8 Reasons Independence Day Is The 90s' Star Wars

8. Mass Destruction With A Weighty Aftermath

Big, explosive summer blockbusters will invariably involve death; if a film is going to be visually exciting, it's probably going to be through a means that causes massive collateral damage. This unavoidable truth has become a recurrent issue in recent years, with movies called out for their dismissive approach to innocents and others desperately trying to show the heroes care (contrast Man Of Steel to Avengers: Age Of Ultron).

But while CGI and superheroes have made this a bigger deal, truth be told, this has always posed an issue with fun, destructive movies - strike the balance wrong and you wind up feeling too flippant or too intense - but two films that hit the perfect mark are Star Wars and Independence Day; in the former, the loss of Alderaan is coldly executed and its far-reaching impact shown in a simple cross cut and while Emmerich's film is more gracious, detailing the destruction of buildings that could be holding thousands of people, it countered that with the same swift acknowledgement. Yes, millions (probably billions) died, but each life lost was felt and built the stakes.

This approach to spectacle, having an awareness of the real-world ramifications without letting it bog the film down, is exactly what made Star Wars work and made Independence Day so appealing and relatable decades later.