Why this movie doesn't suck

Rating: 7/10 (30 October 2005)

Okay, well, perhaps it does suck. At least, as far as things important to other films, such as acting and plot, go. But that would be if this movie were "Lost in Translation." This ain't "Lost in Translation." This is a buy your popcorn, sit your behind down, and prepare for a mind-numbing assault on your senses that will have you screaming like a primitive caveman during the final battle sequence type of movie. This is "Independence Day." Sure, you have to suspend reality quite a bit, when you consider things like: 1) A Marine fighter pilot dating a stripper and the two of them living a "normal" suburban life with her son in Orange County. 2) The President of the United States and a strung-out drunk climbing into F/A-18s to blow the aliens away. 3) A mid-90s Macintosh PowerBook logging into a sophisticated alien network that probably has better than 2,048 bit encryption. But watching that ragtag wing of F/A-18 Hornets and F-16 Fighting Falcons blow the hell out of the alien battleship over Nevada at the end of the movie is worth every hole in the plot. Watching Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum light up cigars as they blow the mothership away is worth every moment of stiff acting (although we could've done without Goldblum's reprise of the "Must go faster, must go faster" line from Jurassic Park). So there you go. If you're a movie snob, this one isn't for you. But if you're a true fan of the movies, you will love this movie from the opening shot of Neil Armstrong's footprints being shaken away to the ending images of burning alien battleships across the planet.