Independence Day (ID4) (A)

STARS...
Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Will Smith, Randy Quaid, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch; with Margaret Colin, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, and Harvey Fierstein.

PLOT SUMMARY...
Huge alien ships visit Earth, their goal world domination.

QUICK SCAN...
This film could be compared to "Star Wars." Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith give particularly entertaining performances. A highlight of the film is the American assault on a giant Alien mothership. The film's FX are state of the art and mostly wonderful.

DIRECTOR: Roland Emmerich
YEAR & RATING: 1996 (PG-13)

BEST BETS:

Stargate
Star Wars
Aliens
War of the Worlds

SYNOPSIS...
On July 2, huge alien spacecrafts appear over cities all around the world. Some people believe the visit is friendly.

On July 3, the alien's destroy numerous buildings, including the White House. The president escapes.

On July 4th, the American president leads a counterattack against the alien ships. Successful, other countries fight back against the aliens, leading to a global victory of humans over the invading aliens.

Review:

Director Roland Emmerich's, INDEPENDENCE DAY, is a big, sprawling, FX laden, yet surprisingly character friendly Sci-Fi crowd pleaser.

"Independence Day" has many elements in common with "Stargate" which also was directed by Emmerich and scripted by Dean Semler. They both feature aliens and cool giant spaceships. The big difference is a matter of scope, both in the scripts and the budgets to film them.

Much of the action settles on a handful of key characters: the U.S. president, (Bill Pullman); a cocky Air Force pilot, (Will Smith); an offbeat scientist, (Jeff Goldblum); the scientist's wise and colorful father (Judd Hirsch); the president's wife, (Mary McDonnell); a boozy, former Vietnam pilot, (Randy Quaid).

Many people have called "Independence Day" the "Star Wars" for the 90s. While it probably has more in common with "War of the Worlds," (1953), the film's energy, FX, and excitement DO bring to mind the excitement I first felt seeing "Star Wars," at Mann's Chinese Theater, in 1977. And yes, certain key elements of the American-led attack on a giant alien vessel, near the film's end, COULD be compared to the rebel alliance's triumphant assault on the Death Star, at the end of "Star Wars." This is also my favorite scene in the film.

The film's much trumpeted FX, by Volker Engel and Douglas Smith, are mostly wonderful, particularly those featuring giant alien space ships and stuff blowing up, including our beloved White House. This sequence is especially well lensed by Cinematographer, Karl Walter Lindenlaub, adding a "this is really happening" quality to the proceedings. On a picky note, several of the film's matte paintings are hokey, particularly one with a crudely painted Capital dome in the background.

As would be expected, "Independence Day" features a bold, dynamic Musical Score, in the John Williams "Star Wars" vein - David Arnold gets the credit.

Emmerich and Semler are the creators of the Fox Sci-Fi series, "The Visitor." Their mega-epic version of "Godzilla" is due out in the near future.

INDEPENDENCE DAY should be highly watchable for most Sci-Fi viewers. Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith fans will particularly enjoy this film. INDEPENDENCE DAY is definitely cause for celebration.

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