"Independence Day: Resurgence" Review

"We had twenty years to prepare, and we still weren't ready."

Tagline, or general consensus towards the idea of an Independence Day sequel?

Indeed, it has been precisely twenty years since Independence Day captivated our hearts and minds on its way to becoming one of the definitive summer blockbuster movies of all time. Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith affirmed their superstar status in a film loaded with humor, charisma, and balls-out action.

Of course, the idea of a sequel to such a beloved film (especially one without Smith!) didn't sit well with most people, myself included. Independence Day is one of this reviewer's favorite films, but when I discovered that the first wasn't exactly a critical darling, I became a bit more receptive to this sequel idea.

That made all the difference in the world.

As it turns out, Independence Day: Resurgence is a sequel worthy of franchise canon. Granted it's still grossly inferior, but anyone who enjoyed the original for what it was should find more than enough thrills here.

The second chapter of the Independence Day saga shows us what Earth might look like if we had twenty years to adopt advanced extraterrestrial technology. Washington, D.C. looks like a booming metropolis with sleek skyscrapers now flanking the White House. Capitol Hill looks like it's at the 50-yard-line of a state-of-the-art NFL stadium; plenty of capacity for those rah-rah speeches. David (Goldblum) is now the head of intergalactic defense, or something. Regardless, that's pretty f**king badass. Don't we all wish we had that job?

David heads out to the Sahara desert to investigate an event that coincides with an attack on the moon. A large alien craft makes short work of an international base there, effectively crippling Earth's defenses. The last ones fit to make a stand are Jake Morrison (Liam Hemsworth), your typical maverick fighter pilot, Dylan Hiller (Jessie T. Usher), son of the deceased Captain Steve Hiller (Smith), Charlie Miller (Travis Tope), Jake's co-pilot and the film's comic relief, and Rain Lao (Angelababy), a beautiful war hero and object of Charlie's affections.

The threat is much bigger this time with the queen of the alien horde returning to mine Earth's core for energy. Instead of several small flying saucers over our major landmarks, the queen brings one massive ship that stretches across half of the entire planet. To stand any chance of survival, the young team of fighter pilots must coordinate with David and the minds at Area 51, including Dr. Oaken (Brent Spiner) and former President Whitmore (Bill Pullman).

There are too many side characters which effectively makes the already risible dialogue even more of a slog. I thought Maika Monroe and Charlotte Gainsbourg were nice additions to the cast; Monroe as Whitmore's daughter Patricia and Gainsbourg as scientist Catherine Marceaux. Gainsbourg's scenes with Goldblum are some of the film's better moments. I just wish she had a bit more to do. She deserved more screen time than, say, Dr. Isaacs (John Story) or Floyd Rosenberg (Nicolas Wright). These guys were given entirely too much to do since they're both superfluous in the grand scheme of things. The script is already inherently silly enough; I don't need a Floyd Rosenberg character trying to wring chuckles out of me.

Other than that, it's still the same mindless Independence Day you remember. Judd Hirsch returns as David's father Jules whose subplot is meant to fill the void left by Randy Quaid. This film doesn't have any moments that are as memorable as "Hello, boys! I'm baaaaaack!" But we do get Data from Star Trek telling us to get ready to "kick some alien ass" in the setup for Independence Day 3. THAT movie promises to be something like "Jeff Goldblum Saves the Universe," which is something we should all be able to get behind.

C+

"10 Cloverfield Lane" Review

10 Cloverfield Lane is NOT a sequel to 2008's found-footage monster flick, Cloverfield. I like J.J. Abrams' analogy: "two different rides at the same amusement park." 10 Cloverfield Lane is really only related in name but still affirms the world-building of its predecessor. That is, the possibility and plausibility of a larger parallel universe existing alongside our own - one populated by kaiju from the depths of the sea and aliens from the farthest reaches of outer space.

This is a very different film from what a direct Cloverfield sequel might look like. It abandons the found-footage aesthetic for more traditional cinematography and scales the whole production down from a massive monster attack in New York City to a chamber piece set almost entirely in the claustrophobic confines of a fallout shelter.

The story follows Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a young woman confronted with an emotional conflict that prompts her to leave her fiance, Ben (Bradley Cooper, whom we only hear or get to know by a phone call). On her way out of town, she's run off the road and rescued by Howard (John Goodman), a conspiracy theorist and doomsday prepper. Michelle wakes up in Howard's bunker and is told that the air above ground has been contaminated by a chemical attack and that no living thing remains. Also holed up with them is Emmett (John Gallagher, Jr.), a young man who claims to have worked for Howard and knew that the bunker would be safe from whatever happened outside. After Howard sets some strict ground rules such as "no touching" and supervised bathroom privileges, Michelle and Emmett begin digging around and discover that Howard may be a manipulative psychopath. This makes them desperate to plan an escape and find proof of what really happened outside.

The message is in the tagline: "Monsters come in many forms." Michelle especially is confronted with several, and the film is about how she grows and overcomes these demons or "monsters," as it were. The first is personal. She claims that she has a problem with conflict and that she always runs away when she doesn't know what to do. That's tough when you're confined to a small doomsday bunker. The second is her fellow man, and the third is something out of this world. The obvious question that the film poses, however, is "Which is the bigger monster - mankind, or the unknown lurking outside?"

First-time director Dan Trachtenberg and his team of writers (including Whiplash's Damien Chazelle) give levity to both sides of this question. My nerves were shot from beginning to end because I truly had no idea what to expect. Sure, the intimate stuff is more engaging, but the big final act gives ample credence to the three character arcs and finishes in a very satisfying place. This film works extremely well if you take it on its own merits and don't carry in the baggage of what you think a "Cloverfield sequel" should look like. I have no complaints. Just about anything that first seemed off can be explained if you just give the story some thought.

Skip out on IMAX for this one. The scope of the film is far too small to justify the cost of an even bigger screen.

A