Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) Dir: Roland Emmerich
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Readers of my the review I posted in regards to this film's popular predecessor will know that I was not a fan. As such, it may be a surprise to see me return to watch this Roland Emmerich legacy sequel from 2016. It wasn't really in my plans to do so, until a night of boredom and indecision led me to go for a film I thought wouldn't require much brain power.
When I said I wouldn't need much brain power, I don't think I was prepared for how little I'd need. The exposition was excruciatingly painful; in both volume and quality. I felt like banging my head against a wall at some of the laughable ways the screenplay tried to disguise its lazy infodumping.
The visuals were completely unexceptional and, at times, bordering on amateurish. I genuinely had to laugh at some of the green screen shots - to say that they were poor would be too kind. For a film with a budget of $165 Million, there is no excuse for having CGI this mediocre.
Add to this the truly abysmal scream tracks played over the tepid action and you can understand why I had to find the humour in it all. I genuinely struggled to think of a single redeeming feature. The plot was riddled with convenience, inconsistencies and tropes. The characters were all one dimensional, dull and entirely forgettable.
Liam Hemsworth was the embodiment of these criticisms. He was virtually lifeless in the role. I could not have cared less about his protagonist, and found him to be a complete charisma vacuum. I have never been a huge fan of his, but this has gotta be one of his worst films.
Jeff Goldblum gave one of his weakest performances to date, in a role he evidently didn't care about remotely. His comedic delivery, usually so zingy, lacked any effort or flavour. Everything felt like a grey shade of his usual self.
Jessie T. Usher was clearly supposed to feel like an important character - a link to the original, forged anew, but he came across as plain and needless. His performance wasn't awful, but his character had no purpose other than being Will Smith's son.
Bill Pullman, Angela Yeung Wing - aka Angelababy, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Maika Monroe and William Fichter led a hugely underwhelming ensemble of empty-headed supporting characters, most of whom the film didn't even need. The worst bit was, those were the best of that ensemble, with the likes of Sela Ward, Deobia Oparei, Judd Hirsch, Travis Tope and Vivica A. Fox all giving pretty dire performances.
Overall, even though I wasn't exactly expecting much from what was a clear and lazy money-grab of a film, I can safely say I should have lowered my expectations even more than I did. What I watched was a joke of a film. This is exactly the kind of film that people are referencing when they say they're sick of sequels and remakes. It is horrendous.
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