It's the end of the world as we know it, and we sure do feel fine.

Rating: 7/10 (4 July 2012)

"Independence Day" is one of those blockbusters where we know we're basically in it for the spectacle. Yeah, the writing ain't so hot, the dialogue is silly, and some of the performances are indeed broad, but does all of that really matter when the action is as slick and high tech and impressive visually as it is in this over the top movie? We know we're in for a good time right from the start when we get a sense of how enormous that alien mother ship is. The story, for those of us who may not have already seen this, is basically an update of films like "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers", "The War of the Worlds", and "Star Wars", with state of the art special effects. Thoroughly evil aliens hover giant city destroying spaceships over Earths' major cities, apparently ready to do some damage, and the human race seemingly can't do much. U.S. President Bill Pullman keeps trying to figure out the best options, even as the stakes keep changing. Among our other heroes are a swaggering Will Smith as an Air Force pilot and Jeff Goldblum as the nerdy computer expert who finds out how to sneak past the alien defenses. This reviewer will admit that this movie is a groaner at times (the whole story with Randy Quaids' character especially) but writer / producer Dean Devlin and writer / director Roland Emmerich serve up all of the major set pieces with flair. "Independence Day" may be a long movie (145 minutes in its theatrical incarnation, 154 minutes in its extended version) but at least it's never boring. It's got a supporting cast just full of familiar faces, and the invading E.T.'s are such a loathsome bunch - they're compared to locusts - that one simply can't help but want to see the humans rise up and kick some damn ass. And eventually they get their chance, and in a development we certainly hope would extend to real life, all the countries of the world are united in their one single purpose. One particularly effective sequence occurs approximately half way through when an alien specimen is prematurely set up for an autopsy, and the entire sequence aboard the mother ship is a corker as well. Overall, this is good fun for anybody who'd just like to turn their brains off and enjoy some straightforward escapism. And, in conclusion...what's so wrong with a little rah rah flag waving? Seven out of 10.