Typical US Summer Blockbuster...Empty

Rating: Null/10 (3 July 2001)

The first trailer really hypnotised me: a huge shadow covering a city plus the sound effect and not a single word of explanation...Bing! I had to see this film, 'cause I like Science Fiction movie a lot. But with the other trailers revealing some of the main character and of the already simplistic plot, it turned out to be a patriotic product strangely directed by a German (and no longer considered as so by the other German Filmakers, like Tykwer in a French movie magazine) with some very basic Symbols (A black man, Will Smith, the only good character of this movie, and a Jew, Jeff Goldblum, saving the world...Where is the Native American, USA's historical private genocide?) and a bizarre computer trick, coming out of the blue but simply saving mankind... Yet I went to see this film but I left the theater disappointed. Very good special effects though (and cheap ones I heard), but what a waste! Yes we know the USA are the strongest, but there is no need to pinpoint it in such a typical and empty US summer Blockbuster...A similar French movie showing how pride French people could be of themselves and also showing to the rest of the world what it takes to kick Aliens' ass would NEVER be released in France, even if its people is said to be so proud of themselves...It is good to see sometimes a Gladiator kind of a film to remind everyone what cinema REALLY is.