Independence Day Resurgence

“The reason ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ was not screened for critics is because…

…it SUCKS! Ordinarily this column does not use such low brow terms such as “sucks” to get a point across, but in this instance, there is no other way to say it. It was certainly suspicious when 20th Century Fox decided not to screen the movie for critics. That is usually a sign the studio believes they have a real turkey on their hands and they want to suppress the bad word-of-mouth as long as possible. So this critic shelled out $16 to see a Thursday night showing in IMAX 3D and this is one early bad review the studio can’t silence. Like when the aliens invade Earth, people must be warned!

The original “Independence Day” came out in 1996. “Independence Day: Resurgence” also takes place 20 years later. Their history is much different than ours. While the planet recovered from the alien attack, peace took over as the everyone used the alien technology to help build a better defense system if they ever came back. We now have a whole defense team on the moon and surrounding our planet. Plus, instead of fighter jets we now of spaceships of our own that can fire lasers. The alien invaders are back and this time they are bringing out their big guns and their even bigger ship. Can we survive again?

 

There is a small action sequence that happens early on in “Independence Day: Resurgence” and you know the movie is in trouble because the scene fails to bring any excitement. After that, there is a whole lot of set up going on. We are introduced to new characters and re-introduced to old ones. We learn how far our planet has come over the last two decades and we know the aliens will soon be here again. None of these scenes grabs the audience in the least. When characters start dying, you don’t care. The script even decided to borrow one element from “Aliens,” but obviously James Cameron pulled that aspect off much better.

Once the aliens arrive you might think we’d be in for some kick ass action sequences. After all, we have technology to match theirs, so it’s laser canons vs. laser canons. WRONG! The dogfights in the first movie, even the early sequences where the aliens had their shields intact, were all better than any scenes that happens in “Independence Day: Resurgence.” It almost feels like director Roland Emmerich wasn’t even trying. He never even manages to build any tension, something he was successful at with the original.

People are going to see “Independence Day: Resurgence” no matter what a critic has to say about it. One decision those people will have to make is whether they should see it in 3D or IMAX 3D. This is one of the few positives about the movie as the 3D effects are good and you do get more out of the movie seeing on a large IMAX screen. The only other real positive about the movie is the return of Brent Spiner as Dr. Okun. He’s great in the movie and the only reason why you might ever smile while watching during your two hours in the movie theater.

At one point during “Independence Day: Resurgence” one character says to another, “I’m so sorry.” Consider that an apology from the filmmakers to you. It’s quite obvious the studio knew they had a real piece of crap on their hands which is why there was not only no early screenings, the cast members are not even making the late night talk show rounds. It is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and destruction, and for some language.

ZERO SWORDS