Am I the only one who gets this film???

Rating: Null/10 (22 July 2002)

Maybe the problem is the relative youth of the reviewers who did not grow up watching all the corny, Earth-versus-alien movies in the '50s.

As a kid, I loved them all: "The Mysterians," "Battle In Outer Space," "Invaders From Mars," and so on. What made "Independence Day" work for me - and for countless others who got the main message of the film - is that it was a giant tribute to all those sci-fi movie matinees.
Yes, it was derivative BECAUSE it was supposed to be! Duh!
Beyond the throwback quality of the film, it really had all you could want in a Summertime flick: comedy, action, major special effects and even pathos!
My only real gripes with the film were (1) how Jeff Goldblum arrived at his solution to the problem and became an instant alien spacecraft expert, and (2) Judd Hirsch's stereotypic Jewish performance.
I watch this film whenever I need a lift and it never fails to do so.