Twenty years ago, Roland Emmerich set the standard for extinction level event blockbusters, since then he has made one disaster movie after another (some figuratively, some literally.) Despite some of his films being turned into sequels, Emmerich himself has never done a sequel before, until now. After sitting through the two hour run-time, you kind of think he should have just continue to stay away from sequels.
Twenty years after aliens attacked, Will Smith became a huge star, and Jeff Goldblum smirked and stuttered his way through the film; the aliens are back and as the tagline says “we had twenty years to prepare, but so did they” if only the filmmakers had prepared themselves like the aliens.
Now I remember loving the original when it came out, when I was sixteen, but as I grew up I realised just how terrible the film actually was: cliched scenes, an overabundance of characters, and explosions that would give Michael Bay nocturnal emissions. Twenty years later, and not much has really changed with this “franchise”: too many characters, too many incestuous links between the characters, and gigantic explosive spectacle where characters survive insurmountable odds to eye-rolling proportions.
The film itself doesn't just one-up its’ predecessor but one-up all the other destructive blockbusters that have come since; Roland Emmerich decides to throw as many landmarks as possible at other landmarks regardless of physics or geography. However physic defying logic is the furthest issue this film has, with lacklustre characters that make you miss Will Smith, and situations that defy sheer logic. Logic such as allowing a long-haired crazy comatose patient who walks effortlessly past armed guards in a secure area that’s housing the President of the United States whilst his IV bags drag along beside him - you know, that kind of logic.
Once again, like the original, the film is just filled with stereotypes that sometimes border on the offensive. You have the geek, the top-gun maverick, the eccentric scientist, the machete-wielding Somalian warlord, the asian (for the Chinese market), the Jew and quite literally an irishman hunting for gold. Add to this too many additional characters, too long a runtime and too many pixels flying around the screen you can’t help but feel exhausted by the time the end credits start to roll.
Overall, the film certainly does go bigger than the original and bigger than almost all other disaster movies, but that does not mean better in this case. Lacking on many fronts and in a blockbuster season filled with sequels, Independence Day Resurgence falls into the category of sequels that crashed and burned like many of the landmarks featured in the trailers.
Independence Day Resurgence gets One and a Half Stars out of Five (or One and a Half offensive stereotypes away from a perfect dozen)
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