Subject: REVIEW: INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)

From: [email-masked] (Christopher Null)
Date: 1 Jul 1996 18:03:30 GMT

INDEPENDENCE DAY
                      A film review by Christopher Null
                       Copyright 1996 Christopher Null

     INDEPENDENCE DAY marks the glorious realization of what, for me, has
been a nearly 25 year wait.  Countless prayers have gone unanswered, but on
this day, I have finally witnessed on screen what I have only dreamt of all
my life, for this film features the complete and total destruction of the
city of Houston through the use of nuclear weapons, *by the U.S.
government's own hand!*

     But watching my home town be blown away is only one of the charms of
ID4 (the film's hip moniker).  First there's the WAR OF THE WORLDS meets
STAR WARS meets THE RIGHT STUFF story, about a superior, marauding alien
force threatening to annihilate the human race (and almost succeeding).
And an all-star cast of freedom fighters (more on them later).  Director
Roland Emmerich, who redeems himself for the idiocy of STARGATE, and who
isn't afraid to kill off the good guys.  Some dazzling visuals.  Loud sound
effects.  *Plus* every "Star Trek" and "X-Files" fan in town in the
audience.  What more do you want?

     Character-wise, we are peppered with a litany of names and faces, all
of whom are surprisingly easy to keep straight, thanks to Emmerich's
jumping around in the setting.  Will Smith does his BAD BOYS "2001"
character.  Bill Pullman recalls Michael Douglas's AMERICAN PRESIDENT.
Jeff Goldblum:  see JURASSIC PARK.  Randy Quaid, Harvey Fierstein, Robert
Loggia... we pretty much know what to expect from these folks.  And while
they may seem a bit hackneyed at times, especially with their clich=E9-ridde=
n
dialogue, there's enough life left over to make everyone interesting.  (But
why does everyone seem to have a romance sub-plot going on?)

     And yes, maybe the plot/theme about how a few Americans banding
together can stop a vastly superior invading force, end racial discord, and
ensure world peace and harmony is a bit much, but *so what?*  If you can
suspend disbelief enough to accept an alien ship 1/4 the size of the moon
is attacking earth, you can accept the Give Peace a Chance bit.  Think:
the director is a German!

     Okay... some of the effects are a bit cheesy, too, which doesn't mix
well with the really good ones.  (The residue of people laughing *at* (not
with) the final scene on July 2 really hurts the power of the opening scene
on July 3 -- New York City in ruins, the Statue of Liberty laying
half-submerged on its side.)  Just let these crummy effects go.  Understand
that much better ones are on the way.

     Nitpicking?  Who, me?  Yes, but this time I had a lot of fun on the
ride.  The whole film is tasty, even the unintentional cheese.  Be warned,
the movie is 2 hours & 20 minutes long, so pack a picnic basket.  But I
promise it'll be an excellent trip.

     And remember:  in space, no one can hear a frying Houstonian scream.

RATING:  ****

|------------------------------|
 \ ***** Perfection             \
  \ **** Good, memorable film    \
   \ *** Average, hits and misses \
    \ ** Sub-par on many levels    \
     \ * Unquestionably awful       \
      |------------------------------|

-Christopher Null  /  [email-masked]  /  Writer-Producer
-Visit the Movie Emporium at http://www.filmcritic.com/
-and Null Set Productions at http://www.filmcritic.com/nullset.htm