Good Special Effects and humor equals a fun movie

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2006)

This is perhaps Roland Emmerich's best film to date. It's not a great film, but it was fun to watch and had me feeling a little patriotic after seeing it on Independence Day of 1996.
Like The Day After Tomorrow, another Emmerich film, Independence Day draws a good line between popcorn fun and quirky enough characters that kept me smiling. If I had to compare the two though, Independence Day would fall on top. It is also Roland Emmerich's best film so far.
Aliens from another planet are bent on taking over our world with huge ships that block out the sunlight. Using smaller one manned ships, they decide to do battle with our air force. We use atomic bombs as well, and neither one has any real effect on the monstrous ships that loom over major cities to lay waist to everything. All hope seems lost until a simple Cable technician (Jeff Goldblum) finds a way to make the fight more fair for mankind. With help from a cocky air force pilot (Will Smith in one of his better and more famous roles) the two set out to attack the alien mother ship with a computer virus. Will it work? Well if you haven't seen the movie you'll have to.
Independence Day was a phenomenal success. It helped make Will Smith a superstar and paved the way to become the biggest blockbuster of 1996. It was one of those movies you couldn't help but enjoy no matter how flawed it may have been. Like many other summer films, Independence Day was pure popcorn entertainment. I enjoyed it a lot.