Independence Day Resurgence review: “Delivers just enough to satisfy”

Independence Day Resurgence review: 20 years have gone by… we knew they’d be back and now they’re here – but does the ID4 sequel deliver?

A generation on… our Independence Day Resurgence review…

Twenty years, pretty much to the day since the release of the first movie, Roland Emmerich teams with producing partner Dean Devlin for the sequel to Independence Day – perfectly timed for the American holiday (natch).

Gone is Will Smith, the hero from the original as U.S. Fighter pilot Steve Hiller, though the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Brent Spiner and President Whitmore himself, Bill Pullman, all return, along with a few other familiar faces for some more alien ass-whooping as a new wave decides to attack.

A generation has gone by and Earth is a very different place now. Washington has rebuilt and scientists have embraced the technology from the alien attack back in 1996. We now have spaceships that are able to transport us to the moon (where we’ve also set-up shop with a defence station) in a matter of minutes, The White House is back to its original glory and inside it is our first female president, President Lanford (played by Sela Ward).

Jeff Goldblum’s David Levinson is an engineer working alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg‘s Catherine Marceaux on one of the original ships from the first attack in rural Africa, and, when the ship suddenly ‘switches on’, discovers that our planet could be in immediate danger once again.

After discovering the initial threat, Levinson alerts ground control in Area 51, led by William Fichtner‘s General Adams. When their initial response has seemingly done the trick to avert catastrophe, Levinson is summoned back to Washington just in time for their 20-year Independence Day celebrations. He, of course is having none of it and packs off to the moon with the help of Liam Hemsworth‘s ambitious, maverick fighter pilot Jake Morrison to take him to the moon so that he can investigate further. Together they stumble across something much bigger, a 3000 mile wide mother ship that has the power to destroy Earth, landmark by landmark all over again.

Also along for the ride this time is Jessie Usher, who fills the voice left by Smith as his son, and fellow pilot Dylan Hiller. There’s also It Follows breakout star Maika Monroe as President Whitmore’s pilot daughter turned White House staffer Patricia, and Angelababy as yet another skilled pilot, Rain Lao. We also see Judd Hirsch and Brent Spiner reprising their roles as Julius Levinson and Dr. Brakish Okun respectively.

So what of the film? Well, as you can tell by our slight lateness in posting this, the film did not screen for critics (bar some junket press) here in the U.K. It still hasn’t debuted in front of U.S. critics either, and apparently won’t until the day of the release (a day later than the U.K.). This usually throws up warning lights as studios sometimes limit the damage by not screening for press on some releases that they may not feel 100% confident with, including some big-budget movies like this. Independence Day: Resurgence really isn’t a bad movie in any way, and up until now has garnered some pretty decent praise, almost across the board, which makes little sense to 20th Century Fox’s marketing strategy. 20 years have passed since Emmerich first unleashed cinematic destruction on our fair planet, and much like the world we witness in the film, we live in a very different place now for obvious reasons.

While ID4-2 fails to make one’s draw drop with its many scenes of ample landmark carnage like it did with the first movie, there’s a lot to like about it. Jeff Goldblum rises to the challenge of pretty much carrying this movie, and the likes of Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher more than step up to the plate to attempt to replace Will Smith’s iconic character, who is very much missed. The action is fairly constant once the film gets going, and there’s some wonderful support, notable from Spiner’s recently awaken Okun, the machete wielding African warlord Dikembe Umbutu, played by Deobia Oparei and even Bill Pullman as the slightly wonky, hobbling President Whitmore as the former hero who nobody listened to when he spoke of the alien return. Maika Monroe also does well in her first big Hollywood role as Whitmore’s daughter, though the slightly constricted writer doesn’t allow the character as much development as we’d have liked.

The CGI is okay to slightly wobbly in places, and following such a ground-breaking literal explosion onto the cinematic landscape two decades ago, fails to ignite here, which is obviously a real shame. That said, there’s enough to keep you going and not that many landmarks take the brunt this time and overall the threat doesn’t feel as great, the filmmakers opting for one big mother ship to control the plot rather than one hovering over each major city.

While a little big unfulfilling once the credits role, and the constant feeling that once again the studio has ordered the filmmakers to set things up for future instalments, Independence Day: Resurgence is actually a pretty solid follow-up that should embrace a new generation’s interest while at the same time fulfilling the needs of us older fans keen to be taken back a couple of decades.

A decent sequel that delivers just enough to satisfy. We look forward to where things are taken next.