“They like to get the landmarks.” —David Levinson
Today’s quick review: Independence Day: Resurgence. Two decades after the people of Earth repelled an alien invasion, another mothership lands and begins drilling towards the Earth’s core. As scientist David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) and former president Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) coordinate the response, a new generation of fighter pilots (Liam Hemsworth, Jessie T. Usher, and Maika Monroe) takes to the skies to combat the alien threat.
Independence Day: Resurgence is a sci-fi action adventure that picks up twenty years after the events of the original Independence Day. Resurgence features an ensemble cast that mixes familiar faces with new ones, pitting Earth’s upgraded defenses against an even more devastating assault. The sequel ticks the boxes when it comes to action and humor, but it fails to match the polished execution and the intensity of the original.
The premise of Independence Day: Resurgence is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it gives the movie an interesting space to play in. The new characters provide fresh blood, many characters from the first movie are still active, and repurposed alien technology gives the humans an upgraded toolkit for fighting back. Independence Day: Resurgence starts from a very different place than most alien invasion movies.
But on the other hand, Resurgence’s premise saddles it with an arbitrary status quo and an unwieldy cast. The world feels less real than that of the original movie, the characters have less room to develop, and the callbacks to the original result in a story that feels derivative and forced. The sequel also suffers from clumsier craftsmanship, with a plot that barely covers what it needs to and special effects that don’t stand up to scrutiny.
The result is a mediocre science fiction movie and a disappointing sequel. Independence Day: Resurgence is a fine watch if you are just looking for some popcorn action and don’t particularly care about the world or characters of the original film. But fans of the original will find the sequel jumbled and aimless, good for some spectacle and not much more. Approach with caution.
For a cleaner take on the same premise, check out the original Independence Day. For a sci-fi action sequel with a lot of the same pros and cons, try Pacific Rim: Uprising. For a more focused showdown with an alien queen, try Aliens or Star Trek: First Contact. For a sci-fi Western that pits outmatched humans against an alien invasion, try Cowboys & Aliens. For a more benign alien arrival, try Muppets from Space.
[5.2 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1628841/). I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for flashy action that suffers from a cluttered plot and mediocre execution.