Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

It’s the Fourth of July. I don’t celebrate it. I’m not going to say that I do. I’m Canadian. The American Independence Day doesn’t mean anything to me outside of the region in which I live typically having more visitors because it’s right on the border. That’s not happening this year. There’s some increased traffic because the Canadian long weekend is the same weekend, but it’s nowhere near the increased traffic of most years when the border is open.

That isn’t what this post is about, though. It’s not about tourism. It’s not about celebrating the independence of the United States. It’s about celebrating something else. This post is about a movie that celebrated the stopping of an alien invasion. It celebrated two men who bravely travelled through space in an alien spacecraft to give a bigger alien spacecraft a cold. A virus. This is about the sequel to the 1996 film Independence Day.

Twenty years after the events of Independence Day, Earth had created a defensive outpost on The Moon. The people stationed there, including pilots Jake Morrison (Liam Hemsworth); Dylan Hiller (Jessie T. Usher); Rain Lao (Angelababy); and Charlie Miller (Travis Tope), were tasked with watching out for another alien invasion. When a spacecraft bigger than they had ever seen destroyed the defensive outpost and began drilling to the Earth’s core, David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) rejoined forces with the government to try and save the world once again. Aided by Former President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) and Dr. Brakish Okun (Brent Spiner), they put together a plan to stop the new alien invasion or die trying.

Within that synopsis of Independence Day: Resurgence, the 2016 sequel to Independence Day, there were some interesting elements. There were things that could make a person think that this might be a good movie. It might be something worth making and something worth watching. To be fair, those ideas are interesting. They could have made for something entertaining if done well. They had the potential to be the foundation of a great science fiction disaster movie.

The most interesting aspect of Independence Day: Resurgence was the way Earth defended itself against future invasions. In the first Independence Day film, it was revealed that Area 51 was real. The United States had captured an alien spacecraft many years before and studies were being done to figure out how the craft worked and how the aliens were composed biologically. After the 1996 invasion had been halted, the research had rapidly progressed so that Earth could harness the alien technology for themselves. The defensive outpost on The Moon was designed with the alien technology in mind. The weapons were designed to penetrate the alien spacecrafts. The Moon base spacecraft was based off the design of the alien spacecraft. It showed world-building and technological progression that was greatly appreciated following a twenty-year gap between films and stories.

The other nice thing was the technological advancements of the film industry, itself. During the twenty years between Independence Day and Independence Day: Resurgence, there were some major advancements in the effects world. Practical effects took a back seat to computer generated stuff, which meant that the computer-generated stuff was refined over the two-decade period. In general, a computer-generated effect in 2016 would look better and more realistic than a computer-generated effect of 1996. It would be easier to destroy the world, and The Moon, on a bigger scale with modern CG work than the elaborate miniature work that would have been required in the past. Director Roland Emmerich had already dipped his toes in CG disaster work with The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. He had shown it could be done. He would show that same scale and creativity in Independence Day: Resurgence.

Finally, there were the returning characters to satisfy the audience’s wants and needs for a continuation to the 1996 film that they loved. Many of the surviving characters of Independence Day returned for a second outing. David Levinson and his father Julius Levinson (Judd Hirsch) were back. Jasmine Hiller (Vivica A. Fox) was back, as was her son Dylan. President Whitmore and his daughter Patricia (Maika Monroe) came back, as did Dr. Okum. It was a nice blend of returning, surviving characters, with newer characters who could try and fill whatever gaps were left in the ensemble cast.

