‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ Review: Will Smith Is Sorely Missed in This Fun-Deficient Sequel
The spaceships and the destruction are bigger but not better in Roland Emmerich’s 20-years-later follow-up, where only Jeff Goldblum’s sense of humor saves the day
Jason Solomons | June 21, 2016 @ 2:16 PM
Last Updated: June 21, 2016 @ 3:47 PM
Of all the blockbusting 1990s disaster event movies, Roland Emmerich‘s 1996 “Independence Day” spawned imitators rather than sequels — and no, Garry Marshall‘s “Valentine’s Day” and “Mother’s Day” don’t count.
Twenty years is quite a long wait for a second coming (curiously, “Trainspotting” is another 1996 hit currently shooting its sequel), but the two-decade anniversary provides impetus enough to necessitate a reboot for a new generation. Indeed, Emmerich and his original co-creator Dean Devlin, spend much of the new film’s opening minutes setting up new characters and filling us in on their relationship to the old ones who themselves are, sometimes literally, re-awoken for the new battle.
Just as Bill Pullman‘s President Whitmore set a tone for movie presidents to come, here we open with a female leader in the White House, Sela Ward’s President Landford, clearly a hint from Hollywood at where they think the race is going, just as many believe Morgan Freeman playing the commander-in-chief on screen paved the way for Obama in real life.
The other strikingly political/commercial giant step taken in this sequel is the inclusion of major Chinese characters, such as the beautiful Angelababy, who plays fighter pilot Rain, whose uncle General Lao (Chin Han) is a moonbase commander. There are passages of Chinese dialogue and Chinese moon products in the base’s canteen.
So yes, there’s an awful lot of plot and backstory floating around like space junk here, none of which really matters when the new invasion begins. Essentially, it’s the same as the first movie, but bigger and, depending upon where you see it, now in 3D.
While Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch return, and Brent Spiner’s Dr Brackish comes out of a coma, Will Smith is noticeably absent, his character Steven Hiller mentioned as a hero, but a dead one. His place — if not his charisma nor box office clout — is filled by Hiller’s son Dylan (Jessie T. Usher, “When the Game Stands Tall”), an elite pilot who’s a friend of President Whitmore’s daughter Patricia (Maika Monroe, “It Follows”), a former flying ace who gave up her career to care for her aging father. Meanwhile she’s now in love with maverick space pilot Jake (Liam Hemsworth), who’s up manning space tugs on the moon.
Setting all this new info up is a very complicated, not to say rather dull, task but Emmerich has become a master at such multi-character mashups. and he manages to cram it all in smoothly enough to then test the strength of these sketchy characters and our emotional investment in them while blowing the world to bits.
Emmerich’s campy, gleeful global destruction is ramped up, even if it couldn’t really go much further. The new alien mothership is so vast — “three and a half thousand miles across,” exclaims someone looking up at a virtual sky — that we can’t see the whole thing on the screen, which somewhat deflates its visual impact.
This dark vessel exerts such a gravitational pull that whole cities are sucked up and dumped down as it passes; thus, when London gets its now customary wipeout, the London Eye is crushed by half of Kuala Lumpur falling on it, before Dubai’s skyscraper spears Tower Bridge. As Goldblum’s David Levinson has time to observe: “They like to take out the landmarks.”
In truth, the movie could have done with more of this humor. Goldblum is the only character with any sense of irony, and his character gets a bit sidetracked having to deal with his eccentric father Julius (Judd Hirsch), who turns up at the climax to distract the giant alien with a rather silly schoolbus loaded with kids.
Goldblum does get a bit of an upscale romantic storyline, too, a relationship with an increasingly familiar type of character in such Hollywood mayhem, usually played a classy French actress. It was Juliette Binoche in “Godzilla,” Julie Delpy in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and now Charlotte Gainsbourg contributes her strangely posh yet slightly halting English delivery to the role of a psychiatrist specializing in victims of alien trauma. It’s not quite Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist Bond girl, but it is nevertheless odd casting.
