Mass Entertainment

Rating: Null/10 (1 July 2006)

INDEPENDENCE DAY ****1/2 Scripters Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, for the little contribution required of them, go back to H.G. Wells and 'War of the Worlds' for inspiration in this awesome thrill ride of special effects and all-out action sequences. When massive alien vessels start enclosing the earth in what looks to be an extermination process, the take-charge United States President (Bill Pullman) sends out army fleets to combat the space ships. Jeff Goldblum is a computer technology expert who ultimately saves the day when earth's weapons can't seem to penetrate through the aliens' shields; Will Smith is a fighter pilot who also becomes a hero of the day. The momentum slows down when the action/combat department takes a break and all we experience are mediocre character-based subplots. But hey, it did achieve as a terrific summer blockbuster, and I'm not complaining.