Will Smith vs. The Aliens

Rating: 5/10 (13 February 2005)

The Will Smith reign of terror, errr, i mean reign at the 4th of July Weekend box office began with this modest little movie, Independence Day. One of the most expensive, yet financially successful movies of all time, Independence Day proves that you can remake a movie without anyone knowing it. In case you have not heard of it, the movie War of the Worlds from the 1950s is the inspiration of this aliens-will-take-over-the-world story, whether anyone knew it or not. Will Smith plays a Captain in some branch of the military, I want to say Air Force, but it's not really important, Jeff Goldblum is a cable TV repair man who is the only one in the world to crack the alien code (a fact that is not lost on his father, played by Judd Hersch), Bill Pulman plays the president who was elected president because of his heroism in the Gulf War, and Randy Quaid plays an alcoholic crop duster who claims he as abducted by aliens, possibly to find out what makes the Quaids just so talented. The movie follows a simple formula, aliens invade, great looking special effects show Los Angeles, Washington, and of course New York get blow'd up real good, then humanity comes together to find a way to blow the aliens up real good. The special effects are first rate, the acting is solid, but the ending is really silly and is perhaps the most direct homage or rip-off of The War of the Worlds. The most clever part of the movie is the use of Area 51, which I thought was original and could have been the start to a good sci-fi movie, but instead was just a gimmick to the rest of the formula. This is a solid popcorn movie, people will enjoy it, but let's not start looking for awards for Independence Day.