Mindless entertainment isn't a bad thing, but this one's still pretty weak even at that.

Rating: Null/10 (7 March 2003)

4 out of 10
Collaborators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin have time and again proven themselves the most unoriginal filmmakers working in Hollywood today. Independence Day is the epitome of their lack of ideas, as they simply steal concepts from previous movies (better or worse movies is still questionable) and graft it here, typical so that it can lead to stuff getting blown up real good. That is the extent of Independence Day's appeal, to see things blow up, and believe me, that can get old real fast.
A lot of things about the movie have always bothered me, whether it's the unnecessarily lengthy countdown the aliens have toward destruction, as it gives ample time for city-dwellers to escape. Or perhaps it's how pathetically easy the aliens are to defeat once their shields drop. Are we to assume that raggedy groups of inexperienced combat pilots could suddenly defeat the ferocious (and far numerous) swarms of alien fighters? Perhaps taking the cake is the very fact that the alien motherships, when destroyed, actually crash by slanting sideways so as they won't fall on the targets below them.
The action sequences deliver sporadic thrills, but they get repetitive very quickly, as it's mostly watching fighter jets and alien spacecrafts blow up. Some variation, perhaps infantry combat, would have been nice. I think it says a lot about Independence Day when I state that it happens to be the 3rd best alien invasion flick of 1996 (the superior ones being Star Trek: First Contact and The Arrival). When you realize how rare alien invasion movies are, then it's obvious that being 3rd best is a dubious remark. There's been talk of a sequel for years now, but come on, do we all seriously believe that won't be a bad film, either?