'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enough to wish to continue to read my ramblings, you can find me on Dooyoo under the user name plipplop. See you around! :P
Member since:15.07.2000
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You have to hand it to the Americans. When it comes to big-budget, all out action blockbuster type things, they really have got it covered. Independence Day is one of my favourite films of the last decade - probably ever. It's not a demanding film, in an intellectual way (he understated) but it's exciting, dramatic and fun.
Aliens have decided to take over the planet. From the opening sequence of the film, there is a rapidly increasing feeling of dread, as the creatures' spacecrafts descend on every major city across the globe. One of the key elements of the plot in this movie, is that initially the leadership of the USA seem puzzled into inaction. Most sci-fi films portray American presidents attacking first, asking questions later. Here we see an American president who is prepared to give the benefit of the doubt, and avoid world-wide panic.
In true wacky Amnerican style, everyone in LA decides to hold welcoming parties for the new arrivals, and soon the skyscrapers are adorned with party-goers and banners greeting our new Extra Terrestrial friends. In true "disaster movie" fashion, only the science geek has realised that the aliens are in fact counting down to attack. Unfortunately, the president only finds out 30 minutes before countdown - and by then it's too late.
The film features one of the best action sequences of any movie, as the aliens open fire on the world's major cities. I have seen the film twice, and yet on the second occasion I still found that I had held my breath right up until the last yellow taxi went hurtling into the crowd. These are big explosions - the famous sequence of the White House being obliterated will be remembered as one of the greatest sci-fi moments of all time.
From there on in the film portrays the struggle for man to overcome the invaders. Conventional air attack proves futile, as does the inevitable nuclear attack. These are tough critters for sure.
The film cannot resist the temptation to pepper the movie with the usual sentimental moments as people are parted and re-united, but then you cannot expect the Americans to go without a good dosage of the old shaggy dog moments. The sequence where the President loses his wife is genuinely sad, and provides five minutes for you to calm down from the constant conflict that ensues.
Independence Day was one of the first major film successes for WIll Smith, who went on to become a Man in Black. He is, as you might expect, a wise cracking all-American dude - this time serving in the US Air Force. Smith has some genuinely funny lines, and I couldn't help but warm to him. When the future seems this bleak, someone has to keep the jokes coming.
The special effects were impressive, and still appear fresh and exciting. The film isn't overloaded, but needless to say relies on effects for most of the fight sequences. Again, the best effects are the city destruction scenes early on in the film. I wasn't too keen on the models used for the aliens - the temptation to use plenty of slime to cover up the flaws in the rubber suits was obviously too much to resist, and the scenes that contain animatronics are limited by smoke and bad lights, so that you never really get to see the aliens to their full extent. The aliens' movement is classic sci-fi - the sequence with Smith and Goldblum in the mother ship contains a key moment when the alien cops sight of the cuckoos in the nest and I love the way the alien cocks his head to one side in a curious sort of way.
This is one of the best Sci-Fi films to come out in recent years. It can be argued that there was nothing terribly original about the concept, but the time (and budget) poured into this film reaped its rewards and provided a decent enough yarn.
Recommended !!
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
great review sounds like a good film i will have to rent it from block busters james :)
Spyke_Martin 31.01.2004 14:35
I like this movie!!
robmatrix 07.10.2003 00:24
A good round up of the movie. I thought it was great and probably wpould have been better without the american "only we can save the world" plotline.
Have you ever heard the Independance Day UK audio story on cassete. Its a radio play based on the alien invasion from a British perspective with the destruction of London and the counterattack by the RAF, (Good Stuff!!)
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![Independence Day [1996] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78508494.jpg "Independence Day [1996] [DVD]")
Dec 25th, 2000
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