June 7: Independence Day

"The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy. Fighting superior technology, Man's best weapon is the will to survive."

I couldn't go through a week of alien movies and not watch Independence Day. It's pretty crucial to the genre and while it's certainly not the greatest movie, it's so over-the-top and fun you can't help but love it. Starring the Fresh Prince himself, along with a handful of big names (including a Randy Quaid before he went crazy), the movie really is a staple when you mention movies about invaders from the final frontier. Independence Day is a movie made for every kid in all of us. It's cheesy, not profoundly deep, but incredibly fun to look at. It has terrific special effects on a huge scale and so many great one-liners that, although ridiculous, are still pretty badass. The film is also incredibly safe, with stereotypical everything and a huge lack of logical actions taken upon by the characters. But, you don't question it. You sit back, stuff your face with popcorn and Milk Duds, and enjoy. 

Little known fact. 8 out of 10 aliens prefer Milk Duds over Reeses Pieces. 

Independence Day follows the events after an alien invasion. Large spaceships hover over the world's major cities, threatening earth's major populations. When David (Jeff Goldblum), a satellite technician discovers that the invasion is part of a huge, worldwide attack, he informs President Whitmore (Bill Pullman). The president orders an attack, but each of the airforce's fighter jets and weapons do nothing to the alien ships, as each ship has a force field that protects it. Steven Hill (Will Smith) is among the fighters sent to attack the ships and is actually able to fight off an alien fighter ship and even capture the alien once they both crash land. A bunch of other stuff happens (and so many things explode) and mankind finds out that the aliens plan on ridding the earth of all its resources, no matter what the destruction. So, it all pretty much comes down to David, Hiller, Whitmore, and a handful of others to come up with a plan to rid the planet of it's extra terrestrial threat. 

The whole film is pretty much a letter to everything out there, stating that "You Don't F**k With Earth". 

Independence Day is a fine example of what a summer blockbuster should be. It's loud, funny, explode-y, and has some really good special effects. Even though movies like Transformers follow a similar formula, Independence Day is still a lot better. I guess you could call it nostalgia or even just a bad case of some Will Smith loving. Keep in mind Indepdence Day is not a "good" movie and you can argue if it had any other star or even one less explosion, it could be even unwatchable. But dammit, the film works and does what some movies can't. It entertains. 

The Good:

Will Smith being himself and kicking alien ass... all with great special effects that show a completely destroyed planet

The Bad:

a ridiculous plot with just as ridiculous dialogue

The Ugly:

really wondering how the film succeeds when so many of its elements are incredibly sub-par

Overall: 7.3/10

Trailer: