Independence Day 2? - Part 1

[Greens]

People are gonna hate me for saying this.... I think the same appeal the Hemsworth brothers have is the same appeal Swayze used to have back in the day. Girls like him for obvious reasons, guys just find it cool when another dude can kick butt because they want to be able to kick butt too. In other words girls want to do him, guys want to be like him in some ways. These kinds of actors have been around for a long time.

This applies more so to Liam than Chris, though. Liam's got more of a babyface.

 

[Mysteryman]

According to Deadline, Resurgence made about $4 million last night.
Right now, Finding Dory is expected to hold onto the top spot.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I don't think that guys like Liam Hemsworth.

That 4 million number is not good. I seriously doubt that the film will blow up on Friday.

 

[Kyle]

I only really know him as the Hunger Games guy.

 

[Symbiotic]

I really enjoyed the flick and would readily watch a third and beyond. Hope Fox goes through.

 

[LostSon88]

I don't think that guys like Liam Hemsworth.

That 4 million number is not good. I seriously doubt that the film will blow up on Friday.

I'm not a fan because he brings absolutely nothing to the table. No charisma whatsoever as a lead character...or any character for that matter.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I'm not a fan because he brings absolutely nothing to the table. No charisma whatsoever as a lead character...or any character for that matter.

He definitely isn't a lead. Lol

 

[Schlosser85]

I like Chris Hemsworth.

Liam has zero charisma. He's like a model onscreen reciting lines off a cue card. There's nothing there but a pretty face.

 

[terry78]

People are gonna hate me for saying this.... I think the same appeal the Hemsworth brothers have is the same appeal Swayze used to have back in the day. Girls like him for obvious reasons, guys just find it cool when another dude can kick butt because they want to be able to kick butt too. In other words girls want to do him, guys want to be like him in some ways. These kinds of actors have been around for a long time.

And they're Aussies. Similar sensibilties to our own but just foreign enough to be different, lol.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I like Chris Hemsworth.

Liam has zero charisma. He's like a model onscreen reciting lines off a cue card. There's nothing there but a pretty face.

Right. I like Chris Hemsworth as well. Good screen presence and he's a solid actor that brings the charm.

Liam is mostly a pretty face. I've watched enough movies he's been in to know that there is no there there.

 

[Kyle]

I loved this, 8.5/10 with the original being 10/10. I should also note that that's with building up hype. Reading the prequel comic to the first, seeing the original in 3D, reading the prequel comic to this then seeing it. It was JP2 which I had hoped and loved that film. Might rise to a more steady 9, like Jurassic World did second time through. I rate like Ebert, each film on it's own and whether it delivers on it's promise for what the movie is. And as a successor to the original this film paid off in spades! More later.

Hated that the ending was abrupt, but the twist is a lot cooler than I thought and I had high hopes on that as well. The third will be epic!!!!!! If we, hopefully, get it.

 

[terry78]

I got Imax 3D tickets for tonight, will it be worth it?

 

[Kyle]

I got Imax 3D tickets for tonight, will it be worth it?

I'm going to see it again in Imax. The 4D tickets were beyond worth it. If you loved the first, you'll love this.

Unsure what people mean by slow and too much talking. The pace felt just right to me. Yet again I'm an X-Files kid and absolutely love aliens and everything.

 

[Quasimod0]

The Schmoes gave it 0.5/5 and 1/5. Ouch.

 

[DorneyDave]

I thought it was pretty good. Great effects. Great spectacle. Ridiculously ridiculous in the right ways.

The young actors though. Good lord. They almost sink the movie on their own. Every single one of the young actors in this movie were awful. Thank goodness for the old cast. They keep the loose story afloat.

The Queen was pretty jaw dropping. Modern CGI takes alot to amaze anymore but that sure did.

Either way. I give it an 8/10.

 

[DorneyDave]

I got Imax 3D tickets for tonight, will it be worth it?

Oh heck yeah. The spectacle in this movie is top notch. Even for modern CGI it's pretty great.

 

[Octoberist]

I thought it was pretty good. Great effects. Great spectacle. Ridiculously ridiculous in the right ways.

The young actors though. Good lord. They almost sink the movie on their own. Every single one of the young actors in this movie were awful. Thank goodness for the old cast. They keep the loose story afloat.

The Queen was pretty jaw dropping. Modern CGI takes alot to amaze anymore but that sure did.

Either way. I give it an 8/10.

They should've just combined characters, merge Thor's bro into Will Smith's son. But I guess Hollywood doesn't want the white girl to get with the black dude? Liam Hemsworth is not a draw, if someone wants to bring that up.

