Oh, my! Save us! Not from the ALIENS, but from the writers!

Rating: 8/10 (20 April 2003)

REVISED and UPDATED! ---Start comments for Special Edition--- After the director was allowed to put in his "missing elements" the movie changed in my view from a clear disaster movie (as in "Why did I pay for this?") and to a really entertaining movie. There were a lot of things now really making sense and the movie actually rose from being a one out of ten to eight out of ten stars. Way to go! This strengthens my theory that the more people playing "bosses" the feewer things get done the right way (or - the fewer things get done at all.)
Now I must say the movie is exciting, it is entertaining, it is understandable - and I like it. Way to go! ---End Comments for Special Edition--- ---Below this line is the comment for the THEATRICAL version of Incependence Day I'm not even sure if I should write "spoiler alert" here, but the entire movie is a spoiler (as in a waste of time). There are so many errors and false assumptions in this movie that I'm not sure where to start.
OK - first things first. Finding a clock signal in our own satellite communications without anyone but the mighty Jeff (Goldblum) finding it out was stupid enough in itself. Then we have the wonderful "They have wiped out all our major cities, but we cannot nuke'm" comment. And the winner of all the dumb comment goes to... The Virus. Of course, we kill the alien defense with The Virus. Oh, almost forgot: The aliens have tentacles and arms sticking out just about everywhere, but the chairs in their little, handy fighters are of course custom fit for humans. And OF COURSE it is possible for us humans to run it without having the handbook ready.
Oh, MY! I gave this movie a four out of the ten stars available here at IMDb. Reason: I gave it ZERO for the story line (it really, REALLY gives science fiction a bad reputation!!!) and four for the fireworks. The F/X boys and girls really did a wonderful job on this movie - and the effects is why I saw it again tonight on TV. And to remind me why I was so extremely disappointed about it when I saw it in the theaters.
One more thing: American patriotism and nationalism is really running high on this one. Way too high.