A "Grower"

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2002)

Even Beavis and Butthead would probably describe Independence Day as a "no brainer" and its true to say that when i first saw it [on the big screen] i hated it.But,surprisingly,when it came out on video i actully grew to like it! The plot has been lifted straight from HG Wells "War Of The Worlds" or rather the 1953 movie, and once again shows how Earth is attacked by aliens and defended by a bunch of brave Americans with minimal assistance from the rest of the world. The special effects are mostly computer generated but seem to have been done with at least some attempt at realism; the characters are so one dimensional they would disappear if turned sideways, but Will Smith [playing Will Smith] is his usual likeable self. I have found out that the best way to view ID is to fast forward through the yucky bits to scenes such as the alien ships peeling away from the mothership, and savour them! Enough praise already; there are not so much plot holes as plot chasms [possible SPOILERS follow]--#1]Since the aliens seemed invincible,why did they co-ordinate their attack with a time signal? #2] Why did the aliens not use Neutron bombs to kill the Humans but leave the cities intact? #3] If mankind communicated by Morse code,the aliens had been monitoring our transmissions for many years so surely they would crack the code immediately? Despite all these criticisms ID is not a bad little movie,so 7/10 or *** out of **** P.S. Fans of ID Should check out the New Outer Limits episode "Trial By Fire" to see how good it COULD have been!