May be noted as a Pre-Bin Ladin film.

Rating: Null/10 (18 September 2001)

When I saw ID4 at a New York multiplex during it's July 1996 release, I saw the cities incinerate, and the scene fades out. The scene fades to a shot of downtown Manhattan. The Statue Of Liberty pops in the water as the burned out Twin Towers smoulder in the background. Some jerk in the audience hooted an excited "YEAHHHHH!" I wonder where this guy is now? Maybe in search of a badly needed soul! After September 2001, how ID4 is going to feel so dated! The post destruction humor (Will Smith with his one-liners) will seem out of place. (I hated it back in 1996) Even in 1996, characters seemed far too cheerful after major cities are attacked. Frankly, ID4 is an oddity. It begins as a great film with promise then decomposes. It starts with real tension as the saucers loom over our cities, and just sit there. You get to know certain charcaters (Will Smith's pilot, Jeff Goldblum's techy guy, President Bill Pullman) You actually warm up to these people. Then there is the attack. It's all too realistic, sometimes frightening. Then you know what happens? The movie falls apart, and stays in pieces. The infantile dialog, meant to be funny one-liners feel so forced. If I was one of these stars' agent, I'd bean Dean Devlin's typewriter with a baseball bat. The general feeling of "we have to stick together" helps the weak second half along. After this Black Tuesday, how will ID4, DEEP IMPACT, ARMAGEDDON, DAYLIGHT, and THE MATRIX feel with their cool-looking destruction scenes?