The major problem with the new cast was that they couldn’t fill the gaps that the former cast left behind. President Whitmore took on the Russell Casse sort of role in the sequel, leaving open the role of world leader that nobody really filled. Constance Spano was gone without any real mention of why and was replaced with Catherine Marceaux (Charlotte Gainsbourgh). Charlie Miller filled the role that Jimmy Wilder played in the first film as the best friend of the main fighter pilot. Even the main fighter pilot was replaced, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

There were two cases of recasting that felt a little odd, but only from the stance that one of the previous actors was a recognizable face in Hollywood, to this day. The less important recasting was the role of Dylan Hiller. He was a child in the first film, played by Ross Bagley, who was a big child star at the time. By the time the sequel rolled around, he was essentially done with acting. He only had a few credits after the 1990s, so it made sense to maybe recast him with someone a little more recognizable to modern audiences. The other role of note was Patricia Whitmore, the former President’s daughter. The original actress was Mae Whitman, a child actress who would go on to have memorable roles in Arrested Development, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and The DUFF. She has had steady work since Independence Day and it felt weird to have her replaced my someone who, in my opinion, is less recognizable. It was strange.

The biggest gap in the cast of Independence Day: Resurgence, however, was that it was missing the presence of Will Smith. Much of the appeal of Independence Day hinged on the charismatic performance of Will Smith. He filled the shoes of the cocky fighter pilot. His character balanced out the film. There was the quirk of Jeff Goldblum, the leadership of Bill Pullman, the crazy of Randy Quaid, and the cocky bravery of Will Smith. Each of those elements balanced out the others so that nothing ever went too far in one direction. None of the new fighter pilots filled that Will Smith role, which led to an imbalance. Jeff Goldblum was doing his thing. Bill Pullman was switched to the Randy Quaid crazy role. The fighter pilots kind of filled the leader role. But nobody captured the cocky Will Smith role, which left a very large hole in the film.

Another major problem with the film was the story focus. The first film made sure that each of the main characters had things going on outside of the alien attack, and focused on those elements. David Levinson uncovered the true nature of the aliens and was in charge of saving the world. Steve Hiller was in a relationship that was strained because of his duty as a fighter pilot. President Whitmore’s wife died because of the alien attack. Russell Casse had been abducted by aliens, was seen as crazy for even thinking it, and wanted revenge when the aliens arrived. They had some emotional beats that drove them to save the world.

Independence Day: Resurgence had some of that. One of the more interesting elements it introduced, though the execution wasn’t the greatest, was that the people who had come into physical contact with the aliens had a mental connection with them. That led to some interesting mystery solving as Dr. Okum, President Whitmore, and Dikembe Umbutu (Deobia Oparei) had visions of aliens and symbols when the new attack happened. The new fighter pilots had some relationship drama between them, which gave them at least the smallest amount of stakes to play around with outside of simple life or death situations. Those ideas weren’t fleshed out enough, though. It felt like both the visions and the romances were there because the writers felt it necessary to have something, but they didn’t focus enough on those elements to make them worthwhile.

Instead, the time that could have gone to making those elements more engaging was spent with Julius Levinson, in a storyline that had zero effect over the outcome. He was on his boat when the giant spacecraft crashed into Earth. He got caught up in a tidal wave that should have killed him. It would have killed anyone else. It didn’t get him, though. A bunch of kids driving a station wagon found his boat on the side of the road. He was perched in a chair on it, unconscious. They took him in. He drove for them, then found more kids on a bus and started driving a bus full of kids. Eventually, he would meet up with his son outside Area 51 and they would outrun a falling giant alien in the bus. That was his whole storyline. There was no reason for him to drive a bus full of kids. There was no reason for the storyline. It didn’t have anything to do with the rest of the movie. It could have been cut out entirely and the only thing that would have changed was the bus outrunning the alien at the end.

There were a bunch of other, smaller things that didn’t quite work for Independence Day: Resurgence. The new President, played by Sela Ward, didn’t have the same sort of presence as President Whitmore, and was killed off-screen partway through the movie. It was unsatisfying. The computer-generated effects were fine, but there was focus on water when the spacecraft landed, and water effects still haven’t quite been perfected. There was a strange green-blue hue to most of the movie that felt a little off-putting. Many of the characters who died didn’t get any screen time to make their deaths mean anything. Much of what made the sequel fall flat, however, was in the replacement of the original characters and actors, and the lack of proper focus in the story.

