Independence Day (ID4)
ID4, or Independence Day, is the most hyped up movie of the year. The trailers show some spectacular special effects. Most people thought it was completely over-hyped. However, the movie delivers exactly what it says and more. It has a cool plot, the acting is good, but the real star of the show is the special effects. This movie has so many great effects that it probably outdoes Jurassic Park and every movie ever made.
The movie opens with the "July 2nd" title. The trailers inform the viewers incorrectly. It says that they arrive on the 2nd, attack on the 3rd, and all the fireworks break loose on the 4th. Actually, they arrive and attack on the same day. A cloud of fire and smoke appears in the sky over about 15 major cities in the world. These clouds are actually the exhaust from the 15 mile space ships entering the atmosphere. The space ships are phenomenal and wonderful. They are huge and magnificent. They hover over these cities, turning day into night.
The attack sequence is the most outstanding scene I have ever seen in any movie. It is the best moment of the movie. The fire and explosion is wonderful. The models are perfect and bring a realism to the film. Jan De Bont said he wasn't impressed with the White House explosion because he doesn't like models. However, I ask him, "What? Are they supposed to blow up the real White House?"
"July 3rd!" The devastation is horrible. Only a few people, including the President (played wonderfully by Bill Pullman) and his wife (Mary McDowell), survive the "extermination." They survived mainly because a very smart chess player (Jeff Goldblum) told them about a signal being transferred through their satellite dishes. Will Smith, who is a fighter pilot, also survived. The President now orders a full invasion to get rid of the aliens. They find out that the aliens' technology also includes shielding. Every weapon, including the atomic bomb, is useless against it.
The President finds out about an Area 51, the secret military base that supposedly holds UFO technology. The movie portrays this cautiously, but wonderfully. The way the handle it is inventive and creative. Here, we meet Brent Spiner (from Star Trek: TNG) and he takes the President on a tour of the place. We see the aliens' spaceship (the small attack ones which attacked the pilots who tried to shoot the bigger ships down and chases them through a Utah chasm) and the aliens. They are interesting to look at. Finally, a movie that thinks aliens are not much different than humans... well, in attitude at least.
"June 4th!" Jeff Goldblum writes a virus to overwrite the shields. However, the virus has to be implanted into the mother ship, directly. They decide to have Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum fly up in the captured alien ship. The ending is predictable but that doesn't bother me one bit. The movie is terrific and exciting. It is also suspenseful and, at some parts, even scary.
The cast is excellent, especially Bill Pullman as the President. He acts like a real person and not like a stiff dud that most movies present the President as. Will Smith provides much of the humor in the movie and is top notch (compared to his other movies, with the exception of Six Degrees of Separation). Harry Connick Jr. is wonderful in his brief appearance. Jeff Goldblum is still Jeff Goldblum. He puts a sort of cynical twist on the character. All the other supporting actors, such as Mary McDowell and others, are great.
Independence Day is rated PG-13. I kind of wonder why but I guess it is the destruction and scariness of the movie. There is some language but no sex or nudity. The movie is about the same as Jurassic Park, in the "should kids watch it" sense. It's up to you. If your kids don't get bothered by death and scariness, then take them to see it! But the movie is loud and big which might scare younger viewers. However, this movie is the best action movie of the year... and maybe even one of the best movies too.