Heck, at the end of the movie, he doesn't get with anyone. Even the comedic relief kids sorta gets with Babyhead or whatever her name is. Will Smith's Son just stands there...alone. I guess he's married to Earth?

 

[TheVileOne]

Will Smith not doing this movie is one of the best career decisions he's made in the last 10 years.

I maintain that Independence Day is a classic. This movie was awful. It looks like it was hacked to pieces in the editing room as well.

 

[terry78]

They should've just combined characters, merge Thor's bro into Will Smith's son. But I guess Hollywood doesn't want the white girl to get with the black dude? Liam Hemsworth is not a draw, if someone wants to bring that up.

Heck, at the end of the movie, he doesn't get with anyone. Even the comedic relief kids sorta gets with Babyhead or whatever her name is. Will Smith's Son just stands there...alone. I guess he's married to Earth?

He could've at least gotten the Chinese pilot's digits.

 

[Mysteryman]

Will Smith not doing this movie is one of the best career decisions he's made in the last 10 years.

I maintain that Independence Day is a classic. This movie was awful. It looks like it was hacked to pieces in the editing room as well.

Between this and BVS, it seems to be a horrible summer movie season for editors.

 

[Jay Beezy]

Between this and BVS, it seems to be a horrible summer movie season for editors.

BvS wasn't summer.

Nevertheless, I agree. Will Ghostbusters be the next casualty?

 

[Kyle]

As stated, a very long, almost stream-of-consciousness review. Spoiler tags because, there's a lot of spoilers inside that gives away the ending and a heck of a lot more.

Spoiler

THE OLD - we open traveling through space to Whitmore's classic speech, the whole wave of nostalgia right there from minute one.

The returning cast return and, like always, are perfect in their roles. Goldblum takes the lead, similarly to how he did in Jurassic Park II, although it is still more of an ensemble film. His father has an interesting journey of his own that can best be described as the rescue caravan led by Patricia merging with the teens and their RV from the first film. Plus, in the time since he's become an author writing a book about how he helped to save the world which is amusing (plus that a kid thought the whole alien upload a virus thing David pulled off is part of a conspiracy according to his father lol, I loved that - it's a stretch to believe and I really dig how that's gone down in history in the film's world, makes sense).

Pullman takes Whitmore in a new and interesting direction as a war President who has fallen from grace due to trauma from the war of '96, he gives an inspiring speech that hits home - it's not the speech from the original but it still hits it's mark. In the end, he plays a very similar role to Russel Case (Randy Quaid) in the first one - right down to dying for his family by facing the alien head on.

Brackish has been dormant for 20 years, he's still his goofy as always self, his role has definitely been increased which was awesome to see as a fan of his character. It was disappointing to see that the character Jasmine was barely in it, making me wonder if there's a deleted scene somewhere showing her interaction with her son.

THE NEW - I honestly didn't miss Will Smith, yet again he wasn't in my top four favorite characters from the original either (so, that might be why). The young team works as a whole, I'd say the stand-out here is Travis Trope who plays Hemsworth's alien-fighting partner in saving the world. Trope comes off as the every man - he wants to do good, he's not that great at his job, he's earnest, and he's not that smooth but when put to the test shows he has what it takes to stand with the rest. Hemsworth fulfilled his role, but I'd say Trope over shadowed him, personally. I also loved the character progression of Patricia Whitmore and I loved the interaction she had with Dylan Hiller, it reminded me of the interaction they had in the first film. They weren't romantically intwined, rather old friends (which makes sense since they knew each other since they were 5-7 years old in the first one). Dylan as a character came off as under-utilized and makes me question if there's deleted scenes on the cutting room floor, his character was interesting but I would have liked to see more of him.

I loved the character of Adams, it might be because I read the prequel comic so I went in with a lot of background on him already. But, he came off as fully rounded and it was a great arc to see that character undergo. From being involved in the war of 96' in stopping an alien craft from drilling to his experiences re-living a very similar thing here to becoming the next president. He isn't Whitmore and he can't deliver a speech like Whitmore although he tries - he's still a great character unto himself. I'm also curious as to see if there's any deleted scenes with him as well.

My favorite new addition is warlord Dikembe Umbutu! I can see him being the favorite new addition to many people. He's an African warlord who lost his brother in the war of '96 and ever since then has hunted the aliens on his turf, carrying two swords and kicking major alien butt! He's the kind of character I would have ran out to buy an action figure of as a kid, he's that cool.

THE SCORE - Largely forgettable, however they do still use the classic theme as it's basis - so if you're a fan of the film, those call outs are there and definitely worth the listen.

