Independence Day (1996) Film Review

Independence Day (1996) Director: Roland Emmerich

“Today, we celebrate our Independence Day.”

Before the rise of tired Hollywood superhero mega blockbusters and prior to everything having its own “cinematic universe,” Roland Emmerich conceived of a fun and engrossing first contact alien invasion film. While promoting the film Stargate in Europe, he and co-writer Dean Devlin came up with the idea. Despite being an apocalyptic disaster movie, Independence Day fills me with all kinds of nostalgia for the fun, corny, vapid blockbusters of the ‘90s. But Independence Day hearkens back even earlier to the alien invasion B-movies of the 1950s, as well.

On an ordinary summer day (July 2, 1996), earth is suddenly invaded by a massive alien mothership “one-fourth the size of the moon.” As saucer-shaped shadows engulf cities across the globe, we follow several key individuals whose lives become intertwined during this moment of crisis. Jeff Goldblum, fresh off his memorable role in Jurassic Park, plays David Levinson, a tech-savvy broadcast technician who discovers a signal being sent by the aliens using earth’s satellites to time the countdown for their attack. Together with his Jewish, chess-playing father (Judd Hirsch) he reconnects with his ex-wife, Constance (Margaret Colin), who is the White communications director. In a farcical turn of events, David and his father are taken off the street and swept up in the U.S. President’s handling of the crisis which leads to Area 51 in the desert (president Thomas Whitmore is played by Bill Pullman). The two most iconic scenes in this film to my mind are: the opening sequence featuring an ominous shadow covering the moon (reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars), and the explosive alien destruction of the White House.

We also meet U.S. marine captain Steven Hiller (played by Will Smith at the peak of his career his career with Men in Black to follow in 1997), who is called off leave to defend Los Angeles while joined by his stripper girlfriend, Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox), and her son Dylan. After a failed attack on the aliens, captain Hiller tricks one and knocks it out before bringing the still-alive body to Area 51 (where we meet the unforgettably quirky laboratory scientist, Brent Spiner’s Dr. Brackish Okun). Lastly, the film follows the saga of Russell (Randy Quaid), a trashy alcoholic pilot who claims to have once been abducted by aliens. No one believes him until the aliens arrive and Russell is given the chance to be a hero (“Hello boys… I’m back!”). Somehow, the whole group must devise a plan to destroy the aliens after all efforts to attack the ships prove fruitless.

The film ends on a soaring patriotic note (even if it is filled with a nauseating crescendo of jingoistic American flag worship) as David and captain Hiller take off in a captured alien vessel en route to the alien mothership in an effort to release a computer virus and launch a nuclear missile inside the mothership. It is the kind of exciting, hair-brained scheme only Hollywood could get away with –but somehow this cheesy B-movie manages to deliver. In 1996, it managed to usher in an age of big, silly, spectacle-filled blockbuster movies. In the tradition of movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still and War of the Worlds, Independence Day remains a fun, rewatchable adventure. If were a more discerning viewer I might ask some questions like: How does an ultra-advanced alien race get easily outmaneuvered by a couple of humans? If the aliens communicate telepathically, why do they require human satellites for communication? And since they are hyper intelligent, why would the aliens not develop a more stealth manner of exterminating humanity? Why not harvest the resources of earth in a more covert fashion? At any rate, if you are looking for a vapid thriller, with an impressive use of practical effects, you can do a lot worse than Independence Day. Unfortunately, a sloppy, boring, forgettable sequel to Independence Day was released to widespread scorn in 2016.

Credits:

• Director: Roland Emmerich
• Writers: Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich
• Produced by: Dean Devlin
• Starring:
  • Will Smith…..Captain Steven Hiller
  • Bill Pullman…..President Thomas J. Whitmore
  • Jeff Goldblum…..David Levinson
  • Mary McDonnell…..First Lady Marilyn Whitmore
  • Judd Hirsch…..Julius Levinson, David’s father
  • Randy Quaid…..Russell Casse
  • Margaret Colin…..Constance Spano, David’s ex-wife
  • Vivica A. Fox…..Jasmine Dubrow
  • Brent Spiner…..Dr. Brackish Okun
  • Other actors who appear in this film include: Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, Harvey Fierstein, Adam Baldwin, and Harry Connick Jr.