Special Effects, Will Smith...

Rating: Null/10 (4 September 1998)

and that's it! Blech... what complete patriotic nonsense. Why oh why does the United States *always* have to save the other billions of saps (including those poor Brits who can only mutter "by jove, we're being saved" while the equally poor Arabs look wonderingly into the sky) who weren't born under the Stars & Stripes. I'm sorry but I needed somewhere to gag while watching this.
I will give some leeway by saying that the special effects were very well done - that White House scene was the best of the movie, in my opinion (well, it did get blown up which made me laugh). And, Will Smith did a great job... cliched part but he pulled it off with his timely wit.
Otherwise the plot bugged me - so cliched - calm, cool president (a hero already no less) has the perfect idea, irritating Jewish dad and son save the day with their intellect and a Mac laptop (my battery certainly doesn't last that long!) and a man who wouldn't pass a breathaliser test flies his plane up an alien's ass... oh yes, very realistic. And these are just a few choice characters.
There were some great lines though... the scene in the alien ship just before it blows up was hilarious. Other than that, I was severely disappointed (with "Independence Day" as the title I already expected it to be a flag-waver but it went overboard even with that).