Meanwhile, at the end of the world, the carnage on screen is such that Emmerich feels the need to restate what’s happening every five minutes, with little graphics or incidental salty sea dog characters stuck on a ship monitoring alien activity: “We’ve shot down her defense shield, dismantled her weapons and she’s going for the molten core — you’ve got four minutes, General.”
These silly cutaways are always my favorite moments in movies like this: The shepherds in an Arabian desert tent, or the African villagers crowded round the sort of short-wave radio everyone seems to have handy for just such apocalyptic occasions. (Brush off the cobwebs, twiddle a knob, give it a whack and boom, you’re patched into the President’s private line.)
While it would be foolish to say “Independence Day: Resurgence” lacks scale and spectacle in this age of the blue-screen blockbuster, scene after scene of the stuff becomes repetitive and soulless due to its victimless violence. It feels like no one ever really dies or gets hurt, despite the destruction of half the planet.
Again, the only joke is left to Goldblum, who looks up at the new enemy ship and delivers the deadpan line: “That’s definitely bigger than the last one.” Bigger, yes, but not nearly as much fun.
'Independence Day 2' Producer Provides First Look at Jeff Goldblum on Set (Photo)
"Independence Day 2" producer Dean Devlin shared the first photo of cast member Jeff Goldblum on the set of the Twentieth Century Fox sequel to the 1996 blockbuster about aliens invading the planet, and humanity rallying to fight back.
"Hanging with David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) 20 years later is a dream come true! #IndependenceDay," Devlin captioned the Instagram photo with the actor.
Goldblum is reprising his role as computer genius David Levinson, who fans may remember for being responsible for saving the world alongside Will Smith. Sadly, Smith will not be back for more action, but Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox, and Judd Hirsch will be.
New cast members include Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe, Jessie Usher, Travis Tope, Joey King, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lance Lim, Mckenna Grace, and Sela Ward as the President.
Devlin wrote the first draft of the film with director Roland Emmerich, who also directed the first film. James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright wrote the most recent draft. James Vanderbilt also had a hand in writing the movie, which Emmerich and Devlin are producing with Harald Kloser.
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Sly Stallone wrote, directed and starred in 2008’s “Rambo,” which came 20 years after “Rambo III.” It was dedicated to the memory of Richard Crenna, who played Col. Sam Trautman in the first three films.
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Roland Emmerich's "Independence Day: Resurgence" invaded theaters fully two decades after his 1996 original -- and this time without Will Smith.
A full 20 years after "Dumb and Dumber," Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey reprised their roles as dim-witted pals in 2014's "Dumb and Dumber To."
“The Last Picture Show” stars Cybill Shepherd and Jeff Bridges returned after 19 years for 1990’s “Texasville,” which unlike the original drama about small-town America, was shot in color.
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Star Jack Nicholson and writer Robert Towne came back for 1990’s “The Two Jakes,” the followup to the 1974 noir classic “Chinatown.” Audiences didn’t however, and it flopped.
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The hapless Vermont state troopers from the Broken Lizard comedy troupe returned to the big screen in 2018's "Super Troopers 2" -- fully 17 years after the 2001 original.
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Francis Ford Coppola delivered 1990’s “The Godfather Part III” 16 years after the series’ previous installment and closed the book on Michael Corleone. The director’s casting of his daughter Sofia drew fire; Julia Roberts, Madonna and Winona Ryder were also considered for the role.
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2015's "Jurassic World" starring Chris Pratt landed in theaters nearly 14 years after "Jurassic Park III."
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Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson came back after 13 years for “Evening Star,” the followup to 1983’s Best Picture Oscar winner “Terms of Endearment.”
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"Finding Dory" is the sequel to 2003's "Finding Nemo," meaning it took 13 years for our fishy friends to come back to the big screen.
