Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

"Independence Day: Resurgence" stars Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, and Maika Monroe.  Released on June 24, 2016, the film has the human race in another war against the aliens, which proved to be much stronger than anyone imagined.

The film is directed by Roland Emmerich, who also directed films such as Stargate, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and White House Down.  It is a sequel to the 1996 disaster film, Independence Day, also directed by Emmerich.  After taking on three non-disaster films like Anonymous, White House Down, and last year's critically panned Stonewall, Emmerich returns to destroy our beloved cities once again with a long-awaited sequel to a fun, yet cheesy, disaster film from the 90s.  I thought the first Independence Day film was a fun ride.  It's cheesy, yes, but it also had the right amount of heart.  When it comes to sequels like this, the filmmakers usually attempt to go bigger and raise the stakes compared to the originals.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.  It all depends on the audience's reactions.  I wasn't expecting much for this disaster sequel because I knew that it's going to be another cheesy science fiction film with aliens, futuristic weapons, and Liam Hemsworth.  After watching this film, I felt that they got the cheesy part right, but the rest is where the tricky part comes in.

The film takes place 20 years after the events of Independence Day.  The humans used the alien technology from the last battle to rebuild their home and update their modern technology and vehicles.  Not only that, but they also upped their defense systems.  Now, I don't mean to be jealous or anything, but how come we haven't had that type of technology during our time?  I mean, seriously, every futuristic sci-fi film has the coolest stuff on the planet and we got squat.  Anyway, some of the cast members made a return from the first film (except Will Smith), including Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson and Bill Pullman as Thomas Whitmore, along with some new faces that are joining the party.  Liam Hemsworth was decent as Jake and Jessie Usher was good as the stepson of Will Smith's character in the first film.  The rest of the cast did all right.  They weren't groundbreaking or anything, they're just fine.  If you liked the first film for its silliness and special effects, this sequel is no different.  The visual effects in this movie were really impressive and the cheesiness was laughable.  Now, this is where this film went from being good to being "eh…it's all right".

I liked the first movie because of its mixture of cheesiness and heart, along with its themes of uniting against a common threat.  The theme is there for a while, but to me, the amount of silliness overweighs its emotional depth, leaving it hard for the audience to take it seriously.  There was this one scene where I was like, "OK…I think they've gone off the deep end."  You'll know it when you see it for yourself.  Compared to the original, this film is just...'silly'.  If you don't mind the amount of cheesiness in certain summer films, then you might like it.  I was just laughing my butt off almost throughout the film, even though the marketing team made it look like a groundbreaking science fiction film with some humor thrown in it.  There's also a bit of a romance between Travis Tope's character and the female pilot, played by Hong Kong model, Angelababy, but it's almost nonexistent.  Some of the editing could've used a bit more work as well, mostly because at certain points, they cut from one scene to the next in a matter of seconds.  I would also like to point out that the fight sequences between the Air Force and the aliens remind me of Star Wars a little bit.  

Overall, "Independence Day: Resurgence" got a little carried away with its cheesiness that the original was known for.  The visuals were impressive, the characters were decent, and it has some entertainment value, but the film's lack of emotional depth and choppy editing made it go quietly into the night.  It's been almost seven years since Emmerich last made a big-budget disaster film, which is 2012, and this film shows.  If you're in a mood for a disaster film, this one may tide you over.  If you like the first film because of its silliness and special effects, you might also like it.              

C-