Independence Day
Published 2011-09-13
Earth. Take a good look. It might be your last.
Film info
- Director
- Year / Run time 1996 ยท 2hr 25m
- Series Independence Day (1 of 2)
- Genres Action, Science Fiction, Adventure
- Cast
When massive spaceships are spotted hovering above planet Earth, the world stands in awe and wonder. But this soon turns to terror as the aliens launch an all-out attack, devastating the planet's major cities. As the Earth's survivors try to come to terms with what has happened, a group of Americans including President Thomas J. Whitmore, fighter pilot Steve Hiller and computer boffin David Levinson decide to fight back.
Live Blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:41 | There isn't really a plaque on the moon, is there? |
| 2:31 | Ooh, Contact place in New Mexico. |
| 6:16 | The President can't walk around in a dressing gown, it's just not right. |
| 7:50 | I love those chess games in the park. I should add that to my Life List. |
| 11:38 | Flying whilst drunk does not seem like a good idea. |
| 12:58 | Ooh, NORAD mention. They must be informing santa of the Defcon upgrade. |
| 21:17 | Woohoo, Will Smith, finally! |
| 25:30 | I love how oblivious he is. |
| 29:11 | An alien invasion does tend to play havoc with your annual leave. |
| 35:44 | NASA would be foolish to turn down Will Smith. And now there's no space shuttle for him to fly. |
| 40:14 | It must be weird to have a personal history with the president. |
| 42:15 | The flashing lights thing doesn't seem like much of a welcome, really. There's no common language. |
| 47:58 | So much destruction! Wow. |
| 50:07 | They blew up the White House, so I'll let them off the dodgy dog moment. |
| 54:08 | Oop, it's all going a bit Top Gun. |
| 58:34 | How can you fight something that is completely shielded up? |
| 1:04:48 | They've got NORAD? No more Santa? |
| 1:07:55 | Is that the salt flats where they do the speed trials? I don't fancy walking over that in the hot sun |
| 1:12:53 | The machine suddenly woke up and they didn't think to mention it? |
| 1:19:52 | "I didn't wanna say nothing, I voted for the other guy." |
| 1:25:54 | I love the concept of having a domestic right before the world ends. |
| 1:31:57 | Stupid. How would he ever know where to find her? |
| 1:35:37 | "Everyone loses faith at some point in their lives. But we have to remember what we still have." |
| 1:40:07 | I like that the music is very old school. Old war films and the like. |
| 1:47:39 | "Aircraft from here will be joining others around the world..." Ooh, so the rest of the world does exist! |
| 1:53:48 | Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum make a good partnership. |
| 2:02:27 | The world is blowing up around them and they're cramming into a lift? We're not allowed in lifts if the fire alarm goes off! |
| 2:12:46 | "Elvis has left the building." ...and blown it up. |
Thoughts
Mr C floored me by announcing he hadn't seen this film. We had no idea what kind of movie we were in the mood for - both a bit exhausted from a long weekend's work. I came up with a shortlist and we selected Independence Day, even though it's a bit longer than we'd normally like. I've seen it a couple of times before, but actually can only recall three specific bits from it.
Mmmm, Independence Day. Aliens, action, Will Smith, crazy over-the-top speeches, humour, world in peril, what's not to like? Actually, the main story is silly, with plenty of bits that are unbelievable, but as a whole, it's good stuff. The humour, the partnership between Smith and Goldblum, it makes up for the ridiculous bits. The three bits I remembered were The White House, the Independence Day speech and the guy in the plane saving the day. There's quite a lot more to it than that, now that I was paying attention, and it was a lot better than I remember. Even though it was long, it was never really boring.
Rating: 4 / 5