Independence Day: Resurgence Review - A Rousing Speech Against Summer 2016's Worst Movie Yet
"We need to fight for our right for good summer movies!"
Rating: ★
Good morning (maybe whack this on in the background).
In less than an hour, a multiplex near you will be screening Independence Day: Resurgence, like many others around the world. And it will be promising to show the biggest alien invasion in the history of cinema. "Cinema." With all the rubbish remakes and legacyquels recently, that word should have new meaning today. And we need to take it back.
We can't be drawn in by empty spectacle anymore. We should be united in our common interest for weight to match the CGI visuals.
Perhaps it's fate that Independence Day 2 was released over a week before the Fourth of July, showing upfront how far Resurgence is from fighting to be good cinema. Not good cinema in terms of quality screenwriting, sensible plotting and scenes without endless continuity errors, but in terms of being a fun film.
We need to fight for our right for good summer movies. For entertainment. And should we stand and not pay to see this film, Independence Day will no longer be known as a dumb, fun action landmark, but as the movie whose sequel saw the audience declare in one voice: We will not go quietly into this phoned-in night! We will not let originality vanish without a fight! We're going to let assured movie making live on! We're going to ensure character, and charisma, and humour and focused action, and stories that unfold naturally, and an idea of how to craft spectacle survive! Today we celebrate the legacy of Independence Day!
Round of applause. Nobody sees Independence Day: Resurgence, the latest in a long line of big budget 2016 releases that are horrendously paced, have sloppy character development, completely misunderstand how to craft iconography and ultimately feel hampered by studio meddling. Hollywood wakes up to the fact that, like in the 90s, it can't churn out any old sh*t and gets its f*cking act together. We wind up with a world where if we're promised fireworks, we get bloody amazing fireworks.
The End.
Just kidding, this one sets up another sequel. See you in three years.
Independence Day: Resurgence is in cinemas now.