Independence Day: Resurgence

This review may contain spoilers!

I'm not a big fan of the first Independence Day so believe me when I say how surprised I am to describe the sequel as one of the more entertaing blockbusters of 2016. I would give Independence Day: Resurgence an 8/10.

This film does alien invasion really well, like the scale and magnitude of it all feels very creative and well put together. I enjoyed that the film grounded itself in the original but worked hard on building up a world set twenty years later with characters both new and old. The special effects in this film were magnificent, the CGI aliens looked good but the designs for the spaceships and the moon base really impressed me too. The cinematography was stunning, it really took into account when to keep a scene small and intimate or when to really put emphasis on the magnitude of the threat.

Liam Hemsworth, who played Jake Morrison, has really found his best role in this film; Hemsworth's reserved and prideful pilot makes for a great protagonist. Jessie T. Usher, who played Dylan Hiller, really was a fun performer who embodied the poster boy archetype; however he carried a lot of emotional weight upon his shoulder dealing with the death of both of his parents. Bill Pullman, who played President Whitmore, took a more eccentric and erratic role in this film which Pullman played very well; there's a powerful scene in which Pullman gathers himself together and delivers an incredible speech to Goldblum. William Fichtner, who played General Adams, delivered a very strong military leader in this film; the speech he gives is one of my favourite scenes of the film. Judd Hirsch, who played Julius Levinson, was an entertaining comedic presence in this film; despite a diminished amount of screen time from the first film Hirsch still does a great job at standing out. Brent Spiner, who played Dr. Brakish Okun, was one of my favourite performers within the film; Spiner is a comedic powerhouse and a consistent scene stealer. Deobia Oparei, who played Dikembe Umbutu, brought a more diverse and original character to this sequel; Oparei created an intimidating and powerful performance. Chin Han, who played Commander Jiang, had an incredibly strong presence and made for a great leader figure; I enjoyed the conflict between him and Hemsworth. John Storey, who played Dr. Isaacs, was a really fun character and had some great chemistry with Spiner; Storey's death scene is my favourite scene in the entire film.

However the best performance came from Jeff Goldblum, who played David Levinson. It has been a while since I've seen Goldblum in a film but I enjoyed his performance, he without a doubt has still got it. There's a very complex intellect when it comes to Goldblum's character yet he portrays this wonderfully and it makes you enjoy the science aspect of this sci-fi hit. I think where Goldblum's real talent lies is with his comedic one liners that can be delivered in a very non-chalant and often sarcastic way.

This film might have been a lot of fun but it was by no means a perfect sequel, the follow through from the original film sometimes felt laboured and got more complicated than the film really needed it to be. Furthermore the pacing in this film wasn't always great, the were a lot of characters and subplots that just didn't need to happen in this film. The score for this film was thankfully not as bad as the 'all American' score of the first Independence Day, but it traded one bad quality for another; this time round the score was boring and rather generic.

Maika Monroe, who played Patricia Whitmore, didn't have a lot of presence in this film; she didn't have a lot of chemistry with Hemsworth so you didn't care a lot about their relationship. Sela Ward, who played President Lanford, was a very stereotypical 'take no prisoners' all American president; you didn't feel that she was a character so much as she was a tired and played out trope. Patrick St. Esprit, who played Secretary of Defense Tanner, was as forgettable in this film as he was in the last film; it felt fitting that he was killed quickly with the President in this film because he too played a rather boring government figure. Vivica A. Fox, who played Jasmine Hiller, was a great performance in the first film but was treated terribly in this one; her death for the sake of Usher's man pain performance didn't really feel justified. Angelababy, who played Rain Lao, had all the possibility of being quite a cool character but wasn't given the screen time to own the role; sadly she was boxed into a rather minor romance subplot. Charlotte Gainsbourg, who played Catherine Marceaux, had a role as a psychological expert in this film which was a character that maybe didn't need to be there; I was annoyed that her and Goldblum's roles seemed to have so much history yet the two of them had absolutely zero chemistry. Nicholas Wright, who played Floyd Rosenberg, had no purpose for being in this film; he was a weak attempt at mindless comedic relief. Travis Tope, who played Charlie Miller, was a really awkward and unappealing character; he wasn't funny nor did he have much chemistry with Hemsworth or Angelababy. Robert Loggia, who played General Grey, was an appearance that wasn't really warranted in this film; this is a prime example of the film trying to establish too many links to the original. Joey King, Garrett Wareing, Hays Wellford and McKenna Grace, who played Sam, Bobby, Felix and Daisy respectively, were responsible for a subplot that really let down Hirsch's great performance; these kids were introduced far too late into the film to really matter and as an audience you didn't want to become invested in too many more characters. Jenna Purdy, who voiced the Sphere, has to have one of the most generic alien robot voices I've ever heard; seriously this character was just too much of a sci-fi stereotype to take seriously.