Independence Day: Resurgence
Rent & Buy
We always knew they were coming back. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics largely dismissed this belated sequel as a loud, hollow exercise in franchise-building, faulting its overcrowded cast, mechanical plotting, and a climax that feels designed to set up yet another installment rather than deliver a satisfying payoff. A minority of reviewers argued the film embraces its own cheesiness with enough self-awareness to make it passable blockbuster fun, but that defense sat poorly alongside a majority who found even its spectacle exhausting rather than exhilarating.
“The Resurgence blueprint calls for a scene in which characters have human, allegedly humorous and/or touching moments; a scene in which characters plot strategy against the aliens; and a big action sequence in which it's often difficult to tell the difference between the good-guy spaceships and the bad-guy spaceships. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun Times
“The movie's dips into all-out space opera (interstellar travel, more alien species, etc.) are only meant to get the audience pumped for a movie that doesn't yet exist, making the undistinguished climax seem like a skirmish.”
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky·The A.V. Club
“the film is so cluttered with characters, exposition and space junk, thickly lacquered with 3D, it's like a party piñata waiting to burst open - but inside are rocks, not toys.”
Peter Howell·Toronto Star
“spectacular as you'd hope from a sequel to the 1996 planet-toaster, and as amusingly cheesy. You'll enjoy yourself enough that you won't even miss Will Smith.”
Dan Jolin·Empire
“Emmerich's film is stupid and entertaining and sometimes stupidly entertaining but unlike his misfires 10,000 BC and Godzilla, it realises this fact and embraces it as a facet of the movie's character, taking its popcorn-munching entertainment to ridiculous levels in terms of grand scale and enjoyment.”
Jack Bottomley·Starburst
Genres
Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Cast & Crew
Roland EmmerichDirector
Liam HemsworthJake Morrison
Jeff GoldblumDavid Levinson
Jessie T. UsherDylan Hiller
Bill PullmanPresident Whitmore
Maika MonroePatricia Whitmore
Travis TopeCharlie Miller
AngelaBabyRain Lao
Charlotte GainsbourgDr. Catherine Marceaux
Judd HirschJulius Levinson
William FichtnerGeneral Adams
Brent SpinerDr. Brakish Okun
Sela WardPresident Lanford
Harald KloserComposer
Dean DevlinWriter
James VanderbiltWriter
Nicolas WrightWriter
James A. WoodsWriter
Gabriel ShermanWriter
Markus FördererCinematographyIndependence Day: Resurgence
We always knew they were coming back. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics largely dismissed this belated sequel as a loud, hollow exercise in franchise-building, faulting its overcrowded cast, mechanical plotting, and a climax that feels designed to set up yet another installment rather than deliver a satisfying payoff. A minority of reviewers argued the film embraces its own cheesiness with enough self-awareness to make it passable blockbuster fun, but that defense sat poorly alongside a majority who found even its spectacle exhausting rather than exhilarating.
“The Resurgence blueprint calls for a scene in which characters have human, allegedly humorous and/or touching moments; a scene in which characters plot strategy against the aliens; and a big action sequence in which it's often difficult to tell the difference between the good-guy spaceships and the bad-guy spaceships. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun Times
“The movie's dips into all-out space opera (interstellar travel, more alien species, etc.) are only meant to get the audience pumped for a movie that doesn't yet exist, making the undistinguished climax seem like a skirmish.”
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky·The A.V. Club
“the film is so cluttered with characters, exposition and space junk, thickly lacquered with 3D, it's like a party piñata waiting to burst open - but inside are rocks, not toys.”
Peter Howell·Toronto Star
“spectacular as you'd hope from a sequel to the 1996 planet-toaster, and as amusingly cheesy. You'll enjoy yourself enough that you won't even miss Will Smith.”
Dan Jolin·Empire
“Emmerich's film is stupid and entertaining and sometimes stupidly entertaining but unlike his misfires 10,000 BC and Godzilla, it realises this fact and embraces it as a facet of the movie's character, taking its popcorn-munching entertainment to ridiculous levels in terms of grand scale and enjoyment.”
Jack Bottomley·Starburst
Genres
Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Cast & Crew
Roland EmmerichDirectorLiam HemsworthJake MorrisonJeff GoldblumDavid LevinsonJessie T. UsherDylan HillerBill PullmanPresident WhitmoreMaika MonroePatricia WhitmoreTravis TopeCharlie MillerAngelaBabyRain LaoCharlotte GainsbourgDr. Catherine MarceauxJudd HirschJulius LevinsonWilliam FichtnerGeneral AdamsBrent SpinerDr. Brakish OkunSela WardPresident LanfordHarald KloserComposerDean DevlinWriterJames VanderbiltWriterNicolas WrightWriterJames A. WoodsWriterGabriel ShermanWriterMarkus FördererCinematographyRent & Buy