FILM REVIEW: Independence Day: Resurgence

Image Source: Fox Movies

When will filmmakers learn that over-the-top special effects can’t take the place of a good plot?

That said, Independence Day: Resurgence is a worthy popcorn-munching contender for your currency of choice in this year of action sci-fi flicks. Unfortunately, the writers had an opportunity to soar and botched it. Frustrating.

20 years ago, aliens came to Earth and trashed it. U.S. President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) pulled together his team, along with a scientist and cable repair guy David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) and hotshot Air Force pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith), and destroyed the aliens. The Fourth of July became a global day of liberation.

Two decades later, Earth has integrated alien technology into their own lives. Helicopters float about without propellers. They’ve built tall buildings in DC and put a monorail on the grassy Mall (which proves the flick is fiction because DC would never allow that, it wrecks the view.) Levinson has helped construct a space defence perimeter with a base on the moon, and another on Saturn. Everyone knows that the possibility of the aliens coming back is very real.

Former President Whitmore is haunted by nightmares from the first invasion. Anyone who had a brush with the aliens has the same dreams — which then come true.

The aliens do come back, landing like a giant brown poisonous tick on the Atlantic Ocean. Their arrival includes the spectacular destruction of many of Earth’s major cities, including London.

As Levinson says while barely escaping falling debris, “They like to hit the landmarks.”

Millions of humans die. Imprisoned aliens from the invasion of 20 years ago gloat and lash their tentacles in anticipation of freedom and revenge. The leader of the space base, Commander Jiang (Chin Han), dies (pity), but his space-fighter flying pilot niece, Rain Lao, (Angela Yeung Wing), takes revenge.

Pilot Jake Morrison (Liam Hemsworth) and the Legacy fighter team, which includes Hiller’s son Dylan (Jessie T. Usher), survive the first attacks, lead the assaults, and wing it when things go tragically wrong.

This being a summer action movie you can guess the ending, but the better part of the flick is trying figure out who might survive.

The negative part is that this flick breaks no new ground except to introduce a weird white deus ex machine object of desire.

The writers give massive bows to the first film, without figuring out that a nod will do, and don’t provide substantial new stuff to a new generational audience – who has had a whole summer full of special effects to stuff their gullets with like Captain America: Civil War, Batman v. Superman, Warcraft: The Beginning, and Huntsman.

The first half-hour of Independence Day: Resurgence is slow; the last half spectacular.

Kudos to the fact that it is one of the few that actually integrates China into an America action movie without making it look like a marketing ploy. Nicely handled.

So get your soda and candy, enjoy the cluttered-but-entertaining movie, and realise that more special-effects flicks are heading towards you like train engines with no brakes. In July comes Star Trek Beyond and the rebooted Ghostbusters. It never ends.

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