[.ca] Independence Day (Widescreen)

Amazon.com Essential Video:
In Independence Day, a scientist played by Jeff Goldblum once actually had a fistfight with a man (Bill Pullman) who is now president of the United States. That same president, late in the film, personally flies a jet fighter to deliver a payload of missiles against an attack by extraterrestrials. Independence Day is the kind of movie so giddy with its own outrageousness that one doesn't even blink at such howlers in the plot. Directed by Roland Emmerich, Independence Day is a pastiche of conventions from flying-saucer movies from the 1940s and 1950s, replete with icky monsters and bizarre coincidences that create convenient shortcuts in the story. (Such as the way the girlfriend of one of the film's heroes--played by Will Smith--just happens to run across the president's injured wife, who are then both rescued by Smith's character who somehow runs across them in alien-ravaged Los Angeles County.) The movie is just sheer fun, aided by a cast that knows how to balance the retro requirements of the genre with a more contemporary feel. --Tom Keogh

Additional Features:
Of the two commentaries, the most interesting is the one with the special effects supervisors, who engagingly demonstrate how the film's illusions ran the gamut from traditional "model & string" effects to the most sophisticated CGI applications. "Creating Reality" is the best of the three behind-the-scenes documentaries; "ID4 Invasion" is an interesting compilation of fictional news reports (some of them quite convincing) that were created for the TV reports within the movie, while the "HBO First Look" featurette hosted by Jeff Goldblum is rather glib and redundant. Of greater interest is the "special edition" cut of Independence Day and the original unused ending with Randy Quaid heroically piloting a vintage biplane instead of an advanced fighter jet. As producer Dean Devlin explains, the sight of a rickety airplane keeping pace with F-18 jets was "just not believable." --Jeff Shannon

There's always something...:
This fulfills all of the expectations of a summer blockbuster; things flying around, stuff blowing up, flag waving, etc etc and yes it is escapist and all good fun all good stuff (although a little over done, as others have pointed out, with the flag waving bits -- but then given the title, i think people must have known that before going in) but it does fall foul of the usual fault of having one supremely bad plot element. i'm referring to the odd idea that the alien shields can be taken down by injecting a computer virus (oh so easily). in this case, it is a cop out -- a cheap way for the screenwriter to get from point A to point C without bothering with B a wise man once said never let the facts get in the way of a good story. and a writer once said he never checks the technical aspects of a screenplay (for the same reason) the problem with this (and many films suffer a similar problem) is that it pulls me right out of the film. the suspension of disbelief of an action rah-rah film can take you to a certain point, but it is easy to step over that line. the virus did it for me in this one any film that uses classic dialogue such as "this is real life -- not a film" is almost guarenteed to suffer this sort of problem

Lots of fun over and over again:
For classic science fiction movie fans of the 50's to the 70's, you will surely enjoy this film. Its lots of fun, lots of effects and does not stop till the film ends. Its quite a good Alien invasion film. But Warning,, reading other reviews it seems people either love it or really really hate it..... To me, this film hits the right buttons........

You didn't like this film? What are you anyway, a commie?:
Normally I don't use reviews as a forum for sniping at other reviewers, but it would appear that Thomas B. Clark came as close as he could to calling me un-American because I didn't care for the jingoism that saturates this film. Well by golly, I guess it is now clear that this film must be a litmus test of the patriotism of all Americans. If you hate it, you must be some sort of com-symp pinko --- it's off to the Russkies with ya. Incidentally --- I would have refrained from socio-political commentary if only you had also --- I would gently remind you that the Indian Air Force is reported to have done very well against the USAF in exercises conducted in February this year, so maybe the USA really isn't the only one who can get the job done. I'd be willing to bet that the Israeli Air Force, to name just one, might be able to hold its own as well. Of course, maybe I am just whining again. The argument also seems to be that critics (in addition to being part of the 5th Column) cannot endure a film that engages in make-believe. You can't be serious. Just because a film requires the viewer to suspend belief doesn't necessarily mean it has to suck. I enjoyed "Hellboy," "Men in Black," and "Alien," for example. None of these is remotely believable, but they are well-crafted films with decent performances from their respective casts. Likewise, films packed with explosions & mayhem can also have compelling storylines & characters --- "Master & Commander," for example. I guess I am guilty of expecting the makers of a movie --- even one that is "just fun," should give us more for our money than some paint-by-numbers hack job. And that is exactly what this movie is, Thomas B. Clark. Contrary to what you claim, I hardly did any nit-picking on all the plot holes in the story, although other reviewers have gone over this movie's silly inconsistencies with a fine-toothed comb. My main complaint was that with the disengaged acting, the cardboard-cutout characters, and the painfully predictable storyline, all the movie really could rely on is lots of special effects & nifty explosions, which really on works on the big screen. The commercial success of this turkey has only encouraged Hollywood to even greater FX excess, to the point that filmmakers seem to think that if they throw enough CGI and special effects at you, they are not responsible for also giving you a decently-crafted movie with a plot & characters and stuff like that. Hey, it's your money. I spent $1.50 at the budget theatre watching this and I guess I broke even. I pity the people who blew 7 or 8 dollars for this, but again, spend it on what you want. I learned my lesson sooner rather than later. Being the anti-American creep that I am, I just purchased a nice bottle of the 2000 Canon-la-Gaffeliere, which is the equivalent of about 10 viewings of "ID4"-type films, and I think I got the better end of the deal.

Great Entertainment, but leave your thinking cap at home:
This review has a bit of a spoiler, so don't read on if you don't want to risk it. Independence Day is great fun to watch, but it is not a great science fiction film by any means. Howvever, the film I think was made to be strictly entertainment, in the mold of old Saturday morning matinees of a bygone era like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. It is not high art and the storyline is franky irrational and stupid. The writers obviously threw logic out the window in order to focus on action,comedic momemts, drama, and adventure, not to mention a guaranteed happy ending. Nevertheless, the film is an achievement in the realm of technical prowess at the very beginning of the film. The way it presented the technical superiority and power of the aliens is quite stunning, but after that original awe the film somewhat degrades into a series of Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica battle scenes. Good mindless entertainment, but nothing special. Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum are both competent given the limited script. As for Bill Pullman as President acting as an acient King leading his tribe into battle, well I don't know. He just didn't seem right for the part, though again, maybe it wasn't his fault since the part was ridiculous. Finally, this film shouldn't be reviewed. It should simply be enjoyed for what it is, that is good ol' fashioned science fiction adventure as entertainment. Nothing more.

AWESOME!!!!:
I absolutely love this movie because it's so much action packed fun where vicious aliens from outer space unleash destruction upon the earth's human population and now they must fight back and destroy the aliens before they destroy humanity. This is just so much fun. The special effects are top notch and the acting is great! I really loved the way the spaceships looked like as opposed to looking like flying dinner plates. Go and buy this movie 2day!