Twenty years on, the sequel to Independence Day was a long-awaited disappointment. It didn’t live up to the expectations that anyone had for it. It underwhelmed in almost every way. Even the interesting aspects that had the potential to make something great fell flat. They weren’t explored as much as they should have been. The plans for a sequel to the sequel, which were laid out in the final moments of Independence Day: Resurgence, were scrapped when the critical consensus came in. If a third film were to be on the same level of quality of the second, nobody was going to want it. Might as well not make it.

Today is the Fourth of July. There are no aliens hovering over major landmarks around the world. Mind you, that would have been two days ago. Maybe it’s better to say there is no world army fighting back against alien invaders. There is no giant spacecraft drilling into the Earth’s core. Instead, we simply have the Golf of Mexico being lit on fire, showing that humans don’t need an outside force to destroy the planet. We can do that all by ourselves. Happy Fourth, I guess.

It’s time to close this post out with some notes:

• Independence Day: Resurgence was directed by Roland Emmerich, the same director who brought us Godzilla (week 282).
• Diezel Ramos appeared in Independence Day: Resurgence. He also appeared in Fant4stic (week 172), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (week 310), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (week 310).
• Independence Day: Resurgence was Vivica A. Fox’s third Sunday “Bad” Movies appearance behind Batman & Robin (week 138) and Sharknado 2: The Second One (week 190).
• Johnny Otto also made his third appearance in Independence Day: Resurgence, following American Ultra (week 261) and The Snowman (week 431).
• Ten actors from The Ridiculous 6 (week 344) were in Independence Day: Resurgence. They were Richard Beal, Todd Bethke, Paul Caster, Jetto Dorsainville, Alan Humphrey, Catharine E. Jones, Justin Lotz, David Loving, Victoria L. Moya, and Michael E. Stogner.
• Deobia Oparei appeared in Independence Day: Resurgence. He also appeared in Death Race (week 9).
• Independence Day: Resurgence saw the return of Arturo Del Puerto, who was in 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (week 10).
• Judd Hirsh made his second Sunday “Bad” Movies appearance in Independence Day: Resurgence. His other appearance was another sequel, Sharknado 2: The Second One (week 190).
• Alice Rietveld was in Fifty Shades of Black (week 219) and Independence Day: Resurgence.
• Ron Yuan has now been in two Sunday “Bad” Movies. They were Independence Day: Resurgence and Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (week 234).
• Bill Pullman is a recognizable face who appeared in both American Ultra (week 261) and Independence Day: Resurgence.
• Sela Ward played the present-day president in Independence Day: Resurgence. She also showed up in 54 (week 266).
• The person who followed her as president was played by William Fichtner. He previously appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (week 310).
• Mckenna Grace played one of the kids in Independence Day: Resurgence. She also played one of the kids in Russell Madness (week 382).
• Finally, Charlotte Gainsbourg was in The Snowman (week 431) and Independence Day: Resurgence.
• Have you seen Independence Day: Resurgence? What did you think of it? Did I miss anything when discussing what it lacked that its predecessor had? Let me know in the comments or find me on Twitter and strike up a conversation.
• If there are any movies that you think I should cover for future Sunday “Bad” Movies posts, feel free to let me know on Twitter or in the comments. I’m always up for discovering new gems, whether they’re good or bad.
• If you head on over to Instagram, there’s always some fun stuff happening with Sunday “Bad” Movies.
• Next week, we head into a movie that isn’t paired up with a specific day. Well, a trilogy of movies. And that’s assuming that the rapture doesn’t become something real within the next week. I’ve ventured back to the early 2000s with a trilogy box set of the Left Behind films to see what those are all about. You’ll be able to read my thoughts in one week’s time. See you then! If we’re all still around, that is.