Aliens and love

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2008)

With a great story lined up and an A list cast all included, Independence Day broke records when released in 96, and now 12 years on it still hasn't lost any of its magic.
Will Smith (Fresh Prince of Bel Air) coming almost straight from being a rapper and starring on a network TV show got the role of a U.S pilot which put him firmly on the market as one of the hottest and youngest actors around.
Smith stars alongside Bill Pullman (While you were sleeping) and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) as the world comes under attack by alien spacecrafts and the stakes are raised by each of their love lives.
With its Oscar winning effects, Independence Day established itself in the Sci-Fi genre with the huge and very impressive spacecraft designs and justified it brilliantly, especially with Smith's first encounter with one of the aliens, a personal favourite moment.
And along with the great effects, comes an even better plot which is gripping, tense and extraordinary. The suspense is built as viewers are given glimpses of what is coming, and the world's response is also intriguing, none more so than the political view of the president.
There was an interesting political side to the story, what to do and what not to do to save lives, keeping secrets and to use the right course of action, giving the plot more depth.
Though at first we are thrust into so many people's lives that it can be easy to forget, we gradually get to know the characters and their situations and though a bit cheesy, are still fun to watch, and at points dramatic and thankfully realistic in context.
There are some great one liners, especially from Smith. The acting is far from brilliant but the effects and the suspense in the plot is enough for it to be included in the top Sci-Fi thrillers of all time. And though it does wear thin after a few watchers, it never loses its power to entertain and shock.