The First of Roland Emmerich's Love Letter to New York City.

Rating: 5/10 (20 April 2005)

And I say that swimming in sarcasm, because if vaporizing the City is love, I'd cringe to know what hate would be like. With this inane, extremely dumbed-down action movie he begins a trilogy of films that aims its ugly, brainless head towards destroying New York City (and the rest of the United States with it) as aliens decide we really would not make very good hosts and take everything with them, enveloping them in turquoise light -- somehow this color is akin to everything horror: see THE RING for another reference -- which consumes all it touches in a ball of fire. All the clichés of action films are here and just shows how empty this movie is, with all its patriotism and heroism plastered on almost every frame. But... for every great director there must be one counterpart, and Emmerich is more than willing to fill those shoes. Awful. And that's being kind.