thrilling and intense

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2005)

Visual effects are so impressive and telling that everything in this story seems real: destruction, hysteria, paranoia and craziness. I thought "Independence Day" was second to none as for the capacity to efficiently render the sensation of escalating terror and the nightmarish atmospheres following that kind of disasters. Well, Steven Spielberg did even better here... it's obviously a piece of pure entertainment but it burdens the alien visitation theme (remember ET) with Holocaust elements and commentaries about war on terror as-well. I believe the director touched the best way the nerve of American psyche, even thanks to Cruise's and Fanning's excellent acting.