MPAA Rating: PG-13/Genre: Sci-Fi Action Disaster/Stars: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin, Vivica A. Fox, James Rebhorn, Harvey Fierstein, Adam Baldwin, Brent Spiner, James Duval, Bill Smitrovich, Kiersten Warren, Harry Connick Jr., Mae Whitman, Ross Bagley, Lisa Jakub, Giuseppe Andrews/Runtime: 145 minutes
I think it can safely be said that, should you choose to look, you would be surprised to discover that the past 4-5 decades all have managed to do something incredible. That being that each of them, for as many differences in fashion, music, television programming, and the like all managing to either resurrect, renew the credibility of, or bring roaring to life at the very least one specific genre/subgenre of movie magic during their respective 10-year stretches of time. Indeed, among the many examples that I could mention, the 70s saw, with the aid of such gems as Star Wars and Alien, the return of legit sci-fi cinema, the 2000s saw horror as a genre overall become a powerhouse to be reckoned with while also ensuring that the pathway was set for remakes to begin infiltrating the market to the arguably oversaturated point that they are at today, and of course the 2010s can best be remembered as the decade that saw superheroes and their various superheroic shenanigans took the global box office by storm with Marvel and their distinct cinematic universe leading the way by the billions. Of course, the 90s are by no means exempt from this phenomenon, but in addition to the indie film scene becoming a lot more prevalent thanks to the rise of such filmmakers as Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino at this time there is another genre that I would like to mention specifically. That genre being the disaster movie. A genre that, although it had quite the firm foothold in the 70s thanks to such filmmakers as Irwin Allen, had sadly been gathering dust on the Hollywood shelves so to speak in the time since. Thankfully with the aid of new and exciting developments in technology among other elements, we saw that the time was now right for this larger-than-life genre to begin making quite the incredible comeback. The reason I bring this up to you dear reader is because, amongst the quite immense disaster film catalogue of the 90s, there is one that I definitely think is worthy of mention. That being the now-iconic sci-fi action disaster film Independence Day from 1996 and honestly it might be close to 3 decades old as of this writing, but I still really do dig the heck out of this movie dear reader. To be sure, it’s not perfect by any stretch, but with the aid of fairly solid and engaging work on both sides of the camera Independence Day “96” is an exciting, over-the-top, action-packed and overall fun popcorn viewing experience to be had that is just plain awesome from beginning to end and every riveting minute in between.
The plot is as follows: Taking place over a period of about 3 days, and over a collection of various storylines, Independence Day gets its thrilling narrative underway on July 2nd on the Moon as we, through the magic of voice-over, are treated to a reading of the historic plaque left there by Neil Armstrong and the crew of Apollo 11. Yet lest you are concerned that you are about to be subjected to either a Ken Burns-style documentary or a lecture so boring that the inside of your eyelids are arguably more entertaining, I can thankfully assure you that’s not the case. I say this because it’s not long until we see that something ominous is flying directly over the Moon and headed for our teeny tiny blue and green little planet. Something that may or may not look like an alien spaceship. From there, we see that first SETI out in New Mexico and then everyone in the upper echelons of political power from the Commandant of the U.S Marine Corps to the President of the United States, who’s having a bit of approval rating turmoil, is made aware of the situation. Yet even though the President decides to err on the side of caution until more can be learned about our new interstellar neighbors, against the urgings of his more than gung-ho to say nothing of slightly sleazy Secretary of Defense, we soon see as a series of events start to occur which should provoke quite a few alarm bells. The first is that the main ship decides to come to a sudden stop before then releasing a collection of smaller yet still quite large in their own right ships which proceed to enter our atmosphere and begin stationing themselves over practically every major city on the planet from D.C., Los Angeles, and New York City all the way to London and Paris respectively. The second is that in New York City a tech whiz by the name of David Levinson manages to uncover a hidden signal that has been buried within the global satellite network that he feels is evidence of an impending attack by the alien visitors and which he hopes his ex-wife Constance, the White House Communications Director, will aid him in alerting the President to. Lastly is the fact that all the way in Los Angeles, a fairly gifted U.S. Marine pilot by the name of Capt. Steven Hiller and his fighter squadron known as the Black Knights are suddenly summoned back to base to do what they can to keep Los Angeles safe due to the arrival of the extraterrestrials. However when David’s prediction becomes a tragic reality, we soon see that the stage has now been set for a conflict unlike any other in the history of mankind. One where those who survive will find themselves having to come together in order to not only find a way to ensure the future of our species, but also to find any way they possibly can to beat back this alien menace before it’s lights out for humanity for good. As for if they are successful or not however I will let you discover that for yourself…..
