Rating: 
Summary: Homage To The Past
Review: [Subtract a half-star if your plots must be plausible. Subtract a half-star if you don't like stereotyping and subliminal messages.]We've all seen the ads. The aliens are coming and they're not friendly. They arrive and they start blowing up the cities and all the people in them. That's why this movie is playing to sold-out audiences at my local multiplex. Everybody likes to watch a train wreck; it's a guilty pleasure. And, so, too, is Independence Day. The movie opens at Earth's moon, where the debris of Apollo XI still lingers. Soon, though, it is overshadowed. Massively. Back on Earth, the TV picture is fuzzy. And, you have cable. Why? Well, the cable guy knows why. Not that one, but David Levenson (Jeff Goldblum) who's been peering over a puzzle and suddenly comes up (for air) with an unpleasant answer. Pretty soon, he's leaving an overshadowed New York and heading for overshadowed Washington to bring the bad news to the President (Bill Pullman). Because Frank's ex-wife is the President's press secretary, he gets in to see him just in time to get the President and his staff out of harm's way. On July 3rd (movie time), the aliens start blowing things up in a fashion that probably makes Rush Limbaugh and the militia guys drool. Down goes the White House, the Capitol, the Empire State Building, and the First Interstate tower in downtown L.A. (Hey, this is what we all came to see, right?) The rest of the two and a quarter hour movie is spent figuring out how we're gonna defeat these blokes from outer space. Independence Day was intended as a throwback to the alien and monster pictures of the 50s as well as an homage to some great sci-fi, disaster and political movies of the ensuing years as well. So, its not surprising that ID4 evokes memories of movies as varied as Alien, The War of the Worlds, Dr. Strangelove, Star Trek, and even Earthquake. As the cast of characters romp from one implausible situation to another, it all works because the movie is inspired fun. Speaking of inspired, there's some good casting here. For comic effect, look to Brent Spiner, Randy Quaid, Harvey Fierstein, and Judd Hirsch. Vivica A. Fox, Margaret Colin, and Mary McDonnell do yeoman work as the women behind the men. Adam Baldwin and Robert Loggia, in roles they could play in their sleep, are military men. Finally, Will Smith is the fighter pilot who makes all the right moves. Kudos to Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the filmmakers behind ID4. Like Stargate before it, this movie brings together a lot of disparate elements that you wouldn't expect to find in one film. It's truly a hoot. I can't understand the need for some people to try and compare a film like Independence Day to, say, Sense and Sensibility. They're two completely different kinds of film. In its genre, Independence Day is one of the better ones by far. [Originally written 2 July 1996] Addendum: 2 September 2000 - This "special edition" DVD adds elements that bring into coherence some of the unintelligible portions of the "final cut" script. With the additional scenes, commentary, and DVD materials, this film is more enjoyable than ever.
Rating: 
Summary: ID4 kicks...!
Review: What a fantastic sci-fi thriller! Nearly everyone has seen it since its release in 1996 and will quit agree. Who can forget when the White House got blown to bits along with the Empire State Building, Capital and many other awesome sequences! Will Smith is not only a good rapper but also a good actor and this movie proves it. Yes, its a little chessy in parts but who cares! Its the mind-blowing special effects that really grasp our attention isn't it! If you havn't seen "Independence Day", where have you been? Check it out today on DVD! Also if your looking for other Will Smith movies, get "Enemy Of The State" or "Men In Black". Peace.
Rating:
Summary: MUST GO FASTER
Review: If you loved it, buy it. If you hated it... buy it... it's a grand package and a worthy addition to any DVD library, if only to show your friends and family how cool your set up is. INDEPENDENCE DAY is indeed a big budget "B" movie... but it's heart is in the right place, and a lot of things are destroyed in this film. On the level of bells, knobs and whistles... ID4 gets a nine. Packed with two disks that really deleiver added value and repeat viewing, you get alot. Commentary (which is actually pretty good and insightful), three MAKING OF's... the original BI-PLANE ending, and excellent menu interfaces that take you into AREA 51 - the hanger, and the ALIEN HOLDING TANKS... well done. PLUS! - we have an EASTER EGG, a hidden menu that takes you inside the alien space craft. Once inside you will find several options... one, view random destruction scenes, two..view random news reports (these reports are the very same news segments seen on the TV's durning the film... but are uncut and very interesting to watch - try and pick up what footage was from real news events and what was made up), three... the LAYER CAKE, view a segment of film from various aspects... sound, foley, dialouge... each one seperated from the rest to demonstrate how a film is put together. Very nice addition... to view E.E. follow the instructions below... Easter Eggs: Hidden Feature Directions: On the second disc go to "The Console." Move right one time to highlight the light above the disk drive. Press ENTER and the ship will be activated. The computer will give you the access code. Go back to the Main Menu and press 7, 4, and ENTER. You will then move into the ship and see a hidden menu. Menu includes: 1. Audio Layer Demo - you can switch between full audio mix, dialogue only, effects only or music only. 2. Random Explosion Playback 3. Random TV News Clips from different countries about the invasion 4. Disc Credits (on the top right corner) Uncovered by: Christopher Alba Uncovered on: June 29, 2000 Thanks to Chris keeping a sharp eye out... and keep an eye out yourself... more and more DVD's are being released with hidden features... see if you can find them.
