Independence Day (1996)

Independence Day

• I really can’t decide if I want to give this a 7 or 8 out of 10. There are definitely some qualities that are awesome, but also definitely some that drag it down a little bit. It’s a solid movie, but by the time I finished it, it just felt like it lacked something. I’m not sure what that something is, but it lacked something. I think the biggest thing was that it didn’t necessarily feel….new. It felt like every other kind of alien movie. All the ones I’ve seen have some kind of memorable characteristic, but this one didn’t really have that for me (except the White House exploding). The story started off slow, and the first 25ish minutes took me forever to get into. Once I did get into it, it stayed consistently exciting, it just felt like I’d seen it before. It was kind of like Star Wars and Top Gun combined into one. Maybe that’s why it seemed familiar. I don’t think any of the characters are memorable at all, except for Hiller and Levinson. I really liked them, but everyone else was so bland. But you can’t beat Goldblum and Smith. Randy Quaid was funny, too. The special effects were pretty strong all around. They did have the late 90’s look, so sometimes it was a little corny, but still pretty good. I think all the flying/action scenes were well shot, and easily the best part(s) of the movie. Lastly, the score sounded a little cliche, but still pretty good. It has a nice patriotic feel to it. Overall, this movie is solid, but it just didn’t feel like anything special. It was decent, but not one I would rewatch a whole bunch. I’d probably recommend it to most sci-fi/action fans.