History Film / IndependenceDay

'''''Independence Day''''' is a 1996 movie by RolandEmmerich, known in its promotional material as '''''[=ID4=]'''''. At its core it is a straightforward AlienInvasion movie with a lot of elements taken from well known sources like ''TheWarOfTheWorlds''. The archetypical SummerBlockbuster with a large cast of familiar character types, StuffBlowingUp, fighter jets dogfighting alien craft, {{Rousing Speech}}es, {{Area 51}} and is otherwise fairly by-the-book storywise.

Humans fight back, with U.S. Marine pilot Steven Hiller (WillSmith) and computer programmer David Levinson (uh... Creator/JeffGoldblum) pulling together a {{plan}} to save the human race.

* BlackBestFriend: A rare inversion. One of the main heroes is black and his white best friend is the wise-cracking comic relief. He fulfills almost every trope related to the black best friend, right down to being the [[BlackDudeDiesFirst first named character to die.]]

* MatchCut/TemptingFate: One of the president's speeches, being witnessed in the deserted office building by Levinson and his boss, ends with a close-up of his face as he encourages the nation "If you feel the need to evacuate, please do so in an ''orderly'' fasion". Cue mass pandemonium in the streets, riots and looting spreading like wildfire.

Humans fight back, with U.S. Marine pilot Steven Hiller (WillSmith) and computer programmer David Levinson (uh... JeffGoldblum) pulling together a {{plan}} to save the human race.

** To ''Franchise/JurassicPark''; JeffGoldblum's character says, "Must go faster. Must go faster. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" in the same way as he does in one scene in ''Jurassic Park''. Exactly the same way, in fact: the audio was cut directly from ''Jurassic Park'' and pasted into this movie.

* GuiltFreeExterminationWar: The aliens, in keeping with their HordeOfAlienLocusts nature, have no issues whipping out entire cities full of people. [[spoiler:Humanity has no issues returning the favor for the alien mother ship.]]

* NuclearOption: Nuclear weapons are used only once, over UsefulNotes/{{Houston}} [[a city that's about to fall victim to one of the leviathans]], and after significant consideration (primarily over the fact that, whether it works or not, the city is about to get razed to the ground anyway). When the first one doesn't work (read: didn't even get through the target's shields), the rest are immediately called off.

->''On July 2nd, they arrive.''\\

''On July 4th, we fight back.''

* NuclearOption: Nuclear weapons are used only once, over [[GreaterHouston a city that's about to fall victim to one of the leviathans]], and after significant consideration (primarily over the fact that, whether it works or not, the city is about to get razed to the ground anyway). When the first one doesn't work (read: didn't even get through the target's shields), the rest are immediately called off.

* MagicCountdown

* OneSceneWonder
** Harry Connick Jr. has a small role as a fighter pilot buddy of Will's, only [[MauveShirt to get shot down in the ensuing fight.]] He easily steals the show.
** Harvey Fierstein as Jeff Goldblum's neurotic co-worker. "DAVID, WHY'D I JUST SEND MY MOTHER TO ATLANTA?!"
** The RAF pilots were a good joke for British audiences: "The Americans are planning a counter-strike!" "Well, it's about bloody time!" Tally-ho, chaps!

''On July 2nd, they arrive.''\\

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The aliens are defeated, but humanity faces an uncertain future.]]

* HemisphereBias: Pretty much anything South of the Equator isn't worth concern. Though we get to see crashed [=UFOs=] in Sydney and right against Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. There's even a news report with the subtitle "Southern Hemisphere Unaffected" under a map showing where the city killers are appearing.

** Russel Casse, [[{{Airplane}} "I picked a hell of a day to quit drinkin'."]].

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: President Whitmore, finally fed up with Secretary of Defense Nimziki tells him he's fired, to which Nimziki grumbles "He ''can't'' do that," to which the President's assistant notes that he just did anyway.\\\
In fact, the President can fire any member of his cabinet at any time, no reason even needed. It's not even a screw the rules, as the rules say the President can. In fact, when Congress passed a law in 1867 ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenure_of_Office_Act_%281867%29 Tenure of Office Act]]) prohibiting the President from removing certain office-holders without the approval of the Senate, the Supreme Court later stated it would be unconstitutional to restrict the right of the President to fire them.
** Even the TV Show TheWestWing points out that Presidential appointees serve at the pleasure of the President, meaning he can fire them any time he wants.

* SortingAlgorithmOfMortality: The characters who got killed were the stereotypically gay boss, the dumb stripper (a case of TooDumbToLive), the First Lady who didn't get out in time (a sympathetic character to give the impression that AnyoneCanDie), and the alcoholic father (seems like the alcoholic [[spoiler:made a HeroicSacrifice of redemption]] so...).

** Steven and David [[spoiler:fire the nuke as a last resort after being trapped in the mother-ship.]]

* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: Completely averted. The aliens make no attempt to hide their intentions, likely because they see humanity as little more than pond scum.

* JumpScare: Only one, but it's a memorable one.

* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: Completely averted. The aliens make no attempt to hide their intentions, likely because they see us as little more than pond scum.

