INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE Review

There is a bit of trivia on the IMDB page for Independence Day: Resurgence that talks about how, after the success of the first film, 20th Century Fox paid screenwriter Dean Devlin a large sum of money to write a script for a sequel. The story goes though, that after completing the script for what would have been the original sequel to 1996's Independence Day Devlin decided not to turn it in and instead gave the money back to the studio. The trivia goes on to state that Devlin did this because he felt the story didn't live up to the first film. As we are now twenty years removed from that original film and have now seen what an Independence Day sequel looks like this course of action only seems to beg one question: how bad must that original sequel script have been? Could it really have retreaded the beats of the first film as much as Resurgence does? The only thing that differentiates the first film from this new one is the passage of time and how that has changed earth's technologies and defense systems while having what cast returns look a little older. The IMDB page goes on to say that it was only fifteen years later, when Devlin met up with director Roland Emmerich to try again, that they felt they had finally "cracked" a story for a sequel. Though it is difficult to be downright negative towards a film story and character development certainly aren't Resurgence's strong suits and may even be the most laughable aspects of a movie that tries really hard to be funny. One can't help but feel that, in this scenario, "cracking" the story only meant they were offered a lot more money than before. If Resurgence does indeed deliver the story that Emmerich and Devlin thought more justified the existence of a sequel to their 1996 feature it can only now be concluded that they were only going to repeat themselves more with the scrapped screenplay. While Resurgence certainly finds moments of dumb fun and some rather spectacular action sequences given special effects have improved greatly in the last two decades it is more or less a retread of what we saw in that original movie in terms of ensemble cast and humans versus aliens. Granted, the question easily posed in response to that statement is, "what did you expect it to be?" and the answer to that is that they at least try to find a new way into that same old story.

New Trailer for INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE

In light of Earth Day today 20th Century Fox has decided to release a new look at this summer's Independence Day sequel that will inevitably destroy it. This twenty years later sequel that undoubtedly hopes to cash in on some of that nostalgia money Jurassic World was able to make last past summer is throwing all the chips on the table with this latest trailer. Unlike World though, this property has many a returning factors. Director Roland Emmerich has directed what looks to be a real time second chapter to the story of the 1996 alien invasion where the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsh, and Vivica A. Fox are all back to once again defend the planet from incoming invaders. The set-up has a neat little conceit to it as Goldblum's David Levinson has seemingly been leading the charge to ready the Earth for the inevitable by using the alien technology they acquired after the events of the first film to protect them if the aliens were to ever return. Well, it seems as if the time has come. With this new look at what I assume is recently completed footage given the amount of CGI here is seems the director has really outdone himself this time in terms of pure spectacle and scale. The destruction in this thing is almost incomprehensible, but it is truly stunning and should translate on the big screen quite well. The real question is if any of these characters will the same way Smith was able to way back when. At the very least, Emmerich is always a reliable source for big, brainless summer spectacle and I expect nothing short of such entertainment here. Independence Day: Resurgence also stars Liam Hemsworth, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, and opens on June 24, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE

Out of nowhere 20th Century Fox has decided to release the first look at next summer's Independence Day sequel. Of course, this isn't really out of nowhere as everyone in their right mind is vying for a spot in front of Star Wars: The Force Awakens this Friday and Fox has simply thrown their hat in the ring with both the X-Men Apocalyspe trailer that debuted Friday and now the twenty years later sequel that will undoubtedly hope to cash in on some of that nostalgia money Jurassic World was able to make this past summer. Unlike World though, this property has many a returning factors. Director Roland Emmerich has directed what looks to be a real time second chapter to the story of the 1996 alien invasion where the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsh, and Vivica A. Fox are all back to once again defend the planet from incoming invaders, but sadly there is no Will Smith to be seen. The set-up has a neat little conceit to it as Goldblum's David Levinson has seemingly been leading the charge to ready the Earth for the inevitable by using the alien technology they acquired after the events of the first film to protect them if the aliens were ever to return. Well, guess what-they're back. While this first glimpse at the footage for the upcoming film looks to be in line with what today's audiences expect in terms of dark and gritty and taking things fairly serious, I wouldn't be surprised if the final film is much more in line with the tone of the original. Plus, Emmerich is always a reliable source for big, brainless summer spectacle and I expect nothing short of such entertainment here. Independence Day: Resurgence also stars Liam Hemsworth, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, and opens on June 24, 2016.