Rating: 
Summary: Could have been better
Review: I just watched this for the first time since its theatrical release in 96, and I must say I enjoyed it much more than I did back then. But there are still more reasons NOT to like this movie than to like it. First, the special efects are not as great as originally touted. Alot of the explosions, fires, etc. look really fake. Ironically, the alien ships look more realistic than alot of the earth bound stuff! The worst thing about this movie is the horrific dialog...the characters are portrayed as very shallow and mostly speak in cliches and one-liners, and humorous lines are thrown in at the absolute worst times (like the "fat lady" lines when they are trying to escape the alien ship.) This movie is incredibly frustrating to watch; as on one hand the portrayal of mankind putting aside differences to work together is top notch, and the movie suggests that the world does have the potential to work together as one. On the other hand, there is the horrible, cheesy dialog (eg- "I'm a fighter pilot, I belong in the air") I also think this movie is a tinge racist (and sexist)- the portrayal of the African-American female as a stripper was completely demeaning and idiotic. And there's actually a line where this character CONDONES this sort of job, she says "It's good money and besides, my baby's worth it." And who says Hollywood isnt responsible for moral decline in society! This is a really demeaning portrayal of minority women. The rest of the film is just as racist, if you look (and it's fairly obvious, you wont have to look hard). Another thought along this line is this; the film portrays the rest of the world as helpless and thoughtless against the aliens, only the Americans are able to plan anything. (Well, American MEN, anyway. The writers obviously felt that women couldnt contribute anything or be more than strippers or in the employment of men.) Everyone else just hangs out in the desert waiting for the Americans to do everything. I could go on, but you get the idea. One only wonders what this film would have been in the hands of someone like James Cameron, or maybe even Spielberg. This movie is a big budget amateur film that could have been SO much more than it was. It's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" with better actors and a bigger budget.
Rating: 
Summary: a must for your DVD collection
Review: Even if you didn't like the movie in the theater you should still buy this DVD. The complimentry DVD contains many great extras, all based off a great interactive interface. A very good reason to buy this is just to see the original ending to the movie. It would have destroyed the movie and left audiences dumbfounded, but it would have added more comic relief to some sticky situations. Once again, THIS IS A MUST FOR YOU DVD COLLECTION
Rating: 
Summary: Horrifically bad movie
Review: This movie suffers from poor acting by all involved, worse scripting, and even worse concept. This movie lends new meaning to the term "implausible," and it is so utterly bad that it is impossible for the viewer to engage in the temporary suspension of disbelief. Boo.Too bad, because I like Will Smith on the sit-coms that he has starred in, but I don't believe that motion pictures is the next logical step for his career. I think he should stick to TV.
Rating:
Summary: My Review...
Review: Hi, I am sure you know of the plot by now but I will ive a short summary. Independence Day is about a LARGE colony of aliens who invade our planet. The aliens are relentless and they could be to much for us. So, the entire message of the film is unity amoung us, as humans. Will Smith, Harry Connick JR., Bill Pullman and a list of others star in the film. My DVD Review... WOW, I do not think I have ever seen on a DVD so much stuff. The first disc contains the Theatrical version and the Special edition with over 9 minutes of extra footage. The second disc contains mucho material. It is everything a DVD collector would want. I just wish a lot of other DVD's would contain the same. What the Disc contains, but this is just from memory so I will not of listed all of them. An HBO special I think, hosted by Jeff Goldblum the star of the film, Inside ID4, very extensive footage on the making of the buildings, such as the White House, New York buildings and the aliens, that was a really great segment. Also, the spaceships were shown in their irst stages of development, on draft paper and then in the modeling process. There were ALOT more, I suggest you should really view the DVD's. Even if you do not like the movie, the time and effort put into the second disc is just worth it right there. I would really recommend you see this DVD set and a note on the deleted plane scene to the directors, thank you, thank you! Just kidding. Also, for the people who do reviews; Do you ever notice how you think what your writing is long, but in reality it is short? Thanks for reading, Ryan
Rating:
Summary: style over substance, but lacking even style.
