The 90’s was a good decade for ‘Merica, no ifs ands or buts about it. The economy was in full bloom. We tore down This Wall. The Persian Gulf had become this rosy memory of American strength and dominance. By and large, the American Dream was expanding across the globe and it seemed like there was nothing that could stand in its way.
Independence Day is basically a movie that addresses this by showing off ‘Merica’s resilience in the face of insurmountable odds. It begins with a bunch of space ships the size of cities hovering over civilization’s achievements, then blowing them to smithereens. Its focus is, of course, in ‘Merica, where the powers of Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith combine to form Captain Planet. It becomes their responsibility–nay, ‘Merica’s responsibility–to beat back this malevolent extra-terrestrial force because goddammit, ‘Merica is the only country smart enough to defeat the truly undefeatable. Also: don’t fuck with ‘Merica on July 4th weekend. Seriously. We’re trying to barbecue.
This movie is like a time-capsule. Remember when shit was awesome and ‘Merica was perfect? I do. Back in 1996 ‘Merican arrogance and eccentricity was at an all-time high and this movie blows its wad so explosively that it’s arguable that movie audiences and makers have been trying to rekindle that spark ever since. Independence Day was a revolution in not only the way we saw explosions on screen, but also as an obnoxious calling card to the rest of the world: “You wanna get shit done? You call on America. Only we can get shit done.”
As a movie standing on its own, I’d say it’s okay. The ensemble cast is fairly 1 dimensional, but diverse enough to make things work. The visuals are still quite excellent: the wanton destruction of ‘Merica’s most precious buildings looks just as good today as it did back then. However, the plot is filled with numerous holes that even I can spot and that can be pretty jarring sometimes. I mean, come on. It’s pretty stupid that aliens with impenetrable shields and spaceship technology had to coordinate a single large attack; they certainly had the manpower to just fly down and slaughter anything that moved. And that’s just the beginning!
So here’s my request. Watch Independence Day during your 4th of July barbecue. It’s a great reminder of how good Americans really had it once. Watch it while holding your wife, your husband, and/or your children for a bonus effect. Or maybe you can use it to drown out the noise of people having fun outside. Who knows? Maybe they’ll get wiped out by a bunch of jealous aliens.
ThomFiles 