Subject: REVIEW: INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)

From: [email-masked] (Edwin Jahiel)
Date: 13 Jul 1996 13:55:32 GMT

INDEPENDENCE DAY
                       A film review by Edwin Jahiel
                        Copyright 1996 Edwin Jahiel

INDEPENDENCE DAY ** 1/2  Directed by Roland Emmerich. Written by Dean 
Devlin & Emmerich. Photograhy, Karl Walter Lindenlaub. Editing, David 
Brenner. Production design,  Oliver Scholl, Patrick Tatopoulos. Music, 
David Arnold. Cast: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary 
McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, 
James Rebhorn, Vivica A. Fox, et al. A TCF release. 145 minutes. Rated 
PG-13. 

With the absence of the Soviet Evil Empire, Hollywood is searching for 
arch-enemies. An old one has resurfaced in "Independence Day" : the 
Nasties from Outer Space.

The action take place on a very near future's July 2,3 and 4, when 
Earth is attacked by alien machines. The enemy follows the principle 
of those nested Russian dolls, only limited to three. A mothership 
one-fourth the size of the moon contains mega-saucers (about 15 miles 
wide) that contain critters. The mothership (it looks sometimes like a 
megamongous manhole cover), travels to Earth, releases its ominous 
saucers that position themselves over major Earth cities, casting 
giant shadows. They shoot rays that destroy totally New York, Los 
Angeles and Washington. You wonder why they use the ray-by-ray method 
instead of a single H-Bomb equivalent. But then this is a kid-flick of 
the "You who enter here abandon all logic" persuasion.

It is also, among a host of deja vu things, a return to the 50s and 
60s Cold War fears that sometimes appeared in the guise of space 
invaders; a monster/horror movie; 70s and 80s space movies; and a 
countdown flick.  

There are lots of American heroes around. Highest ranking is President 
Bill Pullman, a former fighter-plane hero of the Gulf war, but with 
most of the prowess done by fighter top gun Captain Will Smith. (He 
has a charming girlfriend, stripper Vivica Fox. She has a kid and a 
great dog).  The brains are supplied by Jeff Goldblum, a 
computer/communications nerd/genius, whose ex-wife Margaret Colin just 
happens to be the President's Chief of Staff. (Needless to say the 
couple are still in love). 

Many people and vehicles populate IP, which is a no-brains, special 
effects film, and a fun movie. But  at some point after the 
destruction of the cities (impressive), the film gets increasingly 
comic-bookish and begins to bore --in my case around minute 80. After 
this one gets  a surfeit of effects at the expense of plot and 
characters. Some of the effects in the final battle are downright 
cheap and cheesy composites, like video games.

Matters slide down after the Freak Show of an alien critter saved in a 
secret laboratory years ago, with its craft, after it crash-landed in 
New Mexico. The alien is straight out of "Alien" movies -- a  
disgusting, slimy, gooey, oozy affair with tentacles. My interest kept 
waning,  except for worrying about Ms. Fox's lovely big dog. It 
survived unharmed. 
 
ID is as synthetic as they get. The final solution against the aliens 
is a twist of the 1953 "War of the Worlds" where Martians were 
destroyed by germs. Here the germs are updated to computer germs or 
viruses.  While I'm at it, let me tell you that I'm writing this on a 
computer on which I have lavished days of work to get out of a glitch, 
while Goldblum's laptop does wonders in seconds even after the 
destruction of the cities.  

The characters are by and large  cardboard creations in whom cliches 
extend to everything: actions, reactions, facial expressions, gestures 
--and dialogue with lines like:"All we can do now is pray" or "What 
your father did was very brave. You should be proud of him." 

The father in question is another cliche. Vietnam veteran Randy Quaid, 
who claimed to have been abducted, abused and release by aliens is a 
subject of mockery and an alcoholic crop-duster pilot. But can't we 
guess right away that at the end he'll be sober, and a hero? Can't we 
also guess that the President will join the other brave pilots to 
attack the outer-spacers? OK, but I draw the line at the crash session 
where civilians (older former pilots) get instructed in flying the 
latest US planes --and Captain Smith figures out how to operate the 
old alien craft!

ID tries to a be Politically Correct, but I am not sure that stressing 
the Jewishness of Goldblum's father (Judd Hirsch) in caricatural 
fashion, or, similarly, the gayness of a Government scientist 
(gravel-voiced Harvey Fierstein), were thought through by the film's 
German writer-director. There are no Asian-Americans, by the way.