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"Bridget Jones's Baby" is hitting theaters a full 12 years after the last in the franchise and 15 years after the first film, "Bridget Jones's Diary." The 2001 original was a commercial and box office success, while its 2004 sequel "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" scored measly reviews and has a score of 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Pixar’s animated hit is the latest follow-up to arrive more than a decade after its predecessor
Long-gestating follow-ups include blockbusters like "Jurassic World" and famous flops like "Blues Brothers 2000" and "Zoolander 2" -- that arrived more than a decade after their predecessors.
Actor is reprising a role he played in the 1996 Roland Emmerich film
"Independence Day 2" producer Dean Devlin shared the first photo of cast member Jeff Goldblum on the set of the Twentieth Century Fox sequel to the 1996 blockbuster about aliens invading the planet, and humanity rallying to fight back.
"Hanging with David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) 20 years later is a dream come true! #IndependenceDay," Devlin captioned the Instagram photo with the actor.
Goldblum is reprising his role as computer genius David Levinson, who fans may remember for being responsible for saving the world alongside Will Smith. Sadly, Smith will not be back for more action, but Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox, and Judd Hirsch will be.
New cast members include Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe, Jessie Usher, Travis Tope, Joey King, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lance Lim, Mckenna Grace, and Sela Ward as the President.
Devlin wrote the first draft of the film with director Roland Emmerich, who also directed the first film. James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright wrote the most recent draft. James Vanderbilt also had a hand in writing the movie, which Emmerich and Devlin are producing with Harald Kloser.
'Incredibles 2' and 33 Other Movie Sequels That Took Forever to Hit the Screen (Photos)
Long-gestating follow-ups include blockbusters like "Jurassic World" and famous flops like "Blues Brothers 2000" and "Zoolander 2" -- that arrived more than a decade after their predecessors.
Harrison Ford returned for Denis Villeneuve's "Blade Runner 2049" a full 35 years after starring in Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic.
“The Odd Couple II” is among the sequels with the biggest gaps between films. Twenty-nine years after the 1968 original, Jack Lemmon returned as Felix Unger and Walter Matthau was Oscar Madison in their last film together.
Paramount
“Tron: Legacy” came 28 years after the original, and featured Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner. Shot in 3D, the film featured extensive visual effects and a score by Daft Punk. It grossed more than $400 million worldwide in 2010.
"The Color of Money" featured Paul Newman reprising his role as "Fast Eddie" Felson alongside Tom Cruise. Newman won the Best Actor Oscar, 25 years after 1961's "The Hustler."
Buena Vista
In “Psycho 2,” Meg Tilly played a traveler who encounters Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), 23 years after Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic.
Universal
Greed was still pretty good in “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” which came 23 years after the original and returned Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko and co-starred Shia LaBeouf.
Fox
Who says you can't go home again? Ewan McGregor's Mark Renton returned for "T2 Trainspotting" 21 years after the original film.
Fox
Sly Stallone wrote, directed and starred in 2008’s “Rambo,” which came 20 years after “Rambo III.” It was dedicated to the memory of Richard Crenna, who played Col. Sam Trautman in the first three films.
Lionsgate
Roland Emmerich's "Independence Day: Resurgence" invaded theaters fully two decades after his 1996 original -- and this time without Will Smith.
A full 20 years after "Dumb and Dumber," Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey reprised their roles as dim-witted pals in 2014's "Dumb and Dumber To."
“The Last Picture Show” stars Cybill Shepherd and Jeff Bridges returned after 19 years for 1990’s “Texasville,” which unlike the original drama about small-town America, was shot in color.
Columbia
“Blues Brothers 2000” came 18 years after the 1980 original. John Goodman stepped in for the late John Belushi – John Candy and Cab Calloway also died before the sequel – but the film bombed.
Universal
“Live Free or Die Hard” might have arrived sooner than 2007, 16 years after “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” but it was delayed after the events of 9/11. In this one, Bruce Willis’ John McClane character battles cyber terrorists.
