10 Movies That Tried To Exploit Nostalgia (And Failed)

Independence Day was one of the defining movies of the 1990s, regardless of genre. The iconic destruction of the White House both popularized the teaser trailer and the practice of ending marketing materials on a 'money shot', it marked a comeback for both massive-scale disaster movies and sci-fi epics, launched Will Smith to the top of the Hollywood A-list and became the second highest-grossing movie in history at the time after earning $817.4m.

One thing it didn't do was set itself up for a sequel, but with the movie industry eager to capitalize on any brand with the slightest name value and cash in on the recent nostalgia craze, a full 20 years later we got Independence Day: Resurgence, a hugely inferior follow-up that failed to earn even half as much at the box office as its predecessor.

Will Smith wouldn't return, so they made his son one of the main characters this time. Brent Spiner was great as the crazy scientist, so they put him in a coma for 20 years and had him play the role in exactly the same way. Bill Pullman's cheesy-as-f**k Presidential speech was great, so he gets another one. Judd Hirsch repeats his 'old Jewish dad' shtick. Everyone has daddy issues. Jeff Goldblum is also there.

The only improvement Resurgence makes is with the CGI, which was a given after two decades of technological advancements. Apart from that, Roland Emmerich's sci-fi epic is content to deliver generic blockbuster spectacle and rely on audience familiarity with the original, happily ticking the boxes of 'things you remember and liked from Independence Day' instead of even attempting anything new or different.