Well you've probably guessed it, this is a review about the action packed, alien saga Independence day, released on July 3rd 1996, and starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman. This is to date my favourite Will Smith action will along side Bad Boys 1 and 2. It's probably the movie that made Will Smith into an international box office success, and was certainly a step up from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
I was actually a huge fan of this film, and I would have to say it ranks in my all time top 5 action film list; it had a great cast, a great plot, and superb special effect scenes.

Plot Outline: Well it's what you might expect of an action packed film. Take two superhero in the form of David (Jeff) and Steven (Will), add one bad guy aka an entire galaxy of aliens, mix one part of American President Whitmore (Bill) and he has the cocktail for one hell of an action packed extravaganza.
The film starts off on July 2nd were an alien mother ship enters the earths orbit, it breaks loose into small pieces which just so happen to be small spacecrafts, which strategically place themselves in countries with high significance. A scientist named David Levinson (Jeff) discovers a signal the alien are using; this signal is an attack sequence on earth, which will evidentially destroy millions of people. David must now take this news to the White House, were his former wife works. With her help he persuades the president to evacuate before the countdown ends, however not everyone in the city escapes as the timer runs out the aliens launch a worldwide strike on earth. On the other side of town, Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) prepares to start an counter offensive strike against the aliens, however unaware that the aliens have a sophisticated shield blocking any weapons hitting their spacecraft the humans seem to be at breaking point. Somewhere along the line the scientist, the captain and the president all meet up at area 51, a supposedly none existing military facility. It is their that they learn of an alien spacecraft that landed in New Mexico some years ago. Jeff's character finds a way of breaking the alien spacecraft shields; however it would require them planting a computer virus on the mother ship in space. Up pop Captain Miller who agrees to fly the spacecraft. What happens next, well one can only imagine, the battles between the humans and aliens continues, and on 4th of July only one can come out victorious.

Characters:

- David Levinson, played by Jeff Goldblum is the scientist that first discovers the secret transmission the aliens are using to launch a strategic attack on earth. His character is like the catalyst in the human efforts to fight back, proving the aliens are here to destroy mankind.
- Captain Steven Hiller, played by Will Smith, is the typical action hero specimen. His sole purpose if to destroy the aliens, do back home and make love to his wife. Will smith actually bring quite a lot of humour to the film, but then what do you expect from the Fresh Prince. I thought this was a good move, because it shows that even if it's the end of the world, you can always find time to crack a joke. Smith brings a new era of action hero's, he's not as big as Stallone or Arnie, but he does not how to kick some serious butt.
- President Tomas Whitmore, played by Bill Pullman is the American President who just so happened was a fighter pilot during Nam. His character for some reason I can never take seriously after watching Casper. He has to act as the macho leader of the greatest nation in the world, whilst also morning the loss of his wife, who dies as a result of the attacks. His speech before the final battle was hilarious, but fitting for the film.

The film itself is great, it's what you come to expect from a film showing an alien attack on earth. We have plenty of action, a mix of comedy, a wedding, few million deaths and a story of Americans saving the world. I guess it was even more fitting that it was released on the 4th of July, but none the less a great action film.
I must say the special effects are seriously good, aliens look realistic and the alien spaceships look real too.

Cast:
Jeff Goldblum
Will Smith
Bill Pullman
Margaret Colin
Vivica A. Fox
Judd Hirsch
Mary McDonnell
Robert Loggia
Randy Quaid

Production and Filming Locations:
Independence Day was filmed in several locations worldwide including America, Egypt, Sweden, Australia and Iceland. The film crew even filed in the Nevada Dessert with the help of the American army, however it is reported that the production team asked if they could film inside area 51, which obviously was rejected, and lead to production being moved away from the Army base.

The Box Office Performance:
• Domestic Total Gross: $306,169,268
• Foreign: $510,800,000
• Worldwide: $816,969,268
Run Time: 145 minutes, however the directors cut is 8 minutes longer
Budget: The film had a huge budget somewhere between $70 and $75 million.