Without question this is one of the worst sequels to a supposed franchise film that I’ve ever seen. ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ took 20 years to make, and as I was sitting in the theater I knew within the first 5 minutes of the film it was going to take courage to make it through the 2 hour long running time.
So in the spirit of starting this review off of being as blunt as possible, who really wanted to see a sequel to the first Independence Day? I’m old enough to remember hearing the rumors that the studio DID want another one, but ideally made within a few years of the original. And before you know it, 20 freaking years goes by, and finally director Roland Emmerich and co. get around to making it. We can only be so lucky…..
This flick was charmless drivel at best. Literally, there’s the definitive reason this movie wasn’t engaging, let alone entertaining. Now, say what you want about Will Smith (he has his critics), but his level of charisma was needed badly in this sequel. His replacement, Liam Hemsworth, who plays hot-shot pilot Jake Morrison, was a one trick pony– Lots of smiling, and winking for the camera, but his character didn’t have the showmanship to carry a big budget film like this. Add to it, Jessie T. Usher, who play’s the son of the late Steven Hiller, and you’ve got another character that was about as likable and fleshed out as a stale twinkie. Thankfully, Brent Spiner’s character of Dr. Okun was back, and his sometimes witty one liners and awkwardness saved Resurgence from the lowest of lows. Also, honorable mention for Judd Hirsch, who returns as Julius Levinson– He, like Spiner, had a handful of funny lines that kept things from becoming “Battle LA” bad, but overall, the rest of the cast was forgettable at best. You’ll also notice I didn’t really give a shout out to Jeff Goldblum. Well, look, he has about one moment in the movie that made me personally chuckle out loud, but the rest of the time it was his typical “Goldblumy” persona. Otherwise, not much to see here regarding the return of David Levinson. Come to think of it, maybe the film needed the return of good ole Randy Quaid and the wacky ways of Russell Casse….
Nonetheless, the story was the primary issue with this movie. It felt like a re-packaged, and bigger budget version of the first film. But in the case of the first movie, that had tight editing, a more cohesive flow from scene to scene, and when it would jump from one set of characters to the next, it made sense for the story structure!! However, this iteration felt like a jumbled and incohesive mess. Even worse, just when I felt the film was about to wrap up, during the final assault on the alien mother-ship, it went on for another godforsaken 20 minutes! Torture I tell ya, torture! Certainly not a tell tale sign you’re watching a modern classic, to say the least.
Lastly, I think I should point out that there’s one particular plot point that steals blatantly from ‘Man of Steel’– Let’s just say there’s very much a Kryptonian “earth engine” type device that has to be stopped or else the Earth and its people go bye bye. And to make matters worse, after hearing the news that Mr. Emmerich has been insinuating that DC/Marvel films have copied his style over the years, I couldn’t help but shake my head during my screening since it was so OBVIOUS he and his writing team ripped off a DC Comics film that was made 3 years ago! Bottom line, don’t waste your money on this retread. Hell, don’t even bother waiting for Netflix, or DVD/Blu-ray, and just pretend the original ‘Independence Day’ is the de facto fix for your alien invasion needs:) Nuff said.
2 out of 5 stars
Leave Us Your Comments.