(I guess that barbeque is out the window, huh?)
CAST: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Margaret Colin, Vivica Fox.
DIRECTOR: Noah Emmerich
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one royally fucked-up Fourth of July weekend straight ahead…
The aliens who invade Earth in our next review, the mega-blockbuster INDEPENDENCE DAY, must have an innate knowledge of American culture. Why else would they time their attack during the Fourth-of-July weekend when the whole country has its pants down? Figuratively speaking, that is. Well, I guess literally, as well. Nothing is better than summer sex, after all. Except maybe spring sex.
But I digress. Again. Anyhow, our movie starts out in New Mexico at the SETI station. SETI stands for “Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence”. Basically, the station receives a shitload of transmissions indicating alien life forms on a grand scale. This would normally be greeted with joy by the SETI staff. Unfortunately, further analysis of the signals reveal that the fuckers are pretty close by - near the moon, in fact - and are closing in on Earth.
This kind of reminds me of the time when I was living in Germany and I got a phone call from a large group of rowdy friends - who were just around the corner from my place and wanted to drop by to party-hearty. Let’s just say that it took me three days to un-trash my place. Thank God that was before the era of You Tube - otherwise, I’d be one popular mo-fo. Or maybe, notorious. Basically, we have the same thing in INDEPENDENCE DAY: a bunch of rambunctious inter-galactic interlopers dropping by on our turf - extremely uninvited and ready to throw down.
Sure enough, the White House, NASA, and pretty much the rest of the World freak out when they learn of massive objects just hanging off Earth’s orbit. If my experience in Germany is any indication, our heroes have precious little time before the impromptu Party From Hell begins. Only my party didn’t involve spaceships, laser beams, and creatures with more tentacles than five clans of octopi. Nor did it involve spaceships so frickin’ huge they dwarf most major cities.
Of course, this being a summer popcorn movie, we have to have more than just the aliens. We need a cast of characters to root for - unless they’re the kind that you can’t help but wish a horrible death on, preferably at the hands, er, tentacles of the aliens.
Our heroes are: (1) President Whitmore (Bill Pullman), sexy American Prez; (2) Capt Steven Hiller (Will Smith), sexy military pilot; (3) David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), sexy journalist; (4) First Lady Marilyn Whitmore (Mary McDonnell), sexy wife to the American Prez; (5) Connie Spano (Margaret Colin), sexy Chief of Staff to the American Prez; (6) Julius Levinson (Judd Hirsch), not-so-sexy Pops to David; (7) General Casse (Robert Loggia), sort-of-sexy head of White House military ops; and (8) Jasmine Dubrow (Vivica Fox), smokin’ hot sexy stripper who loves Capt Hiller.
There are more alien fodder than the above. However, these folks are the main crew to keep your eyes on. Who among them will make it? Who will bite the dust? How will they overcome the alien invasion? What is the aliens’ secret weakness? Will the humans discover it in time? Can this Fourth of July weekend be saved?
I mean, come on… at least take the time to enjoy some sausages. Once again: Peanut Gallery, shut the fuck up.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: One of our recent reviews was BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (review # 274), which chronicled the attempts of an unknown alien race to invade and colonize Earth. In that regard, it is very similar INDEPENDENCE DAY, only grittier and much more raw. When you get past the alien invasion parallels, though, INDEPENDENCE DAY has much more in common with the polished 70’s disaster films like THE TOWERING INFERNO, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, and THE SWARM.
Essentially, those films took a wide array of colorful characters, gradually built them up and their relationships during the first act while also slowly introducing the threat - then unleashed the mayhem on us during the second act onward. The success or failure of these films depended on two things: (1) the likability of the characters imperiled; and (2) the seriousness of the threat facing them. On those two levels, INDEPENDENCE DAY rates fairly high.
The characters are generally vivid and likable, and their humanity is never compromised by the action. Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Randy Quaid, and Will Smith are all sympathetic and terrific as the major male characters, while Margaret Colin, Mary McDonnell, and - especially - Vivica Fox are equally good and likable as their female counterparts. I should also point out that the women in this film are substantially more interesting than the ones in director Noah Emmerich’s similar 2012, where they were essentially window-dressing.
The alien threat is also presented in a way that, while not as raw and terrifying as that of BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, is still quite menacing. The sight of massive spaceships casting their shadows across entire major cities is a chilling one that has become iconic and unforgettable. Emmerich and his writers may push the envelope of believability during many scenes, but they do it with conviction and confidence. Sometimes, that makes all the difference.
All in all, INDEPENDENCE DAY is solid entertainment that is proud of its B-movie roots. A charismatic, first-rate cast further elevates this film above the cheese-fest it could have easily been (and still is, in some respects). And given how most films from this genre often turn out, that is something to be grateful for.
