"So, went and saw Independence Day: Resurgence..." Topic

And here is the review I posted on IMDB about it:

ID:R is likely to remembered in the same vein as Highlander 2, Aliens: Resurrection, or any number of other sequels that failed to live up to their predecessors. While it showed promise in the beginning -- such as showing how humanity had incorporated the alien technology into our lives -- this promise was wasted very early on in the film. While some veteran actors returned for the film, far too many of the younger actors were obviously chosen because they were photogenic, not because they can act (which, sadly, they mostly can't). Will Smith's buoying energy was sorely missed.

The first and foremost problem with the film was the writing. A committee of five wrote the movie, and it shows in the disjointed plot and frenetic pacing of the film. The audience is raced from one plot line to another, leaving unanswered questions that are never truly resolved, hinting at character relationships that are never explored, and feeling more like watching an extended cutscene from an XBOX game rather than a feature film. Characters enter and exit too quickly for the audience to form any type of attachment, such as a station wagon full of kids who randomly weave in and out of the picture.

There is far too much reliance on cheap melodrama; this person has to watch his parents die, then that person does, then this one, until the audience really gets the point that this situation is *serious*. The overall effect was to create a shallow, one-dimensional character pool that might as well have been CGI sprites like the aliens themselves, so little did they contribute to the film. The writing committee even tried to cram in two Presidential rallying speeches instead of the first film's one. There was also the subplot of a second alien species that was nonsensical at best; at worst, it detracted from the struggle between humanity and the invaders.

The direction is the next problem area. Again, the film was marred by too much melodrama with too little substance, and the interplay between human interaction and CGI effects was not seamless, as it should be in modern cinema, but jarring. There were far too many scenes where the CGI team was obviously operating without adult supervision, resulting in overwhelming scenes of chaos and destruction that did next to nothing to advance the plot. For example, while the notion of a spaceship so large it has its own gravity field was interesting, in the end it only served as a pretext to show the Petronas Towers being dropped onto London's Tower Bridge. You know, the kind of wanton destruction usually associated with toddlers playing with sand castles at the beach.

Too many things in the film didn't make any sense. Yes, this is science fiction, but even sci-fi can feel like it follows certain logic. In ID:R, why would aircraft using anti-gravity drives need wings? Why would aliens who can drill through to the core of a planet in mere hours have to resort to an assault on foot of the NORAD bunker at Cheyenne Mountain? Why, assuming that the Presidential line of succession is similar to today's, would the President's entire Cabinet be with her at Cheyenne Mountain, such that the Presidency eventually falls to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs? Was there some intricate strategy for fighting the aliens that required the President to have her Secretaries of Education, Agriculture, and Commerce at her immediate disposal? How did one character on a small boat survive a tsunami that appeared to be hundreds of feet high and destroyed massive container ships? Why, after all sorts of ordnance being lobbed at the Mother Alien's shields, did it just take one fighter pilot screaming while shooting to finally breach them? Did the other pilots just not want it bad enough? While I realize that the original ID4 had its own flaws (hacking the operating system of an alien mothership in minutes from a 486 laptop, anyone?), the longer I watched ID:R, the worse it got.

Overall, the film was a mediocre CGI fest with some actors thrown in to make it an official movie. The writing and direction were poor, the pacing was too forced, and a coherent plot was sorely lacking.

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That was my take on it. How did everyone else feel?

I didn't even like the first one.

I thought the first one was entertaining as a beer-and-pretzels romp. This one was so, so much worse. Apart from the CGI, I would honestly have to put it on par with the vaunted Sharknado series of outrages.

Yes there were glaring issues like:

How did that one ship that landed not get smashed to pieces. I.E. it had no shields and even our Artillery should have put holes into it.

Why is the Air Force the only military that is used. Where is the space navy, and Artillery and Anti-Swarm batteries?

Also how did the father and those teenagers get across the country in the time that they did and why when you have Anti-Gravity do you still need gas?

Now I can answer why the aircraft need wings – you need something to put the weapons onto.

Oh and instead of smashing that ship from the outer areas and then in you try to attack the direct center of the ship.

Well the world was at least united but there were no armed forces in Europe at all it seems.

Oh and when they knew another ship was on it way did they leave the Aliens that they had alive?

I would have put them down so that you would not have to worry about them. Oh and when you didn't you just leave two guys to guard against them instead of 200-300 hundred.

But over all I did like the movie even with it flaws.

Some films should never get the green light…

Common sense has no place in a comic book nor in a dequal movie as long as everything "…blows up 'reel" good !"

That is what the kids want and that is what they get

With all that CGI and second generation actors ( read unknown) the movie is actually not that expensive to make Will Smith's demands would probably be as much as the CGI budget

Well after the review I am even less interested in seeing the squeal. A pity as in the right hands instead of this being overblown and full of sound and fury signifying nothing there could have been a cool jump on a franchise. However, as Toronto48 stated the executives that green light such projects are looking only at dollars and know the audience they are seeking. I am sure the film will do well at the box office simply because it has been well marketed.

I'll pass and save my money for Suicide Squad which is looking more and more interesting with each trailer I see.

I was far more interested in the story of the African warlord and his fight against the invader remnants than anything else in the movie.

And jav pretty much hit it on the head.

One thing I did notice was that the sound design was…dull. Lacking punch. Everything that happened, I expected to have more auditory impact.

Will Smith's demands

He wanted $50 USD Million

I was far more interested in the story of the African warlord and his fight against the invader remnants than anything else in the movie.

Yes but the rest of the World would have been fighting that Ship as well.

Which is why it should be a wreck instead of being in perfect shape.

Though I would watch a movie about this fighting.

I enjoyed the first hour or so, but then it quickly descended into a rehash of the first movie.

I know it's a popcorn movie, but the one major gripe I had was that there is no way someone who has been in a coma for 17 years would be walking around and talking.

Still, they've set up a third film…

Alien induced Coma so could be different.

One thing I did notice was that the sound design was…dull. Lacking punch. Everything that happened, I expected to have more auditory impact.

I noticed that, too, but I figured it was just the theater I was in. Good to have corroboration.

Why would you want to inflict so much pain on yourself? And with those prices Willie Smith knows how to hump his chimp, guess he'll get an oscar next time for not acting, talk about ego.

Even with lowered expectations I couldn't do better than giving it a D on my movie review blog: link

I try not to be too analytical or nitpicky about the plot or physics of the action making sense when it comes to Roland Emmerich movies given his track record.

Love the review

It seemed like they were deliberately trying to make it as similar to the first movie as possible, so there was nothing new.

Oh and we let that latest ship just fly away at the end.

Though it is going to send a message to the other ships that our sector of the Universe is a very dangerous place and that it is going to get way more dangerous.

Thereby setting up sequels 3 – 9.

Tumbleweed! Hush, dammit! You'll only encourage them!