Fox
Sly Stallone wrote, directed and stars in 2006’ “Rocky Balboa,” the sixth film in the boxing franchise. It came 16 years after “Rocky V,” and featured the pugilist as widower, retired from the ring and running an Italian restaurant called “Adrian’s,” after his late wife.
MGM
Star Jack Nicholson and writer Robert Towne came back for 1990’s “The Two Jakes,” the followup to the 1974 noir classic “Chinatown.” Audiences didn’t however, and it flopped.
Paramount
The hapless Vermont state troopers from the Broken Lizard comedy troupe returned to the big screen in 2018's "Super Troopers 2" -- fully 17 years after the 2001 original.
Fox
Francis Ford Coppola delivered 1990’s “The Godfather Part III” 16 years after the series’ previous installment and closed the book on Michael Corleone. The director’s casting of his daughter Sofia drew fire; Julia Roberts, Madonna and Winona Ryder were also considered for the role.
Paramount
Sharon Stone reprised her role as Catherine Tramell in 2006's “Basic Instinct 2,” the sequel to the 1992 erotic thriller. But moviegoers weren’t turned on and it bombed.
Sony/Columbia
Pixar waited a full 14 years to bring the superhero Parr family back to the big screen in 2018's "Incredibles 2."
Writer-director Malcolm D. Lee waited 14 years before turning out “The Best Man Holiday,” a sequel to his 1999 ensemble comedy “The Best Man.” The timing was right: the sequel made $71 million on a $17 million budget.
Universal
2015's "Jurassic World" starring Chris Pratt landed in theaters nearly 14 years after "Jurassic Park III."
Universal Pictures
Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski returned for “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles,” which followed the original by 13 years. But the sequel didn’t have many g’days at the box office.
Paramount
Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson came back after 13 years for “Evening Star,” the followup to 1983’s Best Picture Oscar winner “Terms of Endearment.”
Paramount
"xXx: Return of Xander Cage" came out 15 years after the original and 12 years after its sequel. The second film did not star Vin Diesel as Xander Cage, but he made his return in the third film, which grossed $20 million its opening weekend.
Paramount
The 2003 action film “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” came 12 years after “Judgment Day” and was the last film for Arnold Schwarzenegger before he took over as California’s governor.
Warner Bros.
Writer-director Kevin Smith didn't plan on making a sequel to his 1994 cult hit "Clerks." But after 11 years -- and "Jersey Girl" -- he changed his mind.
Miramax
Critics took director Tobe Hooper to task for infusing too much black humor into the cannibal saga “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” which came a decade after the original 1974 slasher film.
Cannon Films
"Zoolander 2," with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson reprising their roles, came out 15 years after the original. Hoping to reel in fans of the first film, the sequel only managed to gross $28 million.
Paramount Pictures
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" is opening in theaters on March 25, 14 years after the original hit the big screen. It will be opening against box office behemoth "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill.
Universal
"Finding Dory" is the sequel to 2003's "Finding Nemo," meaning it took 13 years for our fishy friends to come back to the big screen.
PIxar
"Bridget Jones's Baby" is hitting theaters a full 12 years after the last in the franchise and 15 years after the first film, "Bridget Jones's Diary." The 2001 original was a commercial and box office success, while its 2004 sequel "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" scored measly reviews and has a score of 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Universal
"Barbershop: The Next Cut," the 2016 follow-up to 2004's "Barbershop 2: Back in Business," was the third movie in the franchise.
Warner Bros.
1 of 35
Pixar’s animated hit is the latest follow-up to arrive more than a decade after its predecessor
Long-gestating follow-ups include blockbusters like "Jurassic World" and famous flops like "Blues Brothers 2000" and "Zoolander 2" -- that arrived more than a decade after their predecessors.
So yes, there’s an awful lot of plot and backstory floating around like space junk here, none of which really matters when the new invasion begins. Essentially, it’s the same as the first movie, but bigger and, depending upon where you see it, now in 3D.
