8 Reasons Independence Day Is The 90s' Star Wars

Despite being a progressive film, Star Wars quite famously rooted itself in the past - the whole thing was inspired by Flash Gordon, the plot is straight-up The Hidden Fortress and there's so many allusions to wider cinema it could only come from king of the movie brats Lucas. This meant that while the film was incredibly forward thinking, there was a welcoming sense of familiarity that made the Adventures of Luke Skywalker relatable. This is likely part of why the prequels failed to connect - in trying something new, people couldn't get into the story - and also influenced J.J. Abrams' decision to mirror A New Hope with The Force Awakens (more on that later).

Independence Day followed this approach almost to a tee. In addition to the jabs at the Spielberg school of blockbuster filmmaking, there's a myriad of influences, prominently Irwin Allen disaster flicks, while so many of the iconic moments are direct lifts from classic sci-fi. While some people hone in on the unashamed corniness for doing this, it's this visual recreation that makes the film evoke saucer-bothering 50s B-movies.

Both films were able to push forward because they were coming from a shared, understood starting point, using pre-existing cinema language to say new things.