THIS Is How Summer Blockbusters Should Be Made!

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 2017)

When making a movie of the "summer blockbuster" type, there a number of elements that must be present, such as action, adventure, a bit of humor, some sort of seemingly unstoppable enemy, & (if the film studio really cares) some interesting characters to latch onto. The coup de grace comes if the film is able to anchor itself around a significant moment/date either past, present, or future. "Independence Day" scores high marks on all those elements.
For a basic plot summary, the film sees planet Earth suddenly attacked by aliens bent on taking over the world. With the future of the nation on the line, President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) recruits military man Steven Hiller (Will Smith) & scientist David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) to hatch a plan to defeat the sinister invaders on the weekend of the Fourth of July.
To put it as plainly as possible, "Independence Day" is primarily a rousing success because of the gravitas the "Fourth of July" theme lends it. Without that holiday serving as the backdrop of the alien invasion, it just wouldn't be as epic and would likely fail to get viewers as invested. For example, a speech given by Pullman's character towards the end of the film will bring the hair on the back of your neck to attention due to it being given on our nation's birthday.
To be fair, however, this film is well-constructed enough to stand on its own merits. Primarily, this happens because of the all-star cast and their character development on screen. Besides the three primary leads (of which Smith almost steals the show at some points), other accomplished actors like Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Randy Quaid, Adam Baldwin, & Vivica A. Fox round out the supporting roles. They all interact very well with each other and give the viewers some people to root for (a necessity in any quality invasion film).
Overall, "Independence Day" is easily a flick that can be enjoyed every July 4th (at the very least). It's one of those movies where you pop the popcorn, turn out the lights, and just get swept away in the scope of the action playing out on the screen.