Independence Day: Resurgence - Movie Review

I can’t wait to see the size of the next alien spacecraft trying to destroy humanity. Seriously, it’s going to be the size of a galaxy (and not the chocolate bar). So, yeah, this movie is a clear and obvious escalation of the original Independence Day hit twenty years ago. The directors have clearly made the standard sequel assumption that bigger explosions, chaos and aliens are the only way to go.

Said story is pretty obvious. The world has been waiting for the alien scourge to return to attack the world but the world has been preparing, utilising the salvaged extra-terrestrial technology to create and develop as a whole. Humanity has been at peace and started to create an idyllic utopia, creating a slightly unbelievable planet when you consider what our world is really like. If anything, this made it a lot more difficult to engage and care for the planet. The original was a lot more engaging: when we saw what was a pretty accurate representation of the earth being destroyed, we felt something towards it, like when someone blows down the tower of cards you’ve been building. The new film is definitely lacking that feeling of desolation and fury.

The build up rushes from place to place trying to establish the new characters and their places in the movie as well bringing back some familiar faces with… well, interesting, developments over the twenty years, which can be nostalgic for those who clearly remember the original. It is disjointed though and never really grabbed my attention, especially considering the characters are actually all expecting the alien arrival and so it comes as no surprise that it happens (ignoring that the movie is repeating the prequel’s events).

The planetary space defensive system pretty pointlessly takes prime location at the start of the movie but lasts all but thirty minutes (including the opening build up) as the inevitable occurs and aliens attack. Oh, the aliens. The aliens now have a Queen. Such an original idea.

We already knew they were a hive but the fact they have a Queen makes them seem less threatening. One autonomous operating hive (like the Geth in Mass Effect or the Vex in Destiny) is a lot more dangerous than a something with a focal point, as large as that Queen may be.

Anyway, the destruction is apparent and destructive, the explosions are huge and explosive and demolition is plentiful and demolishing. You may have be sensing a theme here. The effects are great but you never feel a sense of awe as the planet is being annihilated. All I felt as London was destroyed was a sense of inevitability as Brexit looms (but that is enough about that!). Furthermore, there was a sense of confusion as Paris’ Eiffel Tower somehow escapes the devastation despite the carnage around it, Jeff Goldblum’s remark that “they like to get the landmarks” and a movie poster showing its destruction. I mean, how?

There are several plot pieces which lead nowhere and a couple of attempted “emotional” deaths which I felt absolutely nothing for and never really add to the plot. That largely is down to the lack of character development. The new trio consist of: Liam Hemsworth plays maverick pilot Jake Morrison, Maika Monroe plays Patricia Whitmore, daughter of the former President, and Jessie Usher is Dylan Hiller, son of hero Steven Hiller (Will Smith) who isn’t present in this adventure (probably due to his involvement in After Earth, a sci-fi film about a father and son). The movie attempts to create a backstory between these three as well as integrating them into the main plot with the established characters and it largely fails at this – the whole trio story-line is a pointless circus which the movie would easily have survived without. Also the new and old stars hardly interact, essentially having two separate story arcs that overlap occasionally via radio contact.

A confusing plot point for me is why so much of the movie is kept in the family. Why is that Steven Hiller/Will Smith’s son has to be in it? Why does Whitmore’s daughter end up playing such a large role? Was it that hard to construct new characters? The Whitmore father/daughter relationship adds a nice little element but it never really amounts to anything. Speaking of him, Will Smith is very much missed. His humour and line delivery is definitely lacking with the laughs actually present quite forced. Only Jeff Goldblum’s (returning as David Levinson) sarcastic remarks suit his character and are actually quite funny to me.

Overall, the film is nothing special. It has a sense of nostalgia but largely because it is the same thing as twenty years ago. It is moderately entertaining and has a large feel good factor despite the fact the world is close to annihilation.

Summary: Twenty years on, the recipe is the same and the end result is the same. This sequel will not go quietly into the night as it really should with the world celebrating yet another Independence event. The movie is worth watching but don’t expect anything new. 6/10

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