Now right off, it should be pointed out that the work done by the various departments behind the camera on this cinematic outing is surprisingly fairly well-done. This starts with the work done at the helm by Roland Emmerich and honestly he does a really good job here in a couple of key ways. The first is in terms of effectively building up tension for the first 45-46 minutes before really letting things hit the fan and then, only sporadically, giving us moments of chaos before getting to the big battle scene which proceeds to effectively take up most of the last third of the movie. By doing this, we see that Emmerich does a terrific job at both keeping you as a movie goer on the edge of your seat in anticipation as well as putting you in the same anxiety/uncertainty/eventual terror-stricken mindset of the characters as they first try to figure out what the aliens’ intentions are and then subsequently attempt to devise a way to defeat them with the limited resources they have left at their disposal. Speaking of those characters…it should also be pointed out here that Emmerich also does an effective job of really placing more of an emphasis on the cast of characters themselves for much of the movie than any of the disaster elements that he could have, and in later films of his arguably did, placed more of an emphasis on. Yes the script, as penned by both Emmerich and frequent collaborator Dean Devlin, is arguably more than just a tad bit on the predictable side at times as are a fair amount, if not all, of the respective arcs involving our fairly stacked cast of characters and yes a lot of those characters don’t get as much screentime as they could have been given here. Even with that in mind however, there is no denying that by putting as much of the focus on the characters as he does Emmerich is able to ensure that this film, for all of its spectacle and plot hook of alien invaders coming to wreck some serious chaos and destruction, is able to refreshingly stay somewhat grounded as well as relatable for the audience. Along with the work done by Emmerich, it should be said (big surprise coming up) that this film is also the blessed recipient of top-tier work from a visual effects perspective from Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney, and Joseph Viskocil respectively. Indeed through their skillful utilization of visual effects shots, miniature models, and practical effects all in one film this team did a brilliant, Oscar-winning job of ensuring that their work actually fits fairly seamlessly into the overall film to say nothing of being able to hold up remarkably well even after close to a solid 3 decades since the film first initially came out into theaters. Lastly, this section would most assuredly be amiss if I didn’t take some time to praise the work done by David Arnold (2006’s Casino Royale and 4 other 007 films, 1997’s A Life Less Ordinary, and even the 2nd Fast and Furious film among others) on this film’s musical accompaniment. Indeed not only will Arnold’s score make you want to stand and cheer, but it also manages to be a brilliant companion to both the larger-than-life sandbox that Emmerich is working with to say nothing of the just under the surface patriotism at the heart of the movie. Suffice it to say that, when you also factor in good work from the editing department as headed by David Brenner and superb work from Karl Walter Lindenlaub and the cinematography department respectively, it can be said that whilst there are a few issues to be found here and there, the work done behind the camera still does everything in its collective power to make this a fairly engaging and enjoyable viewing experience all the same and in that regard it is quite successful.
