It's another film I would class as half-decent. Utterly ridiculous, bombastic and jingoistic, but just as good as the first film.
It's surprisingly not terrible.
We pick up 20 years after the first invasion. Humanity has rebuilt and evolved thanks to the tech left over by the "Harvesters" - as they are now identified - and the world is looking forward to a good ol' knees up in celebration of the historical victory. This is when the proverbial excrement hits the fan.
As in the first film, character development is sparse, and our heroes are as bland as they come. We even now have a Madam President, which is nice. She doesn't last long though. Ho hum.
Saving the world is Military Hero #1 (white guy) and Military Hero #2 (black guy). Also there's a chick. She's got brains and skills. Obviously. We've also got Brent Spiner returning as the mad scientist in a much bigger & madder role, and Bill Pullman as the former POTUS, now a wee bit insane, but still able to deliver a rousing speech when called for.
Jeff Goldblum remains eternally watchable, and has now graduated from "cable repair man" to ESD (Earth Space Defence) Director, but retains some of his wit. Judd Hirsch returns as his father and the Most Jewish Man Ever. Hilarity ensues.
I suppose this is my main problem with this film. The "jokes" fall totally flat. They were hardly high-brow in the original, but they at the very least raised a titter. In this they don't.
What we're mostly here for is to see the Earth get absolutely smashed the s**t right out of, and boy oh boy does that happen. When the Burj Khalifa smacks right into the London Eye (what? yeah) Goldblum quips a joke. I snorted in derision. This is the funniest line in the movie. Mass death is hilarious to these people.
Naturally, due the the humans now having advanced technology, they quickly figure out how to seriously kick some alien ass, and I was a little disappointed at how easily they did. The ending, while very, VERY similar to ID4 is actually pretty good. But dumb. Really, really dumb. The whole movie is. Do not try to make sense of anything that is happening on screen. If you do, you may start to feel your brain dribbling out of your ears.
You can consider this review mostly hyperbole, as I was actually looking forward to this film. Truly, it doesn't disappoint. It's dumb as a box of rocks, has awful characterisation and - when thoughtfully considered - is exactly the same film all over again, but it does what it says on the tin. It's better than average and you know what? I had a blast.
Lots of people love the original, and I'd imagine most will enjoy this too. I'll no doubt purchase this on Blu Ray when it becomes available because, I kinda love bad films that try really hard, and this is exactly what Independence Day: Resurgence does. With Aplomb.
It's surprisingly not terrible.
We pick up 20 years after the first invasion. Humanity has rebuilt and evolved thanks to the tech left over by the "Harvesters" - as they are now identified - and the world is looking forward to a good ol' knees up in celebration of the historical victory. This is when the proverbial excrement hits the fan.
As in the first film, character development is sparse, and our heroes are as bland as they come. We even now have a Madam President, which is nice. She doesn't last long though. Ho hum.
Saving the world is Military Hero #1 (white guy) and Military Hero #2 (black guy). Also there's a chick. She's got brains and skills. Obviously. We've also got Brent Spiner returning as the mad scientist in a much bigger & madder role, and Bill Pullman as the former POTUS, now a wee bit insane, but still able to deliver a rousing speech when called for.
Jeff Goldblum remains eternally watchable, and has now graduated from "cable repair man" to ESD (Earth Space Defence) Director, but retains some of his wit. Judd Hirsch returns as his father and the Most Jewish Man Ever. Hilarity ensues.
I suppose this is my main problem with this film. The "jokes" fall totally flat. They were hardly high-brow in the original, but they at the very least raised a titter. In this they don't.
What we're mostly here for is to see the Earth get absolutely smashed the s**t right out of, and boy oh boy does that happen. When the Burj Khalifa smacks right into the London Eye (what? yeah) Goldblum quips a joke. I snorted in derision. This is the funniest line in the movie. Mass death is hilarious to these people.
Naturally, due the the humans now having advanced technology, they quickly figure out how to seriously kick some alien ass, and I was a little disappointed at how easily they did. The ending, while very, VERY similar to ID4 is actually pretty good. But dumb. Really, really dumb. The whole movie is. Do not try to make sense of anything that is happening on screen. If you do, you may start to feel your brain dribbling out of your ears.
You can consider this review mostly hyperbole, as I was actually looking forward to this film. Truly, it doesn't disappoint. It's dumb as a box of rocks, has awful characterisation and - when thoughtfully considered - is exactly the same film all over again, but it does what it says on the tin. It's better than average and you know what? I had a blast.
Lots of people love the original, and I'd imagine most will enjoy this too. I'll no doubt purchase this on Blu Ray when it becomes available because, I kinda love bad films that try really hard, and this is exactly what Independence Day: Resurgence does. With Aplomb.