Independence Day: Resurgence★★★
Aliens return
Where's Will Smith when we need him
At least we have Jeff
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?
Thanks to having an awesome movie theater chain in our area (the Alamo Drafthouse—seriously, we're so spoiled), we often get to attend unique theater experiences in addition to normal ones. A couple of weeks ago, we got to attend one of the former, with a double feature of Independence Day and Independence Day: Resurgence.
Now, I adore Independence Day. It's such a classic—which I can say now that's it's 20 years old *sigh*—and features my favorite fictional president and one of the best movie speeches of all time. So going into the double feature, I knew that regardless of how good the sequel might be, it would be tempered by watching the original just prior.
Suffice it to say, the sequel might have actually been helped by the fact that I was still riding the high from the original while watching it. It's not that it wasn't entertaining, because it was, in the way that every movie filled with high-stakes action and explosions is entertaining. (I have simple tastes.) But the "new" characters didn't have nearly as much charm as the originals. Specifically Jessie T. Usher's Dylan Hiller—the grown-up version of Vivica A. Fox's kiddo from the first movie—and Liam Hemsworth's Jake Morrison, a totally new character who is basically every role Liam's ever played in a movie, except this one gets to hang out in space. Jessie was extremely wooden, and Liam is, well, Liam (i.e., the human equivalent of the word fetch).
I was also super disappointed in Sela Ward's President Lanford. Lady had some big shoes to fill, and she totally let me down.
It was great to see Jeff Goldblum back as David Levinson, however. That man has some SERIOUS swagger, both in literal walk and portraying of characters. I was excited, too, to see Brent Spiner revisit his role as the wacky Doctor Dr. Brakish Okun, mostly because I'm always going to root for anyone from Star Trek: The Next Generation when they show up on my movie/TV screens, but also because I thought he died in the first movie?
The plot of the movie actually surprised me, and in a positive way. It was much more story-driven than the original, and gave a good amount of background as to the aliens' reasons for invading Earth in the first place. (I'm being purposefully vague as to avoid spoilers, natch.) These new reveals felt a tad shoehorned, but I would be lying to say that I wasn't intrigued by what was revealed. I don't know if there will be another addition to the franchise in the future, but this movie left it wide open for more.
This is one of those reboot movies that won't ruin your childhood, but isn't really one you need to rush to theaters to see.
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