Independence Day was a big hit back in the 1990s. I don’t think I’ve actually watched it since the ’90s but I remember being pretty excited in the theater and to watch again at home on VHS.
The film is pretty dark, despite actually not feeling that way some of the time. At least their President of the United States seemed to be pretty level-headed. Could have only imagined Donald Trump trying to lead the country against an alien invasion. Honestly, he would tell us aliens weren’t real and (then while he’s still playing the lie) try to sell us out to the aliens.
This was also one of Will Smith’s earliest roles, which really helped define him as a movie star, instead of a Fresh Prince on television.
I always thought the guy sacrificing himself (though heroically) was pretty crazy. His actor Randy Quaid definitely went down the rabbit hole of insanity as the years went on…
The best part of the movie was definitely the alien technology. For which the humans really should have had no absolute defense against. I’m sure the movie is aged by now, which is probably the reason why I didn’t watch the sequel a decade ago.
IDK why, but I can’t stand Will Smith. Don’t think I liked this when it came out.
It’s not a favorite of mine either. But I was fairly impressed by it in the cinema at the time. Even if I was more attuned to the more serious side of sci-fi movies and especially when it came to alien invasions like The War Of The Worlds and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. I could still give Will Smith points for comedic lines like “Now that’s what I call a close encounter.”