Good morning, good afternoon, good evening...whenever it is you happened upon this set of movie ramblings! Sunday afternoon I went out and saw the most recent big budget blockbuster Independence Day: Resurgence! A movie 20 years in the making...that makes me feel REALLY old since I remember seeing the first one in theaters...over in East Lansing, Michigan. "Two decades after the first Independence Day invasion, Earth is faced with a new extra-Solar threat. But will mankind's new space defenses be enough?" It stars Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman. On IMDB as of 6/27/16 it has a 5.8 out of 10.
Let me start with what I didn't like about the flick. First off the absence of Will Smith hurt the film in my opinion. It was missing that fun factor that I really liked with the first flick. I know there are people out there who don't like Smith but everything I've seen him in is fun. Maybe not great but fun and honestly that is important in a movie especially most of the flicks he makes. This movie was missing that fun comedy that was so well done in the first one...in my opinion. I leaned over to my girlfriend and said something to the effect "you won't hear me say this often but this flick needed MORE comedy". That isn't to say that it wasn't there, more on that later, but I felt it needed a few more moments. I also felt like there was very little to this flick. I know you can't re-create the big budget disaster invasion flick but it felt very much like a retread of the first, a few new characters and a new coat of paint so to speak.
What I liked about this film was that it paid homage to the first film with the return of Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Brent Spiner and Vivica A. Fox. I hate when films ignore their own past if there is a link/continual history. On that front the inclusion of the Spiner character was fantastic and one of the best parts. He was one of the highlights of the first and continued doing the same here. His character gave some of the best moments and the neurotic Dr. Brakish Okun is a welcome character, and actually gave one of the best scenes in my opinion near the end. The same goes for Judd Hirsch character. The character/alien designs were well done as well even though I felt like the Queen looked a little bit like the Cloverfield monster. There was also the inclusion of an African Warlord whose people fought a ground war with the aliens and Nicolas Wright's character which was fantastic. I'd actually would have liked to see MORE of these two characters together. Wright's character was actually a bright spot for me and reminded me of a character John Oliver would have played.
There were a few things that were just there for me. The young soldiers in the flick were just there. They tried to give them a backstory for their history but it felt flat. It was typical best friends suddenly don't like each other but then get back together because they have a common goal stuff. Old story telling that isn't bad but just felt a little forced and not needed. I was also surprised that Jessie T. Usher, who plays the son of Will Smith and Vivica A. Fox in the film, wasn't a more important character. They focused more on Hensworth character which felt weird but from a marketing standpoint made sense...and possibly an acting standpoint as I wasn't real impressed with Ushers screen presence.
Overall I give it a 6/10. Nothing great or groundbreaking but it didn't shit the bed either. It was basically what I expected. Stuff blowing up, one liners and Jeff Goldblum doing his usual stammering which is good. I don't know if it is something I'd check out again but worth a viewing if you like this type of flick. I would recommending seeing this in a nice theater with good sound and picture. I kind of wish we had gone to see it in IMax or other large screen format instead of a regular theater, it might have made me like it a little more.
Until next time folks, be kind to each other and.....Abyssinia!
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