Independence Day (1996) Review

"And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!"

     So says President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day released 20 years ago today. I'm not going to claim that this movie is very deep or even very clever but the film does work, in retrospect, as an embodiment of what President George Bush Sr. called a "new world order", for all the good or ill that may portend. The idea behind this "new world order" was that the world's super-powers, lead by the United States, would cooperate internationally to protect human rights and ensure economic and political stability around the globe. What made people question this idea was the emergence of U.S. hegemony (dominance in world affairs) after the end of the Cold War. What Bush and his supporters saw as international collaboration others saw as American interventionism.

     In Independence Day the various nations around the world unite to face a common threat: annihilation from an alien race. Thus we see Bush's "new world order" in action. At the same time this is an example of U.S. hegemony as it's President Whitmore and the American military who take the lead in combating the aliens. The other military forces seem to just wait around for the U.S. to tell them what to do. Indeed we don't even see these nations beat the aliens. After President Whitmore and the American military takes down the ship over Area 51 General Grey (William Loggia) tells the radio operator to inform the other forces "how to bring those sons of bitches down". In other words these countries don't seem to have much agency on there own. In any case, regardless of political affiliation or where you may stand on the idea of U.S. hegemony and international cooperation, I think that this film is an interesting showcase of 90's optimism.

     Besides it's historical resonances Independence Day offers some pretty fun if also somewhat brain-dead entertainment. The script often resorts to cheap tricks and contrivances to move the plot forward and many of the characters feel more like archetypes than people. But the film never takes itself too seriously and the performances, particularly from Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum, are able to add some levity and humanity to what might otherwise be a mindless explosion fest. It's also nice that an African American (Smith's Captain Steven Hiller) and a nerdy Jewish guy (Goldblum's David Levinson) are the one's who save the day. The action is fun, the effects (mostly) hold up and David Arnold's score is appropriately stirring.

     Independence Day is a dated film but in many ways I feel that this is is greatest strength. If your looking for a dumb/fun 90's movie that also gives you a peak into the cultural milieu of the time you could certainly do worse.

Score: 8/10