Alongside the fairly solid work done behind the camera, this particular cinematic outing is also aided by equally as well-done work in front of the camera courtesy of a rather impeccable group of talented individuals. Without a doubt, this starts with none other than Will Smith and, for all of the issues that the man has had lately, he is really freaking good here. Indeed as Capt. Steven Hiller, we see that Smith does a spot-on job at bringing a charisma, charm, assertiveness, wit, and even strength to say nothing of surprising sensitivity to a role that easily could have just turned into a one-note action hero and nothing more. As a result, not only do we get a character who easily has some of the funniest lines in the entire film, but he also manages to provide a more than fair amount of heart and soul to the proceedings as well. Suffice it to say that it’s not only one of the best performances of the movie, but one of the 5 best in Smith’s career to date as well. Besides the scene-stealing work done by Smith however, I also think praise should be afforded to the eternally enjoyable Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson. Indeed I have long been a Jeff Goldblum fan since the first time I watched the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (admit it though: you thought I was going to say Jurassic Park) and here he is spot-on casting as we see that he brings to the role of David not only his trademark quirkiness and snarky and wry sense of humor, but also a wonderful degree of intellect and resourcefulness to the part as well. Suffice it to say he too is a genuine delight every time he is on screen and this is easily one of the 10 best performances he has given to date. Now alongside Smith and Goldblum respectively, I think another performance that is definitely worthy of mention here would have to be the one given by Bill Pullman as President Thomas Whitmore. Yes the role is mostly known for that one speech he gives at some point in the movie and yes it’s iconic. At the same time, there is also no denying that Pullman does a terrific job of bringing a bravery, resilience, and determination to a guy who may get put through the wringer here, but who still manages to become quite the genuinely inspiring and heroic leader the world needs him to be all the same. Lastly, there is one performance here that I think is worthier of more mention than it has gotten and that would be a brilliant Judd Hirsch in the role of David Levinson’s father Julius. Indeed not only do Hirsch and Goldblum play off each other in a way that feels refreshingly believable, but Hirsch also does a wonderful job in his own right at playing this guy in a way that is a wonderful blend of quirky, cranky, opinionated, snarky, and yet ultimately very caring about his son to say nothing of his happiness. Indeed it’s a heck of a performance from easily one of the more underrated talents of his generation. Suffice it to say that when you also factor into the mix efforts from such talents as a perfectly cast Robert Loggia as General Grey, Vivica A. Fox, Margaret Colin, Harvey Fierstein (Yao from Mulan), Adam Baldwin, Brent “Data” Spiner, a wonderfully sleazy James Rebhorn, Mary McDonnell, Randy Quaid (actually NOT playing Cousin Eddie for once), Harry Connick Jr., and Bill Smitrovich among others it’s clear that this slice of cinema might have its issues, but the work done by this cast definitely helps to make this particular sci-fi outing a bit less turbulent to get through.
All in all and at the end of the day is Independence Day “96” a perfect slice of cinema? Sadly as much as younger Alan, who literally wore out a copy of this on VHS, would like me to tell you that is not the case. With that in mind, is this the worst film in the respective filmographies of either its director or any of the cast in front of the camera? Thankfully I can confirm that this is most assuredly not the case either. To be sure, the script on this slice of cinema is not the best written in the world, quite a few of the characters in this aren’t given a whole lot in the way of substantive material to work with, and I would be extremely surprised if you weren’t able to immediately figure out where a lot of these characters will wind up by the time the screen cuts to black and the end credits begin to roll. With that in mind however, there is also no denying that the performances in front of the camera are fairly solid across the board, the work at the helm by Roland Emmerich is actually really good for what it’s worth, the score is absolutely fantastic, and the visual effects are nothing short of out of this world (pun intended). Suffice it to say then that if you are looking for a prestige drama that is sure to be up for at least 10-20 Academy Awards during the next Oscars telecast then I’m sorry, but I think you might have been the victim of a cruel practical joke because this most assuredly is not that kind of movie. On the other hand, if you are looking for a fairly well-made on both sides of the camera popcorn film that is a delightful example of a crowd-pleaser in every sense of the word then I am happy to say that you most assuredly have come to the right place. Suffice it to say then that Independence Day “96” might not be flawless by any stretch, but it most assuredly is a slice of cinema that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, send a thrill or 2 down your spine, but also ensure that you are left with quite the smile on your face after watching it. As for that purported sequel that came out in 2016….well let’s just say that some things are better left not talked about, thought about, posted about, or even written about. Make of that what thou will dear reader and Happy 4th of July! On a scale of 1-5 I give Independence Day “96” a solid 4 out of 5.
