Independence Day
(1996)
|
With a $71 million budget and mind-blowing special effects, INDEPENDENCE DAY is a grand, high-tech throwback to such films of the 1950s as THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and WAR OF THE WORLDS. Here, aliens, in numerous gargantuan spaceships, arrive without warning and hover over the world's most important cities, creating global panic. The nasty visitors use death rays to blow New York, Washington D.C, and Los Angeles to smithereens. A handful of plucky Americans, including the Clinton-esque President, a gung-ho fighter pilot and a computer geek named David, attempt to devise a strategy against the invaders. |
No film had presented the destruction of the Earth on such an epic scale before this preposterously successful smash-hit sci-fi adventure came along. Of course, when we say Earth we really mean the USA — the rest of the world barely gets a look in. The story is simple: gigantic alien spacecrafts hover above major cities and set about destroying everything below. Those plucky Yanks, however, won't go down without a fight. There are subplots focusing on the fate of ordinary folk, but most of the effort goes on the mind-boggling set pieces. Such scenes of digital mayhem are now commonplace, but this provided the template, and the levelling of Washington here is still impressive. Will Smith's charismatic performance as a wisecracking fighter pilot helped make him one of the biggest box-office draws in the western world, while Jeff Goldblum delivers a variation of his boffin role in Jurassic Park. Bill Pullman, meanwhile, manfully keeps a straight face as the beleaguered American president. Of the females, Vivica A Fox fares the best, although the likes of Mary McDonnell and Margaret Colin are largely wasted in supporting roles. But this is, after all, a special effects, not an acting, showcase, and a very entertaining one at that.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Enjoyably silly, jingoistic nonsense that found an appreciative audience for its sensational effects of blowing up the White House and most of the world; it sticks closely to the plot of The War of the Worlds, offering a technological version of a
Highest rated reviews
Most recent reviews
Related news
Hancock tops UK box office
July 09, 2008
Hancock tops box office
July 07, 2008
lowdown_207_4
July 02, 2008
lowdown_207_3
July 02, 2008
Bond trailer makes online debut
July 02, 2008
Privacy Policy (amended) |
Terms & conditions (amended) |
Contact
| Accessibility
| Site map
© 2008
CD WOW! DVD rentals