Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

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.