Independence Day (1996) - ★★½

I remember the first time I ever saw Independence Day. It was exciting, scary, and on par with Men In Black for my all time favourite Alien movie. Watching it recently as a young adult, I found that it was overly cliché and lame, to put it mildly. There were so many "MY GOD" moments from the characters that my sister and I ended up counting them. 

There was a good ensemble cast with many different stories that meet in the end. These stories consisted of Will Smith as a fighter pilot going "Woohoo" and many other unfitting catchphrases whilst fighting for his life and his planet. His stripper and single mother girlfriend, who ridiculously escaped a city consuming explosion from the Alien invaders by running into a room. She then went on to steal a truck and find survivors. Jeff Goldblum played an intelligent scientist of some sorts that is able to find out that the Aliens are counting down to attack the world. His ex-wife is conveniently the secretary of state, so he can warn the president. Then there is the young, modern and honorable president, who does all he can to save the world. I understand that the director Roland Emmerich intended this film for a mainstream audience, but it went way over the top with patriotism. I felt like I was watching a film where America saves the world from destruction (some-what like WWII). 

Quite frankly, the film felt too long. It became boring after the world got attacked. There was no character development, resulting in no emotional attachment to any of the characters. Independence Day was actually a terrible film in many ways. What saved the film from being utter crap was the masterful special effects. Even now the special effects are incredible and create a sense of tension and excitement. The first hour of the film was satisfying as a result of the SFX,  regardless of the silly dialogue. 

Independence Day is surely a film I will never forget, which makes it great in a way, but for now the film that I adored as a young boy will forever sit on my shelf as a film to watch if I feel like mindless action.