Independence Day Resurgence Reviews by Critics

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Independence Day Resurgence Review by Bollywood Hungama

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Back in 1996 when INDEPENDENCE DAY released, it fast became one of the best visual experiences on the big screen with a plethora of explosions and cutting edge CGI (for that time) literally wowing the audience. Another factor that worked for the original was Will Smith and his off handed attitude that despite coming off as an Elvis impersonator managed to keep the proceedings light yet gripping even when faced with dire consequences. Cut to two decades later, INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE certainly has been developed on a much bigger scale, with bigger budgets, more advanced visual technology and a more receptive audience, the film comes across as a worthy successor that despite having its pitfalls does manage to capture the essence of the first film. Speaking of pitfalls, INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE does have its share of drawbacks with a major one being, the lack of ability for the viewer to relate to and connect with the onscreen characters. While in the first film the viewer instantaneously connected to and developed a rapport with the characters, this one gives the viewer a feeling of being a mere spectator on a large battle field. As for the performances, Liam Hemsworth being the main protagonist, who reprises the title role that could have been compared to Will Smith’s from the first, does a good job. However, he falls massively short of being convincing as the film’s main saviour. Jesse Usher as Dylan Hiller, Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith)’s step son is underwhelming. The lad who survived the original invasion, should have been more inspiring especially since he along with Hemsworth are literally the only saviours. On the other hand, the conversations of Nicolas Wright as Floyd Rosenberg and Deobia Oparei, who essays the character of Dikembe Umbutu, bring in much needed comic relief that not just lightens up what could have been a never ending series of destructive assaults, but also brightens up the film.

Independence Day Resurgence Review by Tatsam Mukherjee on India Today

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You don’t expect anything but superficial entertainment in this bang-for-buck movie, and this sequel doesn’t even deliver on that. It wouldn’t hurt to start with an interesting story, and not cash in on the sequel bandwagon of a successful film. It’s sad to see a man like Roland Emmerich struggle to make a decently entertaining film, right up his alley. Maybe he is not as good as he used to be. Or maybe the standard of a spectacle has shot way up in the past decade.

Independence Day Resurgence Review by Sreeju Sudhakaran on Bollywood Life

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Though the later portions of the film, especially the climax, is total delight, the initial portions are a drag! We are left listening to a lot of boring expositions and twiddling our thumbs waiting for the aliens to attack and the fun to begin. Unlike the first film, there are too many characters for the film to focus on, so except for a couple of characters from the original, we are not really able to connect with the rest of the characters. This in particular affect the new heroes of the film, none of whom, save for It Follows‘ Maika Monroe, manage to make an impression on us. Here’s where we miss the charm of Will Smith, because the sequel had more than 4 pilots to replace him, and yet none of them could even steal a single scene on their own. The sequel uses the same plot devices of the original film – alien attack, cities and landmarks (including the White House) destroyed, a suicide mission and the defeat of the main ship that scutters others away. Yet, the film doesn’t have the heart of the original. I mean, when the White House was destroyed in the first film, it had an impact of how grave the threat was. Here the destruction is just a series of sequences that is building up for an epic match in the climax.

Independence Day Resurgence Review by Rohan Naahar on Hindustan Times

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Independence Day: Resurgence ends on a terrifying thought. No, it has nothing to do with angry aliens or inept humans like the movie’s 2 hours will have you believe. But in its final moments, it gives the impression that director Roland Emmerich, sensing the inevitable global apocalypse that will be brought on by a Donald Trump presidency, got the narcissistic walking wig on the hotline, bent over in complete submission and swore his allegiance. The film takes a turn from which there is no coming back – it makes us, or at least ponders the possibility of making us, the perennial victims of alien invasions, the invaders.

Independence Day Resurgence Review by Johnson Thomas on Mid-Day India

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‘Resurgence’ is surely attempting to do a ‘Jurassic World’ for the franchise but this Roland Emmerich helmed sequel appears to have delayed it’s coming by a good ten years. The current generation has already seen countless repeat and reprise efforts from contemporary spectacle specialists so this one doesn’t quite have the blistering genre redefining power that the original did. The irreverence involved in the monument trashing on display here makes it all seem quite ridiculous, fanciful and tends towards tedium. To the extent that even a short 120 minute runtime begins to feel a little long in the tooth!

