Review: Independence Day Special Edition

Gung-ho alien invasion romp won't be going quietly into the night

Emmerich served up a fun and visually engaging take on the tried-and-tested alien invasion trope, writes Mark Cantrell

Independence Day Special Edition

Directed by Roland Emmerich, 1996

Starring Jeff Goldblum, Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Robert Loggia, Mary McDonnell

ALIEN invasion is such a well-worn theme in science fiction that it's difficult to develop a new twist on these human David versus alien Goliath stories. So, Independence Day compensates by going for the throat with its exuberant special effects and rapid pace.

Neither aspect disappoints. The effects are stunning, whether it is the alien ships entering the Earth's atmosphere, the devastation of the cities or the aerial combat scenes. The movie's pace is equally breathtaking as it takes the viewer to the film's rather gooey denouement with the message that we're all in it together.

The movie harks back to the Golden Age of the 1950s sci-fi B movie, but without the subtext of the evil 'communist' menace. This time, the aliens have an aim that is as outrageous as the colossal size of their ships; these are intergalactic ethnic cleansers cum ecological wreckers. Enough to raise the bile of a planet-load of eco-protestors.

Critics have spoken of the movie's shallow characterisations and somewhat stilted plot. Convenient contrivances abound; from the way Will Smith's fiancée just happens to discover the wreckage of the First Lady's helicopter (out of all of the ruins in all of the world, you just have to drop into mine) to the way Jeff Goldblum's laptop so conveniently interfaces with the alien mothership's computer. All true enough. More thought could have avoided such contrivances, perhaps by using the alien ship as a plot device in this latter respect.

As for the characters, they are indeed on the shallow level, but overall the actors make an excellent role of limited material. Jeff Goldblum makes good work of his role as a kooky techno-boffin, though it lacks the depth of his earlier and similar character portrayed in the Fly.

Bill Pullman plays the ex-pilot-cum-president, lost on the political battleground, he comes into his own once the aliens attack. Outrageously silly is the notion of the US president leading pilots into battle; a lament on the calibre of latterday presidential material if ever there was one.

Will Smith's role is probably the least developed, as the fighter pilot who accompanies Goldblum to the final showdown with the alien mothership. Like the rest, he does his best with the limited scope offered by the script.

The lack of depth to the characters doesn't lie with the actors or their abilities, but with the script. The fast pace and the emphasis on action leaves little room to develop the characters. We see them adapting to rapid circumstances, but see little of their lives beyond the crisis. A longer film would have allowed time to deal with greater character development, but this would have slowed the pace down considerably. It's a trade off, pace and thrills rather than depth, to provide entertainment and a quick-fix escapism rather than something that works at a more cerebral level.

Those who favour the latter may therefore find Independence Day to be less than satisfying. But this isn't really a fault with the film as it makes no pretence at being anything more than what it is - a piece of SF entertainment pure and simple.

As a tribute to the '50s movie, The War of the World's (based on the novel by H G Wells), Independence Day works well at updating the theme for the 90s. The film cannot compete with the earlier version's depth and classic status, but it captured the pre-millennial angst with its fears of catastrophe. At the same time, it manages to inject a more positive aspect that does set it apart from its predecessor.

In The War of the Worlds, there is a hopeless sense of man's inability to cope with outrageous odds and a seemingly all-powerful adversary. Man's might, represented by the nuclear bomb fails to halt the alien horde. As the terrified heroes huddle hopelessly and helplessly in church, with the city blown apart around their ears, it is bugs that save the day. Humanity plays no part in its own salvation. The inference is that the Hand of God saves the day.

Independence Day, on the other hand, plays on the notion that God helps those who help themselves, to reverse this. Sure the macho might of America's nuclear arsenal fails to stop the enemy, but instead of showing people helpless, it is human ingenuity and audacity in the face of adverse circumstance that finds the chink in the alien's armour. And the bugs themselves are similarly updated - from microbes to computer viruses. The computer hook up may be a contrivance, but at least it is uplifting in its depiction of humanity struggling on to the bitter end and coming up with a solution. No quitters here.

On the whole, Independence Day is an entertaining movie. Perhaps it will never be a classic, and it is certainly no work of movie art. But it would be unfair to expect the movie to be anymore than what it is - a thrilling piece of sci-fi hokum determined to entertain.

That is as valid an aim in movie making as anything expressed by the auteur school of direction. And at the very least, it's disturbingly satisfying to watch the White House blown sky high.

MC

First published on the Internet Review of Film, 2001