REVIEW: ‘INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE’

When the first film arrived in the cinemas two decades ago, it was a success: you’ve got an alien invasion in a larger scale with destructive geography and Will Smith at his prime, these things have made director Ronald Emmerich a household name.  With today’s advancement of visual effects and its technology, many films and filmmakers used this opportunity to create stunning visuals beyond imagination and it should be interesting what would be the director’s spin.

Twenty years has passed since the alien invasion, and Earth’s space military technology has advanced almost in par with the aliens’, and after a distress call, the world will be facing another threat, possibly a second coming which will unite the people once more.

In terms of the narrative, it was surprising how the structure was evenly put together, the first act establishing the strange signs coordinated through sounds running around people’s minds, the gravity changes around the geographical landscapes followed by an all-out invasion which was a suspenseful and yet exciting to watch, but then when the third act went dragging as the final fight against the Queen focused on non-stop action without any tension and emotion. Moreso, drama was forced and rushed, but still the first two acts were great and outweighed the muddled final part. However, the CGI and futuristic scenery were the two things that added the whole viewing experience.

The film suffers from the young cast: Their acting felt underwhelming and the chemistry among them wasn’t convincing enough; Liam Hemsworth for example, has a good American accent, but his delivery felt flat and monotonous most of the time and it proves that he’s better off a supporting role than a lead.

Cast alums like Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Brent Spiner and Judd Hirsch filled what the younger cast members couldn’t, they still were the characters that we loved. Jeff Goldblum was able to bring a combination of wit and humanity to David Levinson, his scenes with Charlotte Gainsbourg was believable because they interact like colleagues you can see that there’s a mutual respect which makes their chemistry works.

Also, I’d like to give a shout out to Sela Ward on playing President Lanford, what makes her character striking is that she doesn’t let gender define it but rather Ward plays the character with precise sense of knowing that she’s the most powerful leader in the free world and that what makes her commanding in every scene that she’s in.

While Independence Day: Resurgence pretty much tells the same story, the nostalgia is still there setting aside the theme but seeing these characters unite together and confronting the worst was a moving yet powerful viewing experience.

Independence Day: Resurgence is now showing on 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D in cinemas. Thanks to 20^th Century Fox and Wave 89.1 for the invite!