2. INDEPENDENCE DAY
Release Date: July 3rd
Cast: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, Vivica A. Fox, Mary McDonnell, Brent Spiner, James Rebhorn, Harvey Firestein, Adam Baldwin, Harry Connick Jr., Dan Lauria.
Random Cast Note: Mae Whitman of Scott Pilgrim, Parenthood, and The DUFF fame, starred as Bill Pullman’s young daughter.
Director: Roland Emmerich
Why I Love It (Ryan Demarco): I think the reason Independence Day was so successful and remained popular over the last two decades is from a variety of reasons. The mind blowing special effects, which still stands up in today’s era of saturated CGI. The unlikely but compelling protagonists, Jeff Goldblum’s Jewish, Earth conscious, genius mixed with Will Smith’s badassery and charm. Randy Quaid’s zero to hero story arc. The perfect balance of humor and heart racing suspense.
And of course President Whitmore’s (Bill Pullman) famous Presidential speech, which might be the most moving speech in history. Now, I’m not saying that it’s more important than Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, but I can surely rattle off President Whitmore’s speech about global annihilation almost verbatim.
Helmed by the Master of Disaster Roland Emmerich (2012, The Day After Tomorrow) brought the perfect touch to what could have been just another alien film. It was given just the right amount of absurdity (city wide spaceships) but remained grounded with characters we could care about.
Independence Day already remained in my cycle of films I re-watched from the time I was 7. To this day it remains as one of my top science fictions films.
Best Line: Between David Levinson (Goldblum) and Steven Hiller (Smith) just after they go over the whole plan to defeat the alien mothership.
Levinson: You sure you can fly that thing?
Hiller: You sure you can do all that bullshit you just said?
Best Scene: This is the obvious choice, when the countdown is up and all of Earth’s major cities become one big explosion.
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