Rating:
Summary: Guilty Pleasure
Review: "Citizen Cane" its not! The acting ranges from good to Good God! It would take a crane to suspend enough disbelief to buy the story line and the corny ultra patriotism was a bit much at times.....but.......I really liked it! It is big, loud, flashy and designed to appeal to the part of our brains that love Big Macs and ice cream. It is not an art film, there is nothing subtle or understated about it. It hits you right in the face from the first minuet and never slows down. So take off your suit and tie, butter a BIG sack of popcorn and just let it wash over you.
Rating: 
Summary: A perty good flick but....
Review: This was an excillant film the first time I saw it. I left the theatres saying wow this was great! only I saw it again. that was my mistake. the film seems to loose alot after seeing it more than once or twice, for sure not worth it to own.
Rating: 
Summary: ABSOLUTELY THE WORST FILM EVER!
Review: Independence Day is definitly the worst movie,science-fiction or not,ever grace the silver screen!The characters are cut and dry,the plot is a bad rip-off of War of the Worlds,and the movie is filled with so many plot incansistances that the whole film feels like one big mistake,and thats me being generous.Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin spent so much time on special effects and blowing up famous landmarks that they forgot that they were actually trying to make a movie.Everything is clouded in so much stupidity that its hard to find this movie entertaining. Everybody says its fun but does that mean that in order for a movie to be entertaining it has to make no sense!Examples-Will Smith's Girlfriend should have been fried in that tunnel,a laptop shouldn't be able to link with an exterrestrial super computer,and if these aliens are telepathic wouldn't they be able to tell that two humans have boarded the mothership.I'm trying to keep this short,so in conclusion Independence Day should never have been made.PERIOD!
Rating: 
Summary: Pure dissapointment.
Review: One of the most dissapointing movies I've ever seen. I waited over 6 hours in line to see the sneak preview of this film. While initially excitited by the dope special effects, the movie quickly turns into mindless drool. I recommend the 1st 20minutes, but nothing after that.
Rating:
Summary: For this great a movie, an ordinary DVD won't do.
Review: I'll be reviewing both the movie and DVD here: MOVIE: "Independence Day" can only be summarized in one word: WOW. This movie is a must see movie for any red-blooded american. You'll find everything in this movie: action, comedy, horror, suspense, drama, romance.....all complete with a star-studded cast. I mean, Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Fierstein....what's not to love? If you haven't seen this movie, what are you doing on the computer?! Rent it! See it! Buy it! Whatever! DVD: First of all, let me tell you one thing. If you hear about a movie made by 20th Century Fox, and you like it, I have 4 words for you: GET IT ON DVD. Trust me, Fox KNOWS how to do this DVD thing. They don't bother with unskippable previews, they wouldn't even think about combining a great movie with a shrimpy DVD that might have only a trailer and not even that, they KNOW how to make DVDs. (Buena Vista, you should be taking notes.) And the DVD for this movie is another DVD by Fox that's nothing short of exquisite. In case you don't know, this DVD comes with TWO discs. And as soon as you pop in the first disc, you know you made a great buy when the menu starts, which is one of the best menus you'll ever see. You have a choice between the original theatrical version and the special edition release with 9 minutes of cut footage. And once you make your pick, you see the awesome, THX-mastered picture quality and awesome sound. And once the movie is done, put in the second disc and marvel at the after-movie extras. You can see one of 3 behind-the-scenes featurettes, see the alternate ending for the movie, and see how ID4 fever overtook the nation in 1996 with its HUGE array of theatrical teasers, theatrical trailers, and TV spots. You can also see full-screen storyboards, concept drawings and behind-the-scenes photos, and there's also extra stuff for your DVD-ROM drive. So, to summarize, wether or not you've seen this terrific film, see it on DVD and get ready for a mind-boggling experience.
Rating:
Summary: Excelente edición de colección de ID4!
Review: Independence Day era una de las películas mas solicitadas en DVD. Ahora que fue lanzada en este formato puedo decir ampliamente que la espera valio la pena. Este set de dos discos cuenta con el material para entretenerte por un buen rato (de hecho hasta cuenta con opciones escondidas). El video y sonido son excelentes y una caracteristica que estoy seguro va a complacer bastante a aquellos que hablamos español es que cuenta con subtitulos en español hasta en los documentales! Algo raro en un disco region 1. Sin lugar a dudas ID4 es una película que merece estar en tu colección de DVD's aún y cuando no seas fan de la misma.
Rating:
Summary: Bad if you know anything about science
Review: I happen to LOVE sci-fi and was very excited when I heard about this movie coming out. I loved the trailers and told all my friends about it. But when I saw it it was a BIG let down for me. The main reason is because repeatedly throughout the movie things happen that are not only improbable but impossible. Suspension of disbelief is one thing but every good writer/director should know that fiction must have some kind of feasibility. This had none. I could make a long list of things that made no sense. But my two biggest complaints are these: ONE; why didn't the aliens just move their hovering 14 mile space ship a little bit higher up in the atmosphere? At a certain altitude planes cannot fly for lack of air. Since the aliens obviously did not need air to fly, they could just move a little higher and the humans would be helpless, END OF STORY. I guess these were horribly dumb aliens...amazing they managed to develop the technology for interstellar travel! Number TWO: YOU CANNOT give an alien computer a computer virus! Anyone who knows anything about computers should know that a virus is like a computer program, if the machine does not speak the same language the virus won't work. It would be like trying to destroy your CD player by putting in a virus infected CD-ROM, it just wouldn't work. Furthermore, computer viruses of a few years ago cannot damage my computer because of my anti-virus software. I am sure aliens who are many thousands of years more advanced would have anti-virus programs!
| 
