Independence Day

release year: 1996
genre: sci-fi/action
viewing setting: home streaming 7/4/25 and sometime in the mid-1990s

synopsis: Gigantic flying saucers show up on Earth...and they're not friendly.

impressions: This was a blockbuster from the mid-90s that I hadn't seen since it was fresh and new. Until now. Overall, it was entertaining, although the one-liners and rah-rah moments seemed designed to appeal to the masses (and their movie-going money.) This was basically an all-out alien attack on the world, and survivors of the first wave have to figure out how to strike back. There are logic blips (early laptop that gets an internet signal everywhere before that was possible...a pilot magically able to fly a UFO...the aliens not knowing that one of their ships wasn't friendly) but that's to be expected from these particular filmmakers.

things to watch for: Any of the city-killing weapon firings.

acting: Bill Pullman is the U.S. President who reasserts himself when it matters most. Will Smith is a hotshot joke-cracking fighter jet pilot. Vivica Fox is his girlfriend. Jeff Goldblum is a quirky scientist. Judd Hirsch is his father who gets pulled along for the ride. Randy Quaid is a drunken crop duster pilot.

final word: Looks pretty but has some silly foundational elements.

back to the main review page