Randy Quaid to the Rescue!!

Rating: Null/10 (4 December 1999)

Boys, from the looks of these here comments, you'd think that they were talking about 'Heavon's Gate' or 'Ishtar'...Folks, ID4 is actually a pretty damned good movie for what it is-War of the Worlds mixed with 'Flying Saucers Attack'. It is a clichéd 'Airport'/'Poseidon Adventure' sort of disaster film, with all the stereotypical two-dimensional characters, multi-racial/cultural settings, etc.
You see their lives, then Boom! The Squids attack. Nothing more or less. Now I agree-having the Fresh Prince and the guy from the Fly up there in a saucer nuking the Mother Ship isn't exactly outta George Lucas, but it IS pretty damned entertaining jest the same. Personally, most folks I knew who went to see this(only the biggest hit of '96 by far-over 300M at the US box office...)knew all this going in, and enjoyed it.
ID4 is NOT a Documentary, yeah we know some race of squids smart enough to make 500 mile wide mother ships and fly across interstellar space aren't about to be Mac compatible, Or suceptible to any sort of computer virus we cook up. Fine! But then, these Squids don't exactly EXIST either folks....
Personally I look upon that little computer virus twist as being the same as whatever contraption MaGuyver had conjured outta some toothpaste and popsicle sticks, or the Professor's latest gizmo on Gilligan's Island-impossible, but what the hell? It's Fiction, after all. If it works for the contrivances of the film, that is all is needed. Nothing more.
And it worked here, quite well. I enjoyed the ending, seeing the Head Squid look Death in the eyes as the ticker counted down right before the bomb(s) went off in the Mother Ship, I enjoyed both Smith and Goldblum together in their scenes, heck even liked Randy Quaid and Bill Pullman. Judd Hirsch chews the scenery, while many of the others there ARE scenery, it is true.
But never mind-it works for me, and who can forget the scenes of all those ships coming in over New York, DC or LA? Not me. Like it or not, those images, and the ones where the Squids really let loose, are going to stay round in film culture for quite some time to come yet.
Did I enjoy the movie? Hell yeah! Was it as good as Star Wars? No! Better than most of the Star Trek films? Yup! Would I watch it again or go see a sequel? Yeah I would.
Gazzo 2's rating: *** outta ****-good stuff! Works!