Ahhh! Mediocrity!

Rating: Null/10 (20 May 1999)

When this released three years ago, it opened to massive, formulated hype, much like "SW: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace". I saw it that Fourth of July weekend and was taken away by it; it was the "event" movie of its time. But, as time has passed, and I've become more discerning in my moviegoing, this film becomes less and less spectacular to me.
It has its moments. Will Smith brings the charisma; he almost seems born to play the role (the scene in the desert where he carries the alien proves this.) Jeff Goldblum's is not unlike "Jurassic Park's" Ian Malcolm; he's likable, if not wholly interesting. Bill Pullman plays another president of cinematic invention; we could only be fortunate to have such a ballsy commander-in-chief like Whitmore. Judd Hirsch, as the senior Levinson, has the more energetic role in the film. His comic relief is well-timed.
The effects, essentially the most remembered part of the film, serve their purpose, but disappoint in some spots (the best they could come up with for an alien is an oozing, octopus- like creature?) Little was done that hasn't been done before (aerial dogfights, large-scale annihilation of major cities, et al.) For me, Vivica Fox was the true eye-candy in the whole film. ;-)
Of course, the biggest gripe lies with the story itself. The film plunders elements from other sources ("Star Wars", "War of the Worlds", and Toho B-movies, to name a few.) Had the writing been tighter, and Emmerich and Devlin hadn't relied on stereotypes and cliched jingoistic devices like the President's speech, this merely okay movie could have been great.
I'm all for escapist entertainment, but when done like "ID4", it can grow tiresome.