Independence Day (1996)

There's a moment in Independence Day where Will Smith, fresh from punching an extraterrestrial in the face, drags the unconscious body across a desert and deadpans "Welcome to Earth." And honestly? That's the whole film in a single beat. Swagger, spectacle, complete absurdity, and you're grinning from ear to ear despite yourself.

This is the ultimate 90s blockbuster. Big, loud, aggressively patriotic, and packed with enough explosions to level several planets. Roland Emmerich goes all-in from the first frame, and you have to respect the commitment to chaos. The shots of world landmarks getting vaporised, iconic skylines crumbling in slow-motion waves of blue fire, are both genuinely terrifying and weirdly, guiltily thrilling. It's destruction porn, no question, but Emmerich shoots it with such gleeful conviction that you find yourself leaning forward rather than rolling your eyes.

Will Smith carries the whole enterprise on sheer charisma. Captain Steven Hiller is a proper movie star role: cocky, funny, heroic without being dull, and Smith plays it like he was born to be in exactly this film. Jeff Goldblum, doing his nervous-genius thing to perfection, makes for a surprisingly winning co-lead, and the odd-couple energy between the two of them gives the film a human centre amid all the carnage. Then there's Bill Pullman's presidential speech, which by all rights should be mortifyingly corny and yet somehow lands every single time. Flag-waving has rarely felt so earnest or so effective.

David Arnold's score deserves a mention too. It's bombastic to the point of mania, but it cranks the adrenaline up perfectly and keeps the whole thing moving at a relentless pace. When those jets are dogfighting over the ruins of the White House in the final act, with that music thundering underneath, it's hard not to feel the pull of pure, uncomplicated blockbuster spectacle.

But look, it's not a clean three stars. Some of this film really does drag. Randy Quaid's subplot wanders into melodrama, and the stuff with his kids feels tacked on rather than genuinely earned. There are stretches in the second act where the film gets bogged down in family drama precisely when you're desperate for more spaceships and carnage. The pacing isn't as tight as it should be for a film running this long, and a few of the supporting threads just peter out.

It's also undeniably cheesy by any modern measure. The dialogue, the effects in places, the unapologetic flag-waving. But here's the thing: if you meet the film on its own terms and lean into the nostalgia, the cheese becomes part of the charm rather than a problem. Independence Day was never pretending to be something sophisticated. It knew exactly what it was, and it committed to that vision completely.

I've always had a soft spot for films that aren't smart or subtle but are absolutely certain of themselves, and this fits that description perfectly. It's "more is more" filmmaking taken to its logical extreme. Smith's easy charisma reminds me of why I've always followed his career with affection, and if you want more of that energy in a slightly different register, I had a decent time revisiting Men in Black 3, though nothing quite matches the sheer bravado of this one.

Flawed, over-the-top, occasionally exhausting. But when it works, it really works. Three stars, and I suspect you already know whether this is your kind of film.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 1996  | Watched: 2025-09-20

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
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Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

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Stream: YouTube TV
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More from Roland Emmerich: Stargate (1994)
More with Will Smith: Suicide Squad (2016) · Shark Tale (2004) · I Am Legend (2007) · Men in Black 3 (2012)
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More adventure: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · The Eagle (1925) · Louisiana Story (1948) · The General (1926)