Review: One star? Even that is more praise than it deserves. I'll ignore the huge gaping holes in the plot, trite cliches, stereotyping and general stupidity that runs through the film to talk about characterisation. Or, more accurately, the complete lack of it. It would seem that actual acting ability was redundant in this film, and all that was necessary to make it onto the cast list was to have appeared in a previous blockbuster. Will Smith's previous film was 'bad boys', in which he plays a wise-cracking maverick cop. Here, he is a wise-cracking maverick pilot. Bill Pullman is probably best known for being Meg Ryan's dull, dependable fiance in 'sleepless in seattle'. guess he'll make a good president then. Jeff Goldblum was a scientist in 'jurassic park', so no surprises here then. (Granted he is actually a chaos mathematician, but hey, that's sort of a scientist, right?) Harvey Fierstien is camp and gay, so no real characterisation is required here then. Brett Spiner plays data in Star Trek. okay, let's have him dishevelled, but basically the same. Randy Quaid? Well, he's a bit unstable, so that'll have to do. Have I missed out on any real character developments? Don't think so. Now, if all of this "short-hand characterisation" was so that they could really try and strech our imaginations, great. Unfortunately, it doesn't even try. I will confess to being almost impressed in the first half hour, with the actual arrival of the alien ships, visually it was impressive. There were a few deft touches (the ship hovering over Los Angeles, and the widescale panic that ensued, the initial attempts to contact the aliens via 'close encounters...' style music.) and, after all, any film that blows up the white house can't be all bad. It is really just another summer blockbuster. Let's be honest, they never amount to much anyway. The only positive thing I can think of with regards to this is that the dvd appears to be well appointed. Hopefully this is a continuing trend.
Rating:
Summary: Please Stop Giving This Man Money
Review: People say "Don't take this film too seriously" - like it's meant to be a comedy. The only funny thing about this movie is how bad it is. Bad characters (is it possible to have less than 1 dimension?). Stupid plot. Excrable dialog. Totally unoriginal design. Perhaps the worst movie since Emmerich's last one (the equally idiotic "StarGate"). He just keeps coming back for helping after helping of stale cliche. After writing this he must have still had the other side of the cigarette paper left for "Godzilla". Big explosions. That's all. They may as well have called it "Things Exploding" - at least no-one would have felt shortchanged. Tip for future civilisations: Build cities out of palm trees. They seem to survive anything.
Rating:
Summary: DISC2 of Indepandence day can not be played
Review: This DVD has 2 discs. But Disc2 can not be played my DVD player which is a SONY DVP-S560D. Soon after disc2 is inserted, power of the DVD player becomes off every time. So, I tried one more disc2 again and again but I have the same result. After all, I have not ever seen the contents of disc2. Therefore, I can not recommend this DVD because of this disc2 malfunction. Only disc1 is available even if this DVD has 2discs.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I thought it would be
Review: I at first really had no interest to see this movie when it came out. But then it started getting rave reviews (Leonard Maltin aside) and I felt I just had to. All the hype and/or complaining about this movie is very deceiving. It is not just another shoot-the-aliens-with-progressively-bigger-guns action flick. It's a smart, funny, suspenseful, sometimes even scary, and even touching cinematic masterpiece. The story flows nicely and the characters are very human. The one actress who is always overlooked (especially in the credits), Vivica A. Fox, gives the performance of a lifetime as a brave single mother who works at a strip bar and tries to save as many people as she can when the aliens attack.
Rating:
Summary: Predictable... Unorignal... Unbearable!
Review: This really is a dire movie. This is a perfect example of how movies can become succesful based on their special effects alone. Make no mistake, the effects are outstanding. Computer imagery at its best. Some of the computer generated scenes, especially the explosions and the destruction of capital cities is breathtaking. Worth the price of the DVD alone? It better be because there's no other reason to buy this movie. The plot is so simplistic and unplausable that only young children would be able to watch the movie with any kind of suspension of disbelief. There are plot holes the size of the alien mothership that comes down to destroy the whitehouse. The acting is mainly average and heavily cliched, Will Smith plays ...Will Smith (can he play any other role?). Randy Quaid is laughable (for all the wrong reasons) as the stereotypical down-on-his-luck redneck. Bill Pullman is unconvincing as the president of the US. Even the excellent Jeff Goldblum cannot save the day. The script and characters are so awfully cheesey you don't so much sympathise for earth's plight but more so for the aliens. No doubt one of the worst movies I ever saw and if you are the kind of person who watches movies for more than just computer generated fighter planes and explosions then you WILL want to give this one a miss. I've seen better movies on Mystery Science Theatre!
Rating: 
Summary: The best alien movie FINALLY comes to DVD
Review: Don't watch this movie for plot, or intricate story line developments, it's an alien invasion movie. The diffrence is that it's a good one, a really really good one. ID4 has been my favorite movie since I saw it in '96. Smith does a nice job of playing the hero, and Goldblum fits into his "genius" role once again with his natual smooth talent. Go ahead and purchase this one, you'll like it (if not, then, well, I guess you won't).
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