Word: alienation
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Full of big-hearted, crowd-pleasing excitement, the solid, well-crafted "Independence Day" has barrelled onto the summer movie scene. The movie's real-life cast and gleeful, what-if approach toward alien invasions work wonderfully, in pleasant contrast with the string of choreographed stunts and signature one-liners that pass for action movies these days...
...film's well-executed special effects and adventure sequences show that there is nothing wrong with borrowing from other movies so long as it's done well. Viewers will have flashbacks to a wide array of adventure, sci-fi, and apocalyptic classics: "Star Wars," "Top Gun," "Alien," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and TV movie landmarks like "V," and "The Day After." Even the acronym-based ad campaign reminds one of "Terminator 2: Judgement...
These films were routine but easy to take; they put the fun in perfunctory. ID4 is a big step up, a doomsday fable told at warp speed. The approach of the alien ships is nicely achieved, with ominous shadows creeping across the Apollo 11 monument on the moon, then up the facades of the White House and the Empire State Building. On Earth, an ensemble cast fleshes out the stereotypes (Harvey Fierstein, whiny gay man; Judd Hirsch, crusty old Jew; Vivica Fox, stripper with heart of gold), while the three male leads mine all available righteousness and comic charm. Wryness...
...film has a salutary scope and bustle and enough kick in the fireball special effects to make audiences cheer--sure, it's the end of the world, but you can still party like it's 1999. As Will Smith says, "You can sell an alien attack better than the old days when you could see the zipper on the back of the alien's costume." Minute by minute, though, things look mighty familiar. If Forrest Gump was Everyman, ID4 is Everymovie, a browse through the whole film catalog: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Strangelove, Close Encounters, Alien...
Moviemakers don't need to conquer the aliens. They control the screen. And when they do it well, they control us, as cunningly as an ID4 alien running a mind scan on a puny Earthling. Only after the lights come up can we shake off the fear, say, "It's only a movie," and steal an anxious glance at the night...