History Fridge / IndependenceDay

* On the mainpage, it is mentioned that [[SemperFi MACAS El Toro]] being [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment U.S. Marine Air base]], [[JustPlaneWrong U.S. Navy F-14s' and Air Force F-16s' are wildly out of place there.]] It's possible that this was a joint operation involving all branches of the military, with Black Knight squadron fueled, armed, and ready to go being part of the first wave of attack against the Los Angeles city destroyer. The Navy and Air Force aircraft had likely just been reassigned from bases far from Los Angeles, even coming in from outside of California, and were being refueled and armed, with the plan likely being that the Air Force and Navy would relieve Black Knight squadron in the second wave of the attack, and then Black Knight squadron would join in the third wave once they rearmed and refueled. Unfortunately, the Invaders' [[DeflectorShield protective shields]] led to [[CurbStompBattle Black Knight squadron being systematically shot down,]] and once the Invaders figured out where they had come from, put [[SittingDuck an end to the joint operation attack]] [[IncrediblyLamePun before it could fully get off the ground.]]

* Having F-18s able to outmaneuver alien attacker ships is not all that far fetched. Human planes have been designed with one set of atmosphere and gravity in mind, and tailored to give the best performance under those conditions. The alien ships were not designed for Earth conditions and aren't very streamlined.

[[AC:FridgeLogic]]
* Creator/WillSmith's character accidentally drives the UFO in reverse, then apologises and turns the instructions upside down. Great for RuleOfFunny, but after thought you realize that now he's sacrificed left and right being on the correct sides for having front and back being correct.
** You mean normal people need to be reminded that left is left and right is right? Just because up and down are reversed with regard to human planes (themselves reverse with regard to, say, a computer mouse) doesn't imply, much less mean that left and right are.
* Typically reviews of the film will point out the 'gaping hole' in the film regarding Smith's character stealing a chopper and heading out to find his girlfriend and son because 'he can't have any idea where they are', except the film quite blatantly shows him telling her to ''come and stay with him at his base'' before the attacks occur. ''That's'' where she heads after the attack, only to find it in ruins. She then stays there until he comes to find her.
* When David is explaining the countdown signal to Marty, there's a news graphic of alien ships appearing over London, Rome, Moscow, and "Germany" rather than Berlin. Considering these networks are trying to cover the arrival of an alien fleet, which includes rapidly changing information (which may have not included at first what city in Germany was that particular destroyer's destination), someone probably mistakenly typed that in.
* The aliens taking over our satellite network is often derided by critics, but it actually makes total sense. 1) they're trying to wipe out humanity, and one of the essential ways to do that is to cripple/hijack our primary communications. 2) while David discovers their countdown signal, they still would have needed a means of sending status reports, updated orders, etc. 3) why deploy your own communications infrastructure when the enemy already has their own that you can take over, especially if they lack the technology for a sufficient counterattack?
* Might it be the case that Russell's near-accident with his missile before takeoff damaged something enough to cause the later problem he has with it?
* The final battle over Area 51 might be considered a wall-banger since a giant city-sized spacecraft is being attacked with air-to air missiles, which are designed for smaller, more nimble targets like the alien attackers. However Area 51 is meant to be a testing ground for aircraft, and is not officially an active military base. Thus their munitions stores would reflect that; they only really would have air to air missiles to arm what aircraft they have (and even then that would be pushing it), and more powerful weaponry like bunker busters and laser-guided bombs would be stored at bases elsewhere (which, in all likelihood, had already been destroyed by the invaders).
* It’s odd that the aliens didn't target Whiteman Air Force Base, which is home to America’s only nuclear armed B-2 squadron. However, they do seem to fight reactively. After the initial "shock and awe" strike against the cities, they didn’t launch their fighters until the Black Knights fired a second volley of missiles. They probably decided to wait and see if humans would be desperate enough to use nukes. If we tried it multiple times, they probably would have begun targeting nuclear assets.
** It seems likely that the aliens didn't know about it. They first seemed to target population centers and centers of governments - things that are fairly easy to discern from either abducting people or intercepting TV or radio signals. What percent of the population knows where we keep a specific part of our nuclear arsenal?
* David creates the virus on the morning of July 4th after his father inadvertently gives him the idea. How did he manage to do that in such a short space of time ''especially considering he was heavily drunk?''
** There's nothing saying he didn't co-opt some help from the staff at Area 51 to assist him. Indeed, a young black scientist seems to be aiding David when Whitmore and the others arrive for the demonstration.
** David had actually been working on the virus since the aliens arrived. This is more clear in the uncut version. When the aliens start sending out their signal, David quickly found it and told his boss that he could find a way to filter it out. Later, Okun takes him on a tour of the captured fighter and David sees how the aliens communicate between their ships. He had all the tools and method for defeating the aliens already; he just needed a little inspiration to connect the dots and formulate a plan.
* Given that Russia is referred to as "the Russian Republic" instead of the Russian Federation, Soviet Central News is reporting on the Siberian fireball, and the map appears to be of the USSR before its collapse, it's entirely possible that this film takes place in a universe where the USSR barely survived the August Coup and reformed.

* When you get down to it, the implications of what Whitmore's simple summary of what the alien showed him. He calmly explains that they move from planet to planet, then consume every natural resource and move on. Obviously, he doesn't go deeper on what he must have seen: entire civilizations scorched, one-sided battles, billions of sentient aliens slaughtered, followed by complete exploitation of their new "home" until there's nothing left, and then they pack up and head for the next target.

* On the mainpage, it is mentioned that [[SemperFi MACAS El Toro]] being [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment U.S. Marine Air base]], [[JustPlaneWrong U.S. Navy F-14s' and Air Force F-16s' are wildly out of place there.]] Its possible that this was a joint operation involving all branches of the military, with Black Knight squadron fueled, armed, and ready to go being part of the first wave of attack against the Los Angeles city destroyer. The Navy and Air Force aircraft had likely just been reassigned from bases far from Los Angeles, even coming in from outside of California, and were being refueled and armed, with the plan likely being that the Air Force and Navy would relieve Black Knight squadron in the second wave of the attack, and then Black Knight squadron would join in the third wave once they rearmed and refueled. Unfortunately, the Invaders' [[DeflectorShield protective shields]] led to [[CurbStompBattle Black Knight squadron being systematically shot down,]] and once the Invaders figured out where they had come from, put [[SittingDuck an end to the joint operation attack]] [[IncrediblyLamePun before it could fully get off the ground.]]

* Russel was ''right'' that the Aliens have been studying us for years. How else would they have known that DC is the capital of the United States? Or that the Empire State Building is the iconic image of New York City? Or that Los Angeles is considered a landmark in California. They've been there for ''years'' possibly decades before deciding it was our turn to be exterminated. Russel probably wasn't the only human that was abducted by the Aliens either