Best ’90s Sci-Fi Action Movie Will Never Be Replicated
When one of my close friends recently told me that he thought Independence Day was severely overrated, I began to doubt myself. More often than not, movies that I adored growing up don’t hold up under scrutiny as I get older, so I have made a habit of leaving the past in the past. Coming to terms with the fact that I may be looking at my childhood through rose-colored glasses, I decided to fire up Hulu and, against my better judgment, watch Independence Day as an adult.
The verdict? My friend is an idiot, and this movie rules.
Critics Don’t Create Anything Except For Lies
Movies like Independence Day can’t be properly assessed through sites like Rotten Tomatoes for one very important reason: action movies, I’ve come to learn, are a matter of taste, and critics don’t have any because they’re looking for “high art.” You either like movies like Independence Day or you don’t, and your enjoyment of this film will very much hinge on your personal preferences. So whenever I see a sci-fi or action movie with a 50 percent critical score or higher, I know it’s probably better than it’s made out to be on this front.
For context, Independence Day has a 68 percent critical score, much like the equally entertaining and groundbreaking Running Man (67 percent), and the audaciously destructive Con Air (58 percent).
In other words, if you like these movies, and you have your doubts about re-watching Independence Day, listen to your heart and tell me how right I am.
A Tried-And-True Premise Executed To Perfection
Independence Day is your classic alien invasion story, but with the best CGI that 1996 has to offer. Really, that’s all you really need to know about this movie’s plot to know what you’re getting into.
The Harvesters come down to Earth, and set their rays of destruction over major cities. Like their name suggests, they plan to harvest the planet for all of its natural resources like they’ve presumably done to countless other planets that have succumbed to their wrath.
Planet Earth has other plans, however, and won’t go down without a fight. That’s the long and short of it, and I’m sure you’ve seen this storyline play out dozens of times. So what makes Independence Day so much better than its contemporaries, and, dare I say, most current sci-fi action movies? The answer is “charisma,” as this movie is absolutely dripping with it.
A Tension-Breaking Juggernaut
Will Smith‘s Captain Steven Hiller has a mouth on him, and provides comic relief at just the right moments. If you’re wondering how Will Smith was able to slap Chris Rock with so much force at the Oscars, it’s because he was channeling the same “welcome to Earth!” energy he had when he punched a crash-landed Harvester in the face in the Mojave Desert.
Jeff Goldblum was cast perfectly as MIT-educated tech-wiz David Levinson, and of course he’s smart enough to use computers against aliens while speaking with plenty of snark when his plan is met with any form of resistance.
Randy Quaid’s Russell Casse has the most magnificent redemption arc ever captured on celluloid, and he somehow pulls it off by acting like Cousin Eddie from Vacation, if only Cousin Eddie were a disgraced fighter-pilot-turned-conspiracy-theorist.
Forgot What Movie You’re Watching? Bill Pullman’s Got You Covered!
But we can’t talk about Independence Day without addressing the Bill Pullman in the room.
Standing amidst the soon-to-be ruins of America, President Thomas J. Whitmore rallies the troops, bellows his anti-annihilation message into the loud-speakers, and encourages global cooperation against a menacing alien force that will eradicate humanity if we let our differences get the best of us. Most importantly, he triumphantly yells the title of the movie just in case we need to be brought back after over two hours of run-time.
At this point everybody claps, and as a viewer you’re willing to press through to the final credits without pausing for a bathroom break.
Streaming Independence Day On Hulu
GFR SCORE
Independence Day is a one-of-a-kind sci-action popcorn flick that still holds up to this day because it never takes itself too seriously as the world established by its fiction begins to crumble. Instead, we get a story about solidarity, reaching a common goal, and eliminating a universal enemy that will leave no survivors in its wake. So if you can still call Independence Day “severely overrated,” then I guess you hate triumph in the face of the greatest adversity the world has ever seen.
To relive the magic, the emotional roller coaster, and the collective desire to unite the world over to reclaim what’s ours from an oppressive force of annihilation, you can stream Independence Day on Hulu.
