Independence Day 2: Independence Dayer (Roland Emmerich 2016)

[movielocke]

Independence Day resurgence is pretty terrible, but in a completely good natured corny manner. The film is not very good so it is a bit of a relief that it never takes itself seriously, but as a consequence there are never any emotional stakes to saving the world. You just don't care at all.

[cdnchris]

I'm sure I don't need to say this but don't go see Independence Day, even if its out a fit of nostalgia or curiosity. Just don't do it. I have never seen a duller, empty, "spectacle" in my life, far worse than the first one. There is never once a feeling of tension, the battles all end fairly anti-climatic, and there is nothing invested in anything. Short of maybe the second Transformers movie I've never felt so detached from a film. Yeah, it's loaded with clichés but whatever, that's the least of its concerns (when it's tired of being an alien invasion movie it switches gears and turns into a giant-monster-destroying-shit movie just because). It's just not fun, it's just not interesting, and it's all so incredibly boring. I can take clichés if the film is at least fun or can at least genuinely build tension. But it's not fun, it's tedious and there is never once a feeling of anything being on the line, even though the whole plot involves the aliens trying to kill all life on the planet.

There a couple of cool effects shots that I really think were well done: I liked a sequence where the big mother ship enters the earth's atmosphere and I also liked a few shots of the earth with this big space ship latched onto it, which were all rather creative and feel like the only things anybody put actual skill or thought into. But the film is otherwise one of the emptiest, dullest experiences I've ever had. God bless Goldblum, Pullman, and Gainsbourg (WTF was she doing in this!?) as they really tried. I mean, they genuinely tried to make their sequences interesting. But when it's obvious the people behind the camera or in the editing room don't care there isn't much you're going to be able to do. The first one, when it came out, was the very definition of a "spectacle" film, and on that level I guess it worked. But since then (20 goddamn years later!) it's all been done so there is nothing new here. If it at least had an involving story or involving characters maybe there would have been something worthwhile.

Interestingly the reason I ended up seeing this is because someone dropped out so there was a ticket and I got roped in. The person that dropped out: my daughter (it was an early bird show so there was no distinction in the type of ticket). She went and saw another movie with my wife this weekend and the plan was they were also going to see this one. Interestingly she decided she didn't want to see it after seeing the first one the other day. I asked her why. Her response was it would probably just be the same and she didn't feel like seeing it. Based on the opening weekend a lot of other people felt the same way. The sequel nobody asked for 20 years later.

PS: The other movie my wife and daughter saw was The Shallows. She loved it, couldn't stop talking about it, so I guess she will add to the praise for it.

[lacritfan]

...Gainsbourg (WTF was she doing in this!?)...

Was it like Juliette Binoche in Godzilla?

[cdnchris]

In terms of financing or screen time? Maybe Gainsbourg was part of the deal in getting money (I don't know) but at least she still had an actual part in this film.

[lacritfan]

In terms of financing or screen time? Maybe Gainsbourg was part of the deal in getting money (I don't know) but at least she still had an actual part in this film.

SpoilerShow

I was wondering if she showed up for five minutes then died.

[colinr0380]

SpoilerShow

I think we should take into account the way that Charlotte Gainsbourg has previous form in surviving almost to the end of films involving the Earth being menaced by threat from outer space! So ten to fifteen minutes tops.

[cdnchris]

In terms of financing or screen time? Maybe Gainsbourg was part of the deal in getting money (I don't know) but at least she still had an actual part in this film.

SpoilerShow

I was wondering if she showed up for five minutes then died.

SpoilerShow

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, she lives but probably has 15 minutes of screen time.

[domino harvey]

Given her last couple movies with Von Trier, she's apparently a glutton for punishment, so what better project?

[domino harvey]

I know it's unfair to judge a movie unseen so it may be amazing but since I was never going to see this anyways I just read the Wikipedia summary for Independence Day: Resurgence and this is an elaborate joke, right? This isn't really a movie that got made, right?

[cdnchris]

Indeed it did

[lacritfan]

Five writers... Too bad Randy Quaid's character died in the first one. He could've basically played himself ranting and raving on "star whackers" and incorporated that into the screenplay and it would've been better.

Hey, did Jeff Goldblum upgrade from the Powerbook to MacBook Pro?

[movielocke]

I know it's unfair to judge a movie unseen so it may be amazing but since I was never going to see this anyways I just read the Wikipedia summary for Independence Day: Resurgence and this is an elaborate joke, right? This isn't really a movie that got made, right?

It is spectacular in its stupidity, and it is hard to believe it as it happens. I didn't like it except for in that weird "bad movie" mst3k way. Extremely mock able. Especially the queen ending. So, so bad. Also, symbolic feminism! Queen alien! Female president! Female fighter pilot! Versus, fight! Mortal kombat!

God it is so bad.

[colinr0380]

As long as Gainsbourg gets a chance to punch out an alien with a cigar clamped between her teeth Will Smith-style, I'll be satisfied!

[tenia]

I know it's unfair to judge a movie unseen so it may be amazing but since I was never going to see this anyways I just read the Wikipedia summary for Independence Day: Resurgence and this is an elaborate joke, right? This isn't really a movie that got made, right?

Following your post, I went and had a look at the story. It seems an absolute laugh, everything seemingly plagued by an awful case of writing laziness and stupidity, halfway between Mortal Kombat 2 and The Core.

They way Wikipedia sets it up also probably doesn't help.
"Upon the space tug's arrival at Area 51, Dr. Brakish Okun awakens twenty years after his coma. He opens the container and releases a giant white sphere of artificial intelligence; its mission is evacuating survivors from worlds targeted by harvesters, and building a resistance force, one already greatly feared by aliens."

Because that's what people do, just after they wake up of 20 years in coma.

And I love the random Chinese actor thrown in there, most likely to secure a better entry point on the Chinese market. Does Hollywood know it's obviously superficial as hell ?

[domino harvey]

The Wikipedia writeup also leaves out interesting character development like how Vivica A Fox has advanced from being a stripper to the head of a hospital since the last film!

[tenia]

To be fair, the Wiki page does say that she "returned to school to study nursing and is now working as a hospital administrator."
I guess everything's possible in the great 'Murica ! From stripper to head of a hospital !

[domino harvey]

Better career path than her coworker from the first film: stripper to vapor

[jbeall]

I dunno... I mean, if being vaporized means you're excused from appearing in the sequel...

[bearcuborg]

Eh, even better than reading the wiki pages is waiting for the Honest Trailer. That's what I did with movies like The Martian, The Revenant, and Interstellar.

[flyonthewall2983]

The one for the last Terminator was really funny.