Those Pesky Aliens Are Back..."Independence Day: Resurgence"

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie T. Usher, Bill Pullman, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, William Fichtner, Judd Hirsch, Brent Spiner,

Directed by Roland Emmerich

The Story:

20 years ago, the aliens invaded our world, but humanity stood tall and persevered. Now, as the anniversary grows near, it turns out the aliens have been plotting their revenge, and the world might just be doomed after all.

The tagline said "We had 20 years to prepare. So did they."

Apparently, someone forgot to tell the writers that they had 20 years to prepare a good follow up.

Which led to the major problem that audiences could not be prepared for how ultimately dull Independence Day 2 would turn out to be.

Now Independence Day itself is not the greatest movie ever made...

But man, is it a bucket of popcorn, kick back and have fun kind of movie.

20 years later, if they could have harnessed half that energy, this movie would have been awesome.

But they didn't.

They whiffed and missed with nearly any and every attempt to capitalize on whatever they got right in the first one.

Will Smith, the cocky pilot who was going to save the Earth single-handed if need be, gone.

Replaced by generic son, Dylan Hiller (Usher) who is there to inspire confidence, but is bland as cardboard.

So they add Jake Morrison (Hemsworth) to help add to the cocky, charismatic quota, but he's more insane, yelling all the time, than charismatic.

Then we have one of the most rousing movie speeches ever given in a movie, replaced by 2 proverbial "rah-rah, let's get 'em" speeches, one by Hiller that is about as uninspiring as they come;  the other one by President Whitmore (Pullman) himself.

It doesn't even come close to the goosebumpy vibes of the first.

It's like they realized, you know, we can't even begin to top that one...let's not even try.

Jeff Goldblum suffers here, just as he did in Jurassic Park 2 - He's the supporting character, not the lead. When you make him the lead, he has to carry too much of the film, and ultimately it undermines the very fun reasons why we all loved his character so much the first time.

That said, the film isn't that bad. It's one that catches the audience up on a lot of characters and situations that feel like just yesterday we saw for the first time.

The special effects are top-notch, and the story itself is entirely watchable.

It doesn't hold up like the original, but there are still plenty of little things to like about this follow-up.

Final Grade: C+

Here's a Movie to be Thankful For... "Independence Day"

E.T. phoned home...and brought back reinforcements!

The Story:

Just days before the 4th of July, communications begin becoming disrupted across the globe as alien spacecraft descend around the globe.  What do these aliens want?  Do they come in peace?  Or are they here for more serious reasons?

How can you not like this movie?

Yet, like almost all of the Michael Bay productions, this one gets glossed over as fluff and frivolity...

But that's the point!

This is a summer blockbuster, popcorn, check your brain at the door and just have fun movie.

An all-star cast tackles their pieces of the puzzle until they are all (or at least the ones that survive) united for the final act against the aliens.

You have the scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who warns the President (Bill Pullman) about the real threat and manages to evacuate the White House minutes before destruction.

Then Marine Captain Hiller (Will Smith) who flies fighter jets but dreams of becoming an astronaut.

Plus, you can't forget crazed vet, possible alien abductee Russell (Randy Quaid) who will ultimately figure out how to stop the alien invasion.

Aside from a few shots that are slightly unbelievable, this is epic disaster that would make Irwin Allen tear up with pride.

Roland Emmerich and his writing partner Dean Devlin throw everything they've got into this one, and the movie just clips along at a great pace.

There are rarely any dull moments, it's quick plot devices that propel the storyline forward through dialogue and circumstance.

While Will Smith was considered the star, Bill Pullman gave the movie it's heart, and Jeff Goldblum gave the movie its humor in possibly my favorite role in the movie.

It's also unabashedly a flag-raising jingoistic American piece of propaganda.

So yes, it's an awesome movie.

Going on 20 years old, it's still a pretty fun ride.

I hear rumors of a sequel...

Will Smith should take a cue from the audience enjoyment from this one versus After Earth and sign up.

It was fun, and we'd come back for more!

Final Grade: B+...A-...take your pick!

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: This is the first time I've watched it in about a decade.  I forgot how fun it was.  I won't make that mistake again.