A good way to spend a Sunday evening.

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2000)

*Warning: Potential spoilers ahead*
What about ID4, you say? Well, I think it doesn't deserve the 6 it has averaged at imdb.com. More like an 8. True, it has plot holes the size of New York's own potholes, and no one in his 5 senses would believe Bill Pullman could be President of the United States... or that a virus could be implanted on an alien mothership... and using a Macintosh?!?!?
Then again, this movie should be looked at face value: no one said it was factual, possible or even close to reality. It is science fiction, pure and simple. And it excels at that.
The movie is amazingly good at making people have a good time. It's simply a movie about good and bad guys, about America and their (or yours, given the case) patriotic feelings. Nothing more than that was implied in the trailer, in the posters or in the advertisment. And it works! The stunning images of the Empire State Building exploding were simply awesome. The CGI planes and alien ships had some terrific battles, similar in concept (although not in the final product) to the trench battle scenes in Star Wars (the real one, not the Fandom Menace). There were enough explosions to satisfy any action flick fan (although my neighbors might think they would have liked the movie more had I turned down a notch -or two- my subwoofer's amp). It's entertainment, and it's very good one. Just don't look for common sense or reality around here. That was not the initial premise. I loved this picture, and I drool over the DVD special edition. You really have to see the original theatrical ending. It would have been a good one.
I cannot rate this movie less than an 8, just because I have seen it so many times and it has never failed to entertain.