Entertaining

Rating: 6/10 (21 February 2005)

Sometimes it's hard not liking a movie even though it has so many things to dislike. "Independence Day" is one of those movies.
I remember when the trailer came out for this movie. It was one of the best trailers i'd seen back then. Simply because it really made med want to see the movie. Everything about it just seemed so cool. And i guess when i saw it at the theater i was not disappointed. It was a fun ride. And seeing it now a couple of years later i may not enjoy it as much as i did, but i can sure understand why i enjoyed it the first time around.
Because let's face it. Plausibility is exceptionally low here. Goofs are present in almost every shot. The dialog is a joke, the characters are caricatures and the plot is basically "War of the worlds" moved to present day. But still, like a video game that may be stupid but can still entertain this is not so bad. Admittedly though the movie loses most of it's entertainment value as it slows down toward the end. But up until then it's a lot of fun.
It feels like most people who disliked this movie did so for rather strange reasons. It seems they expected something completely different from what they got. This is a classic matinée movie about peoples fear of the unknown. A classic genre no matter if the unknown factor is Aliens or Russians or whatever. This movie is not trying to be smart, only entertaining. And while the dosage of dull and pompous American self-pride is a little too high, it still manages to rise above it and entertain most of the time.
And when i see a movie like this one i first and foremost want to be entertained. That's why i rate this movie a 6/10 despite it's faults, goofs and general silliness.