Review: Independence Day: Resurgence

While Will Smith is hoping to revitalize his career with next month's Suicide Squad, FOX is hoping to revitalize the franchise that gave him his start with Independence Day: Resurgence. Many cried out in disapproval when it was announced Smith would not be returning for the alien sequel, but after seeing the movie for myself, I understand Smith's refusal. One of these two hopefuls actually has a shot at making a comeback and after reading my review, I'll let you decide which that is (hint: It's not the Independence Day movies).

So what's all the fuss with Independence Day: Resurgence? To be frank, it's boring; like, offensively boring. It lacks the goofy one-liners and exuberant spirit that made the original so much fun. Sure, it's maintained the inflated sci-fi action, but none of the soul.

'Resurgence' is a much darker film right out of the gate. Almost all the characters that helped make the original a dopy classic have suffered ill fates. Will Smith's character has been killed off, Former President Bill Pullman suffers from intense paranoia, and Jeff Goldblum just doesn't seem to enjoy his job anymore (among others). In fact, it rarely feels like Director Roland Emmerich or any of the cast are having any fun. I must make an exception for Liam Hemsworth, however, as the apparent heir to the franchise throne. The young actor strikes the perfect balance between the hard drama of an apocalyptic alien invasion and the ironic silliness of the same situation. He would have fit right in in the original movie.

The same cannot be said for the rest of the new cast of characters. They're painfully uninteresting and each of the actors portraying them should never have been cast in a feature film, especially one such as drawn out as 'Resurgence.' They're just not that talented.

Lastly, 'Resurgence' commits the Cardinal Sin of making the original film a lesser experience simply because the two films are so intertwined into the new mythology that the sequel attempts to establish, giving extra explanation to the aliens' motives for attacking Earth originally (because in 2016, we need to explain everything). So what kind of cool 21st century sci-fi motives do these extraterrestrials have? They want to mine our planet's molten core for energy. Of course they do.

So is Independence Day: Resurgence worth your time? No. Not at all. Not even worth the rent in a couple of months because you may never watch the original the same way again. Just leave this one alone.