Independence Day: Resurgence - Snapshot

The return of the Independence Day franchise to the big screen, made for easily my most anticipated movie of the year. After all, the original Independence Day from 1996, was one of my all-time best sci-fi action blockbusters.  I'd watched all the trailers as they became available, and also the customary preparatory re-watch of the original, a day before my weekend at the theatre. My expectations were high, but I was fairly certain I'd enjoy it. It's been 20 years, both for me and in terms of the plot, and the ruthless aliens were back to exact vengeance on the human race…. 

As the movie got underway, what stood out most was the very different pace. Things were a lot more relaxed and audiences were eased into past familiarities. Almost everyone from the original cast were back, to drive the narrative; albeit in older or grown-up avatars. The only exception being the Jake Morrison character played by Liam Hemsworth, who was a new addition. While he did an okay job, for me it was Jeff Goldblum in his David Levinson role that remained to be the most interesting; closely followed by Bill Pullman as President Whitmore. The plot expanded on the original, adding all the usual elements of sequels; be it bigger alien space ships, more advanced tech, larger scale chaos, and such. The movie retains the same brand of humor woven into the narrative, being very much in line with the original. The level of detail into the aliens is increased, making for better understanding, while also satisfying the sci-fi aficionados. It also helped develop the scope for an ongoing franchise versus a single standalone movie; heck, who wouldn’t wanna see more ID4. As expected of Rolland Emmerich, Independence Day: Resurgence is an all-out special effects extravaganza; the effects look superb, and the scale of destructive chaos is truly mammoth. If you're a fan of the original, or love big budget, sci-fi action movies, you can't not enjoy this sequel. While it fails to wow audiences the way the original did 2 decades ago, Its very entertaining, and totally worth its 2 hour runtime.

My Recommendation: Watch It + (A long awaited sequel to the beloved 90's sci-fi blockbuster ID4)