Dusting Off The Shelf: Letter I

For this installment, I decided to give in and watch last summer’s sequel Independence Day: Resurgence.

Synopsis: Twenty years after aliens failed to kill us all and take over our planet, they’re back. We have to fight, again, for our right to survive on our own planet. This time, we have weapons based on the technology scavenged from all the fallen ships left littered all over the planet. And some plucky kids looking for payback.

Why I chose this film: 20 years ago, the original Independence Day was THE summer blockbuster. Heck, I still watch every year over the 4th of July. And I still tear up during President Whitmore’s speech. This sequel came from the same people who gave us the original, so that was a plus for me. And they weren’t rewriting anything- the story takes place 20 years after the first time, the world has learned from the past. All this gave me hope.

For, at the very least, a popcorn flick.

And I got what I wanted.

Will I watch it again: By no means is this a great film. Heck, it does not even match up to the original- there was a particular magic in that film that I don’t think could be recaptured BUT it was a decent way to spend a couple hours. There is some fun dialogue (though Goldblum did not have a line about going faster and that made me sad), good visual effects, and it tied up most of the characters from the first film nicely. So… sure. This could be a very nice film for a Saturday afternoon. (Do you get that reference? Back in the day, Fox used to run sci-fi films on Saturday afternoons. The good ol’ days.)

Also, Judd Hirsch. I love all the things with Judd Hirsch.

Why you should watch it too (or run far away!): If you like sci-fi and better than B movies, give it a whirl. Especially, if you’re in the generation that loves the original.