Independence Day: Resurgence Review

Independence Day: Resurgence is finally hitting theatres and we always knew they were coming back! Jordan Samuel has seen the sequel that was 20 years in the making and provides the official ComiConverse review

Independence Day was released 20 years ago, and was the first disaster film I ever saw.  It blew me away with its characters and special effects. Many regard it as the greatest film Roland Emmerich has created in his career, as it balanced scale and tension perfectly.

It may have not aged well, but the film still remains one of my all-time favourites, with Will Smith being a major reason for that.

He was the perfect hero for the film, with his action and comedic presence being felt on screen from start to finish. Jeff Goldblum was also outstanding in his role, partnering with Will Smith. His charismatic approach it was a match made in heaven.

The plot may have been predictable, but something about the characters made all wonderful nevertheless. So, when it was announced Jeff Goldblum and Emmerich were developing a sequel, my eyes lit up.

But, without Will Smith, could this succeed? Would it be the revival of the disaster genre.

Credit: 20th Century FOX

We always knew they were coming back. After Independence Day redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global spectacle on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defence program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens' advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.

Independence Day: Resurgence is a bad cheesy 90's TV Movie redone for modern audiences, crazy loud and most importantly a bit rubbish.

Roland Emmerich delivers an attempt at surpassing his best picture yet ID4, with ideas that could have revived a franchise perfectly. Instead he provides a disappointing 1990's disaster tribute that falls in every single level when compared to his Mona Lisa

Going into the movie theatre, due to my love for the franchise it made me anxious. In the end i came out entertained for all the wrong reasons due to a inconsistent plot and horrible editing mistakes.

I laughed throughout the 2 hour run-time, as it brought me back to a simpler era of bad 90's blockbusters. Resurgence is a film so loud and self-assured with its silly tone that you cannot help but smile.

Emmerich adds new characters that we should care about, but fails in fleshing them out like did with Will Smith.

The issue has followed disaster movies since there inception an hasn't been resolved here, it lacks the heart found in ID4. CGI is used instead of sets, and it is quite decent but does get very muddy in the last half.

Alien designs are still horribly thought out as they lack any real menace which is absurd in a disaster picture. Maybe we could have seen a new alien race instead because theses one look like something out the PS1 era.

It's been 20 years after the alien war of 1996 and the citizens of Earth as in a relatively happy place.

United by the threat of potential extermination, humanity have joined together like never before harnessing alien technology to protect the planet. It has been used to rebuild cities and create spacecraft and weapons to be used for a possible alien return.

Credit: 20th Century FOX

Newcomer Liam Hemsworth plays ESD pilot Jake Morrison, who joins the fight after witnessing his parents die in 1996.

Liam's character is quite charming but lacks the weight brought by Will Smith in the original. He is very generic and often doesn't really connect emotionally on the screen which is annoying. Emmerich tries his best at developing the young man, but he just ends up feeling wooden

I see potential in Hemsworth but maybe he wasn't the best fit for his acting ability.

Jeff Goldblum man of the hour returns as David, and boy was it awesome to see him fighting alien scum. His personality and comedic timing is what made him so important in the first one continues in Resurgence.

Jeff is in his element, and Emmerich always brings out the best in him.

David is a lot older in the film which is shown by his maturity as a character – you sense allot more terror in his eyes after seeing so much death. After skipping Jurassic World, it was quite cool to see him back in a big blockbuster.

Jessie Usher is Dylan Hiller the son of Will Smith's character, he is much darker and mysterious than Jake.  I liked this dynamic between the pair, but Usher just does not have much to do in the battles.

Maybe a script rewrite could have made Hiller a major factor in the plot. Because he just ends up feeling like a discount version of Will Smith who lacks any real character development.  He has serious potential as a character, but he sadly doesn't do much to advance the plot which is a shame.

Credit: 20th Century FOX

The action is very hit or miss in this sequel, with one scene topping the Whitehouse moment in the first movie - but others feeling like rip-off Star Wars movie. I also felt like no tension was ever built up with them, and that is never  good in a disaster film

In a summer filled with awful CGI, Resurgence is the strange middle area of special effects. It doesn't look awful mind you, some of  the space scenes do look quite impressive but others lack the detail

Pacing is a major issue here, with certain scenes going on for way too long - I would have liked a slower pace that paid off with a better ending. A tighter script could have allowed the audience more air to breathe, potentially giving us some character moments that surely would have made it better

Emmerich needs to slow things down next time around.

Independence Day: Resurgence is a TV movie, just injected with a higher budget which is not what fans would have hoped for. Emmerich should have released this in 1997 and maybe all would have been forgiven but this is 20 years to late

Jordan Samuel is the Lead Film Critic for ComiConverse. Follow him on Twitter: @JordanESamuel