Independence Day

[MFS62]

Watching this movie every year around the Fourth Of July is kinda' traditional, sort of liek watching the Ten Commandments every Passover.

I like it, but when I watch it, several things come to mind that raise some questions. They include:
1) The world was saved by the combined efforts of a Black man and a Jewish man. Political Statement, social commentary, the best actors available who fit those roles, or the producers were having fun?
2) The world was saved by use of an Apple PC. Product placement, or a metaphor for Independent studios accomplishing something the bigger Hollywood establishment (IBM. Dell) couldn't?
3) That the F-18 fighter could beat any aircraft in ait-to-air combat, muchless the attack craft produced by an alien civilization that had ravaged the universe.. I've been an aerophile for almost 50 years, and know that piece of shit wasn't even the best in a US arsenal at the time the movie was made.
4) That a US President who said he had been trained as a pilot could actually fly a fighter plane.
5) That the kid actress who played the President's daughter could actually get a role in a major motion picture. She may have been the worst kid actress in the history of modern film. Was she the daughter of one of the Producers.

There are probably others, but time does not permit.
Anything else strike you as strange about that movie?

Later

[soupcan]

You mean besides the fact that it was a MOVIE?

[Frayed Knot]

I remember virtually nothing from this flick except the fact that I thought it was embarrasingly bad.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Special effects good, plot and story awful. (And there are far too many movies that can be described that way.) That business of Jeff Goldblum uploading a computer virus to the alien spaceship was one of the dumbest plot elements I've ever seen.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Says a guy eagerly anticipating The Fantastic Four.

[soupcan]

Don't bust Yancy for that - there are a lot of us who have been waiting a looong ime for the FF flick.

I just hope that's its not as godawfully bad as the previews make it look.

Of course it will be.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I've been more dreading Fantastic Four than anticipating it.

I was hoping they'd do it right, but most indications are that the creators didn't respect the source material.

I'm desperately hoping that it turns out great (Gene Shalit gave it an A+) but I don't expect it.

[Willets Point]

The guy who reviews movies for the Boston Globe gave it one star, and he usually gives at least two stars to everything including total shite. The only time I've ever seen him give less than two stars to a movie was for Gigli.

[metirish]

I enjoyed Independence Day, it was total mindless bollox but still fun, IIRC some USA,USA,USA chants went up in the theater when our hero saved the day,now that was weird.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer both gave the FF one and a half stars.

My expectations are low. Any thrill I get out of the movie will be a pleasant surprise.

I think this thread is forking...

[Centerfield]

I liked Independence Day when I first saw it...it was one of those movies that are mindless and entertaining, and if you suspended reality enough, you could just take it for what it is and enjoy the ride.

That being said, I can't stand watching it now. Will Smith has beat that character to death in so many mindless movies since then that you want to stab yourself in the eye when you stumble upon one of his movies...Men in Black, Wild Wild West, I Robot, Bad Boys...enough is enough already.

It was like back in high school when some people actually liked that C&C Music Factory song when it first came out...but after they released 6 more songs that sounded exactly like it you wanted to run them over with a truck.

[Guest Edgy DC]

What a lame high school.

[Centerfield]

Oh stop. I heard you liked the Macarena.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Do you have a reliable source?

[Centerfield]

It's an unnamed music source close to the situation. He's very reliable I assure you.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Snoopy's a shortstop, not a centerfielder.

[Centerfield]

Snoopy switched positions so he could be my avatar. He didn't grumble like Mike Cameron either.

[MFS62]

Looks like I was right about the F-18 being a piece of shit.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050804/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fighter_jets_brakes

Later