Independence Day: Resurgence tries to recreate the magic of
the first film, but ultimately falls short. They tried too hard and forced
jokes to capture the charm of the first film. The unnecessary jokes in
situations where jokes shouldn’t be said left you with no sense of danger after
serious situations. During some dialogue, I caught myself thinking, “That’s so
cliché.” They do give back story, but you never had a connection to the
characters and when some characters inevitably die, there is no emotional
impact. It’s hard to recreate what Will Smith did in the first film without
having Will Smith.
There were many positive things about the film. I absolutely
loved the concept and execution of the story, probably because I’m a fan of
alien invasion movies anyways, so I’m biased in the regard. It got me excited
to see the next installment. The visuals of the film were amazing. Everything
about the alien ship was visual eye candy. The destruction was superb looking.
The action sequences were done well. As much as I criticized the corny
dialogue, more often than not, the jokes worked and gave everyone in the
audience a good laugh.
Bill Pullman, who plays the President Whitmore from the
first film, was decent. I have seen him put on great performances in his other
movies, so I know he can be better, but he doesn’t quite have the charm he did
in the first film. They attempt to recreate his epic speech, but it falls
short. Something was missing from him in this film that was a little
disappointing.
Maika Monroe plays Patricia Whitmore, the daughter of Bill
Pullman’s character. She actually did well in the beginning of the film, but
when it got to more dramatic scenes at the end, she was weaker in her
performance. Overall, she was solid.
Jessie Usher plays Dylan Dubrow-Hiller, the son of Will
Smith’s character. He does have a few scenes where he is fine, but his overall
performance was, well, let’s just say there is room for improvement. He just
wasn’t that good.
Liam Hemsworth, Thor’s little brother, plays Lieutenant Jake
Morrison, a pilot in the ESD (Earth Space Defense), puts on a pretty good
performance and gave one of his better performances.
Brent Spiner plays Dr. Brakish Okun, the guy in the first
movie that was possessed by an alien and you thought died, which gives me hope
for a Will Smith return. He was funny and brought a lot of energy to his
scenes.
Jeff Goldblum does an excellent job in reprising his role.
William Fichtner was great as usual. Sela Ward is good for the limited time she
has on screen.
The highlight of the movie was Travis Tope who plays Charlie
Ritter, a pilot and Jake’s best friend. I can’t think of a single scene he was
in that he didn’t do a great job. He was able to play the comic relief and was
able to do the more dramatic scenes.
Overall, Resurgence was an enjoyable movie. Will Smith was
obviously missed and I would be happy with any excuse they make up to bring him
back if he wants to return. There are things that it got wrong, but when it got
things right, it got it right. The positives outweigh the bad and if you enjoy
the movie, then it did its’ job. I do recommend seeing this movie. Score: 7/10.
