great potential,but suffers from too many flaws

Rating: 4/10 (19 October 2006)

independence day looked like it could be a good,even great movie.it has great actors,and loads of action.it also has some humour courtesy will smith and jeff goldblum.goldblum is the perfect straight man for smith's witty quips and one liners and even ads a bit of his own brand of comedy to the mix.these two play off each other very well,and there is undeniable comedic chemistry between the two.the supporting cast is also very strong.and then there is the premise.aliens invade the world and the military must save the day.not a bad premise,although not original.there must be something new added to the mix or this becomes just another alien invasion movie.the question is,is there anything original in this movie?true,the comedic element is a step in the right direction.but is in enough own its own?not quite.there are problems which overshadow the positive aspects of the film,one of them being the special effects,which admittedly are well done.however,they are overpowering in this movie.the viewer is bombarded with explosion after explosion.independence day becomes a movie about the special effects, so the characters take a back seat for most of the movie.true,there are some touching dramatic moments in the middle to latter stages of the film,but the characters are not given enough screen time to be developed,so there is less of the human feel than there might otherwise be.another problem is the film goes more than a little overboard with the flag waving patriotism.there is nothing wrong with patriotism,unless it is taken overboard.there is an inspirational speech given by the the American president,which seems like it is patterned after a speech by winston churchill during the second world war.however,in this case it comes of as maudlin and absurd.bill pullman,fine actor he may be,is no winston churchill,and does not have the charisma or screen presence to carry this speech off.it is a real eyes glazed over and rolled back in the head moment.not believable.which lead us to the dialogue.aside from the president's speech there are are other examples of cringe worthy dialogue.the actors cannot therefore take total responsibility for this.the writers should shoulder some of the blame. finally there is the discovery which leads to the eventual defeat of the aliens.in my my mind the odds of things happening this way are astronomical at best.so,basically the movie(although entertaining)fails for the most,and is moderately successful in other parts.end result: 4* out of 10