Set 20 years after the original, Independence Day feels like it's trying to tie old and new. The movie remixes a lot of the plot elements, and even lines of the first film, and the callbacks come a-mile-a-minute. As such, it's inevitable that it will draw comparisons to the first.
The biggest flaw of this movie is that the characterization is weaker than the first. Not that you expect to go into Emmerich fare expecting it to be deep, but the first film had a real human touch to it. Seeing the humans try to figure out what's going on and live their lives, trying to process it all before those lives were brutally snuffed out created a lot of emotional touch. Even though they were bare archetypes, we kind of felt a relatable tie to them. (The use of then-contemporary TV shows, too, made it feel close-to-home.) We lack that here in most places, and it's sorely needed.
On the good side, seeing the way that the alien tech has been integrated into life is interesting. The other sci-fi/X-COM elements are effective too, and it does a great job of setting up the final confrontation between the humans and aliens....which we, unfortunately, will probably never see. I feel that if they had concentrated on those elements and toned down the reunion tour elements a bit/had let this movie strike out on its own in some way, that the movie would have been much more effective. Instead, the movie is one giant callback, and ends up feeling as if it's always pointing us to watch this older, superior movie.
Overall, this is a movie that has its moments, but it lacks the wow factor that its predecessor had. It's okay....which, for a movie like this, is fatal. "Wow" is necessary to get invested in a modern action flick. Now, I think the basis for an *excellent* TV series is here, but as a movie, it just fails to deliver more than a reasonably effective way to kill 2 hours.
Has its moments, but is overall forgettable.
Set 20 years after the original, Independence Day feels like it's trying to tie old and new. The movie remixes a lot of the plot elements, and even lines of the first film, and the callbacks come a-mile-a-minute. As such, it's inevitable that it will draw comparisons to the first.
The biggest flaw of this movie is that the characterization is weaker than the first. Not that you expect to go into Emmerich fare expecting it to be deep, but the first film had a real human touch to it. Seeing the humans try to figure out what's going on and live their lives, trying to process it all before those lives were brutally snuffed out created a lot of emotional touch. Even though they were bare archetypes, we kind of felt a relatable tie to them. (The use of then-contemporary TV shows, too, made it feel close-to-home.) We lack that here in most places, and it's sorely needed.
The second is that, even though this movie doesn't look bad, with notable exceptions it lacks memorable imagery. The London scene is almost as memorable as the Los Angeles battle scene in the original, but that's about it. Obviously, given that the first one pretty much revived the over-big summer blockbuster and, by now, massive summer movie destruction is passé, this it tough to do. Still, this film's look blends into the background behind superior productions that have come in recent years. Also, the gooey, visceral feel the aliens are supposed to have have isn't well-replicated in CGI. The lack of memorable imagery and atmosphere that the original had makes the threat seem much lower-stakes and smaller-scale than the original's, even though the threat is literally 4 times as large.
On the good side, seeing the way that the alien tech has been integrated into life is interesting. The other sci-fi/X-COM elements are effective too, and it does a great job of setting up the final confrontation between the humans and aliens....which we, unfortunately, will probably never see. I feel that if they had concentrated on those elements and toned down the reunion tour elements a bit/had let this movie strike out on its own in some way, that the movie would have been much more effective. Instead, the movie is one giant callback, and ends up feeling as if it's always pointing us to watch this older, superior movie.
Overall, this is a movie that has its moments, but it lacks the wow factor that its predecessor had. It's okay....which, for a movie like this, is fatal. "Wow" is necessary to get invested in a modern action flick. Now, I think the basis for an *excellent* TV series is here, but as a movie, it just fails to deliver more than a reasonably effective way to kill 2 hours.