Review by Sukanya Verma on Rediff

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One sees a lot more of the aliens in this edition though not necessarily in a good way. From shrewd control freaks engaged in absolute planetary invasion to sputtering monsters with Godzilla-sized egos, the indignity meted out at the extra-terrestrial ilk is unintentionally comic. Independence Day: Resurgence only reiterates one thing. Be it alien, superhero, monsters or natural calamity, the blockbuster factory acts on the same pig-headed formula of mindless explosion, collapsing buildings, vast amounts of rubble and everything going up in a giant ball of smoke.

Review by Bryan Durham on DNA India

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There’s a new world to play with. A more evolved Earth. Space travel. Better tech. Better communication. The updation sits easy with Emmerich’s vision. A few familiar faces from the first movie share space with a lot of new ones. Goldblum has been a joy to watch ever since the mid-80s, if you were a sci-fi fan. Though, it was in the 90s that he lived his glory days. His dour, no-nonsense return to the franchise (we can call it that now!) as David, gives it the respectability we wouldn’t afford it otherwise. Pullman’s here, too. And while, he isn’t in the White House, anymore, he still commands the same respect they gave him two decades ago. They call these legacy roles for a reason. Among the new faces you’ll see going forward, Hemsworth gets the most screen-time. We loved Deobia Oparei as the deadpan katana-wielding warlord Dikembe Umbutu and we’d like to see more of him in a sequel.

Review by Suraj Prasad on Deccan Chronicle

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This movie is an attempt to revive the storyline, and there are announcements for future episodes too. So next year perhaps we would be witnessing another sequel, and now with access to more advanced technology and another helpful alien specie we might be moving further away in the space. It is going to be interesting to see actual science catch up with science fiction though, who would not want to go for a special vacation on the Moon? The writer is founder, Lightcube Film Society

Review by Renuka Vyavahare on The Times Of India

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The special effects used for destruction scenes are spectacular and enhance the visual experience. 3D viewing is avoidable as the perpetual dark hues on screen strain the eyes. The film also drags towards the end. Nonetheless, if you enjoy formulaic chaos and are fine with cliched celebration of human resilience, this one’s quite engaging. We wish there was at least one iconic scene though. The stuff that Marvel offers you in abundance.

Review by Shalini Langer on Indian Express

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Some of the fights are impressive, most of the destruction routine (“The aliens are going for the landmarks,” comments Levinson at one point as the Tower Bridge of London collapses), and a large part of the dialogue perfunctory. And yes, there is the speech by the US President which “the world is listening to on short-wave radio”, about how, “irrespective of colour and creed”, everyone should pray for the soldiers going in for this inter-galactic war. And yet, the winner is clear. Producers skipped a release closer to July 4 apparently because of some big blockbusters then, but the film is replete with America’s independence day references. And guess what happens when the storm whipped up by the aliens washes up to the White House doorstep? It stops, after just tumbling the flag.

Review by IANS on NDTVMovies

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Visually, this film does not offer anything novel. The CGI heavy frames with 3D effects, over a period of time, get tedious because most of the action has been seen in recent disaster films. The set-action sequences too are nothing to write home about. And the alien ‘Queen’ ship though gigantic, is pretty unimpressive. Overall, Independence Day: Resurgence is a huge disappointment.

Review by Manisha Lakhe on Nowrunning

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The idea of a Queen alien insect controlling a hive is even older than the Borgs of Star Trek. And the Borgs could choose to beautiful when they wanted to… The joy of watching a science fiction movie is not knowing the enemy. That’s what offers us something to look forward when you watch sequels. That’s why Star Trek or Star Wars or indeed any other franchise move either forward or backward in time so there are new stories. This story should have been buried, not resurrected.

Review by Rajeev Masand on News 18

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The younger cast, they just don’t have the presence to match Will Smith’s hotshot pilot from the earlier film. We also don’t get one clear hero to root for. Apart from a few impressive bits of sheer CGI spectacle, the film is sorely lacking in memorable moments and ends up feeling like a slog. I’m going with one-and-a-half out of five for Independence Day: Resurgence. It doesn’t even deliver on the promise of dumb fun. For that, it needed to be a little less dumb and a lot more fun.

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