For better or for worse, Independence Day: Resurgence is a late 1990s film through and through. Set twenty years after the intergalactic assault in director Roland Emmerich’s 1996 movie, it takes full advantage of today’s improved CGI and delivers an equally lowbrow special effects extravaganza with arguably an even larger body count. In no way does ID:R aim high, so if you’re expecting much in the way of intensive character development or a nuanced plot, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.
When I was a kid I was utterly blown away by the first Independence Day, enough to where I had my parents take me to see it twice and buy me one of the octopus creatures and their toy ship. But I was like 11, and I can still watch it today and laugh at how goofy it is, but it’s easy to see its flaws through an adult lens. What’s more, on top of its enjoyable elements, this sequel also has many of the same issues the first film had.
While Will Smith’s Steven Hiller is absent and rather unceremoniously killed off, his son Dylan (Jessie Usher) takes his place as the hotshot U. S. Air Force commander of the human resistance. He’s paired with ex-First Daughter turned fighter pilot Patricia Whitmore (Maika Monroe) and her love interest Jake Morrison (played by Liam Hemsworth somewhat generically, but not devoid of likability) whose own family perished in the 1996 attacks.
But despite the pilots sad back stories, the sideline characters are given noticeably more personality, particularly a returning Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson who turns in his usual awkward and nerdy but somewhat sarcastic performance, and his father Julius (Judd Hirsch) who now lives in a houseboat and is selling his memoirs of the first invasion as a book.
Bill Pullman’s former President Whitmore and Brent Spiner’s Dr. Okun (having reemerged from a coma) have bizarre psionic reactions when a presumably hostile alien ship approaches. But despite their warnings, Sela Ward ‘s hawkish President Lanford (presumably a Hillary Clinton expy) orders it shot down. This proves to be unwise when the Harvesters return to have another Halo reenactment with humanity, and pirate our natural resources. The usual disaster movie tropes follow- massive destruction and loss of life, long goodbyes, rousing speeches, and America leading humanity’s resistance.
Generally, Independence Day Resurgence doesn’t do anything new, and depending on what you’re looking for that could either be to the film’s detriment or its benefit. As a throwback to the prototypical brainless devastation films of the Nineties, it’s arguably a rousing success. The problem is since then, thanks to critical word of mouth being able to spread faster further than ever, there’ve been much smarter, riskier and more effectively emotional successful blockbusters since. Those may not have been its intentions, but Resurgence is almost antiquated in how proudly lowbrow it is, without the subversive aspects of a Fury Road and more plot holes than all the Marvel films put together.
The first film also took considerably more time to flesh out the relationships of its cast, as well as their reactions to the apocalyptic destruction unfolding around them (particularly the scene when Whitmore, Levinson and company are on Air Force One the morning after, processing everything). Resurgence has more of a go-go-go approach, putting more emphasis on the alien attack at the expense of effective character development. The rivalry between Dylan and Jake is barely acknowledged, and Maika Monroe tries her best to give Patricia some heart but it’s so squeezed in that it just feels cliché. Spiner and an alien hunting African warlord (Deobia Oparei) get in a few funny moments, but the comedy is pretty lame for the most part.
And there’s noticeably less humor to begin with, which was one of the first film’s stronger aspects. Despite the rapid jump in Earth’s technological abilities through working with alien materials, the invaders now are more resourceful than ever, and as such Emmerich tries to make this new caper feel more dramatic. But with how condensed everything is, it doesn’t quite work. At best we get one scene where Levinson makes a half-hearted wisecrack as London (who just can’t seem to get a break in most disaster movies lately) collapses around him in a fiery miasma.
Overall, I’d only recommend Independence Day: Resurgence if you’re really in the mood for a stupid popcorn film where a bunch of stuff blows up, but there’s not much else beyond it. And when the blu-ray is released, I imagine many people will wind up fast forwarding through more scenes than the first ID4. On one positive note, I would be interested in a film about warlord Dikembe, as he was the one character I looked forward to seeing more of. Otherwise, I’ll probably pass on the third movie this new one teases.