INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)

On July 2nd, they arrive. On July 3rd, they strike. On July 4th, we fight back.


GENRE
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi


STORYLINE
The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy. Fighting superior technology, Man's best weapon is the will to survive.


DIRECTOR
Roland Emmerich


CAST
Will Smith
Jeff Goldblum
Bill Pullman
Mary McDonell






MY REVIEW
Hollywood is has always been obsessed with Alien films. The 'Alien' franchise was one of the first movies that dealt with the encounters with species from another world. They were shown as hostile, dangerous and scary. Movies like 'E.T' showed aliens as  friendly creatures and showed the truth about human nature. 'Independence day' shows aliens as a destructive force that come to earth with an aim to wipe out life from the planet.

The plot is simple. A gigantic Alien spaceship is headed towards earth with an aim to destroy it . To protect Earth the US president calls for a counterattack on the Alien ship.Will Smith plays Captain Steven Hiller, a courageous young man who is soon to wed his girlfriend Jasmine. He is the leader of the Squadron of F/A 18 Hornets on a mission to destroy the Alien Ship. They are unsuccessful because of some sort of field guarding the mother ship. David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), a satellite technician who by the way was the only man to predict the alien's true motive finds a way to tackle the field by a virus. Now it is up-to Captain Hiller and David to somehow deliver the virus to the mother ship so that they can deactivate the field and save the planet.


The highs for the movie include the action, the brilliant special effects and the wonderful performances. The story is written well. The only problem is that it seems that only the United States seems to be effected by the invasion and only they are the ones trying to save the planet! I liked the fact that besides the Alien story, there was also a story concerning Hiller's girlfriend and the First Lady of United States.Including Area 51 in this movie was a great choice.


The action sequences get a big thumbs-up from me. The scene involving the Alien capture by Hiller is the amazing. Besides the Alien has been designed beautifully to look brainy and scary. 

As for the performances Will Smith is the star of the movie. This guy is good at whatever he does. Besides good acting, he is also quite funny. Playing the courageous young captain willing to do anything to serve his planet (or nation), he has done a fabulous job. Jeff Goldblum is also as convincing as possible playing the nerdy, 'planet saving freak'  David. The President played by Bill Pullman also does a fantastic job motivating his country. His speech before the mission is one of the highlights of the film.The other actors and actresses have also played a good supporting role.


As a whole, this movie is entertaining. This movie may have many plot loop-holes and other mistakes but it still makes you feel good.You do end up rooting for the humans to win the fight by the end. A good movie to watch for the entire family.


MY RATING 8/10


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