, for the most part. They can’t always make up for plot defects – like the manufactured tension between Jake and young Hiller, or the overly broad, just tossed right in there comic – well, relief isn’t the right word – annoyance, an accountant who shows up early and just won’t leave (although he does turn out to have the heart of a warrior). One complaint I do have is that in the original, there were a couple of good female roles – Margaret Colin, Vivica A Fox and Mary McDonnell – and while this film pays lip service to female characters, they’re all basically throwaways (and in Fox’s case, literally). Sure, we’ll have a hotshot female pilot, but she’s really only there to be another pilot’s love interest. Sela Ward is the current president, but she has a minute and a half of screen time.
Overall, it was fun, not a huge waste of my movie-going dollars or time, and maybe I’ll watch it again when it’s on HBO or Starz. But I’ll probably think twice about watching the third installment that’s hinted at in the end of this one.
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