THE EFFECTS - I was on edge about the effects, 2012 didn't do that great of a job in this area so I was rightfully worried - however, on the screen they pulled through delivering some very breathtaking sequences.

Rather than sheer destruction, this time around it's playing with gravity. It's an interesting visual, but it doesn't quite match the first. The part that stands out the most in this to be is Patricia's death as well as the potential death of Julius Levinson.

However, where it lacked there --

The dogfights in this film are an absolute blast. The one thing I always wanted to see since the first film was an exploration of that mother ship and they did it all in there - dog fights, on ground fighting and survival. As someone who has wanted to see a lot more action in there since I was 8 - it more than lived up.

The queen was very cool, very big, and very ugly looking. When it first appears on screen, you have no idea what you're looking at. Then it suits up into the form we've all seen in the trailers. It was like the Supreme Commander toy times two. Although I was a little disappointed it wasn't more like that toy, that's more out of not knowing what I was going to see than anything else. It's not as powerful an ending as the first film, but it's a cool ending.

To put it basically: (1) the destruction was really cool, but didn't quite rival the first; (2) the dog fights were the best, (3) in mothership action!!!!! If you're like me and have been waiting for that for a long time, it meets those dreams and more! (4) the Queen is a beast.

THE TWIST - More aliens!!!! They bring this up right from the start and I absolutely love where they're going with this. The invading aliens have been destroying planets for a long time - the survivors from those attacks have joined together to form their own planet planning to launch a counter-attack on the invaders! I liked the whole human stupidity of attacking an ally, albeit they didn't know - should have listened to Levinson and Whitmore, could have caused a heck of a lot more trouble if robo-alien wasn't forgiving.

The whole notion of an alien species uploading their souls into machines is very intriguing to me and a very original approach as well. This being was so basic in design, but comes off feeling like a really interesting and more than cool character by the end.

The hook for the next film? This robo-alien wants the humans to lead their charge of survivors against the invaders. This means all of the new crew plus the Levinson family and Okun (who's buddy-buddy with the robo-alien by the end). This idea is awesome in that Emmerich has proven he's more than capable of designing cool new alien beings - the Independence Day aliens, the robo-aliens, I can't wait to see what designs he comes up with next for this group of "invader survivors."

I'm thrilled about the next film, hopeful that it will see the light of day because it feels like something that will be awesome to watch and to experience. A lot of aliens joining the Levinsons, Okun, and the new crew of characters for an all-out galactic space war? Sounds more than amazing to me.

PACING - I didn't think it was slow or dragged at all. The pacing was fast for me and I was always on the edge of my seat. Might help that I'm an X-Files kid who reads alien books and watches alien documentaries for fun, but I didn't think it was slow at all - as said, on the edge of my seat.

IMPRESSION - I can't wait to strap in to see it on the big screen again. 8.5/10 or likely 9/10 (with the original being 10/10, I can see this making the same jump as 'Jurassic World' since I had the same feelings and reactions watching that the first time through). It didn't match the original, but I wasn't expecting it to. It matched 'Jurassic World' and 'Jurassic Park: The Lost World' levels to me in bringing on wave after wave of nostalgic excitement. Does it stand head to head with World? No. But yet again JP and ID4 don't stand head to head either, for their respectives in living up I'd say it's equal if not very close. (I place World alongside Lost World).

OVERALL - Your reaction, I think, is going to largely depend on how you rank the first and how much the first means to you. If you loved the first like I did - you're going to love this one. If you thought the first was just okay - you're going to think that this one is just okay. If you hated the first - you're going to hate this one. This film seems to be one that was made for those who loved the first and seeking to gain attention from those who might discover it anew.

 

[Octoberist]

Will Smith not doing this movie is one of the best career decisions he's made in the last 10 years.

I maintain that Independence Day is a classic. This movie was awful. It looks like it was hacked to pieces in the editing room as well.

The editing was bad. Characters appear and disappear constantly. Liam in one scene pulled a Batman, appearing from out of no where.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

They should've just combined characters, merge Thor's bro into Will Smith's son. But I guess Hollywood doesn't want the white girl to get with the black dude? Liam Hemsworth is not a draw, if someone wants to bring that up.

Heck, at the end of the movie, he doesn't get with anyone. Even the comedic relief kids sorta gets with Babyhead or whatever her name is. Will Smith's Son just stands there...alone. I guess he's married to Earth?

No. He's married to Earf.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Will Smith never said Earf in Independence Day. Do people think that black people don't know how to say earth?