I Watch Movies: Independence Day
Having caught the sequel last year I’ve now watched the original. After twenty years how does it stack up?
The character stuff is a bit on the nose – the president’s wife being the low point here. Jeff Goldblum’s David Levinson has the best part, he figures out the interference and that it’s from the aliens and what it means, and his ex-wife is communications director in the White House so he can get the message to the President! But the last time he saw him he thought they were having an affair and punched him. Also his Dad is great, the comic relief with a heart that we all need.
Will Smith’s Captain Hiller, the most US Marine Pilot of US Marine Pilots* is a little less interesting and also about 250% cooler. That he always wanted to be an astronaut is (yawn) but that he’s going to give all that up for his stripper girlfriend is not quite a twist, but a not-quite standard combination for an action film.
Essentially it’s held together by the two central performances and some (still) pretty good action sequences. The rest is, you know, saving the dog, travelling through a devastated Los Angeles, death scenes, a bit of frantic speculation. Standard action film stuff. It turns out it was never great and everything good about it is also done elsewhere.
Watch This: For an undemanding action film
Don’t Watch This: If an alien invasion film seems dumb
* He’s in the air force of the navy’s army.
Comments