I actually thought the computer virus was credible - almost thoughtful!

Rating: Null/10 (28 January 1999)

Ok, most of what you've heard is true. It's a B-grade science fantasy with pretty (but not clever) special effects - your basic eye candy.
The jingoism is grating to non-US (and many US) audiences (gee, thanks America for letting us share the 4th of July; now we won't have to worry about our own national holidays!!).
Apart from that, though, disengage your brain and enjoy a bit of amusing nonsense.
I was a little peeved at all the people who complained of the aliens' low resistance to humanity's counter-attacks. I actually thought that part was well thought out and plausible!! The idea goes like this: the aliens have a hive-mind (obvious to sci-fi fans who've seen it all before), and so have absolutely no concept of delinquency. They're aggressive, all right, but not the least bit sneaky.
Consequently, their command messages are sent in a code so weak it is broken by inspection; an 'interrogated' alien spills the whole plan just for the asking; their fighters and even space ship defences are foxed by simple tricks; they haven't changed IFF codes in 40 years; and their computer operating systems have absolutely no security.
This of course begs for a sequel where the delinquent, dirty-dealing two-fisted back-stabbing humans use the crashed ships to launch a counter-attack .