* DeusExNukina: A particularly {{egregious}} example. You can destroy the unshielded atmospheric city destroyers and fighters, but the aliens have [[WeHaveReserves billions of reserves]] on board a super mothership in orbit. You have exactly one transorbit SpaceFighter; the enemy undoubtedly has thousands just like it which they are better at flying than you. Fortunately it's already going to the mothership to enable the main attack. So you load a single "tactical nuclear missile" that apparently has many times the yield required to, oh, mass-scatter Ceres.\\\
The only way this could even remotely have had a chance of working was for the nuke explosion to have set off some kind of [[DisasterDominoes chain reaction]] in the alien mothership's own [[MadeOfExplodium interstellar drive/fuel store/ammunition depot]] which then blew up the ship. As when a [[PearlHarbor single fighter-carried bomb]] [[WorldWarII detonates an entire battleship or carrier.]]\\\
Even [[spoiler:Captain Hiller and David Levinson]] weren't expecting this to happen; [[OhCrap the looks on their faces]] when the mothership blew up in a [[ImpressivePyrotechnics spectacular Michael Bay fashion]] is telling. The nuke was meant to cripple the mothership to buy time, not to destroy the whole shebang.

President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) is the recently elected U.S. President when a ''massive'' (one-fourth the size of the moon) spaceship enters the orbit of Earth. Sending out smaller (city-size) ships that scatter across the globe to all the major cities, it doesn't take long before they begin firing their {{Wave Motion Gun}}s to wipe out entire cities at a time.

The film's success also kicked off a revival of the DisasterMovie in mid-to-late 90s. The influence of this film can be seen even today, with Roland Emmerich himself repeating a similar formula in his later films like ''{{Film/Godzilla}}'', ''TheDayAfterTomorrow'' and ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve''.

Also, AirForceOne becomes the de facto capital of the United States for a portion of the movie, as the President oversees the first counterstrike operation from aboard the plane. After that, Area 51 apparently becomes the de facto capital.

* AnalProbing: Russell attests to having been abducted by aliens. Those who don't believe him crack jokes and ask if he was ever sexually abused on the flying saucer, suggesting this trope.

* BlackBestFriend: A rare inversion. One of the main heroes is black and his white best friend is the wise-cracking comic relief. He fulfills almost every trope related to the black best friend, right down to being the [[BlackDudeDiesFirst first named character to die.]]

** Played straight at first when David tries to warn people about the countdown signal in the satellite network. Even his ex-wife refuses to believe him, thinking he's crazy or manipulating her. However, it's finally averted when the President finally hears him out and evacuates the area immediately.

** Similarly, a television reporter mentions in passing that much of the current information that anybody has is being passed around via amateur radio operators, given the widespread destruction of the government-run infrastructures[[hottip:*:Which is actually a role that amateur radio fills in RealLife]]. Guess how the remaining military forces pass word to each other to coordinate their final counter-attack?

* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: [[spoiler:Russell's]] last words.

* OrganicTechnology: The alien's [[PoweredArmor suits]] are more like a second organism that they ride inside of. {{Word of God}} states that most of their technology is at least partly biological as well.

* RuleOfPerception: Steven and later Jasmine walk out onto their front lawn with a view over Los Angeles and don't notice the alien ship hovering silently over the city until the camera shows it.

** To ''Film/JurassicPark''; JeffGoldblum's character says, "Must go faster. Must go faster. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" in the same way as he does in one scene in ''Jurassic Park''. Exactly the same way, in fact: the audio was cut directly from ''Jurassic Park'' and pasted into this movie.

* SortingAlgorithmOfMortality: The characters who got killed were the stereotypically gay boss, the dumb stripper (a case of TooDumbToLive), the First Lady who didn't get out in time (a sympathetic character to give the impression that AnyoneCanDie), and the alcoholic father (seems like the alcoholic [[spoiler:made a {{heroic sacrifice}} of redemption]] so...).

** The people that were waiting to the aliens in the rooftop of a building in LosAngeles. Including Tiffany who promised Jasmine she wouldn't.

* WiperStart: A jet fighter version -- as VietnamWar-era pilot (gone to seed) Russell Casse tries to ready his F/A-18, he almost fires a missile.
-->'''Russell Casse:''' [[{{Film/Airplane}} I picked a hell of a day to quit drinking.]]

* BreakingTheFourthWall: When asked to identify himself, Russell Casse looks directly at the camera and salutes. Since he's in a fighter jet in the middle of a battle at the time, one must wonder who exactly he was saluting to.

* AirForceOne: The President's F/A-18 fighter is designated "Eagle One", but technically [[DidNotDoTheResearch any USAF airplane that is carying the POTUS is automatically designated "Air Force One"]]. Even if the President himself is piloting it and dogfighting aliens. If, however, it was a Marine jet, then technically it should have been "Marine One". Then again, [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem Whitmore is the President...]]. Not to mention, after the rousing speech, he basically says that at that point, he's just a fighter pilot not the president because they need those more right now.\\\

* AirForceOne: The President's F/A-18 fighter is designated "Eagle One", but technically [[DidNotDoTheResearch any USAF airplane that is carying the POTUS is automatically designated "Air Force One"]]. Even if the President himself is piloting it and dogfighting aliens. If, however, it was a Marine jet, then technically it should have been "Marine One". Then again, [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem Whitmore is the President...]].\\\