Two decades after the first Independence Day invasion, Earth is faced with a new extra-Solar threat.
A sequel omitting everything that made the original so entertaining: humor, irony, panache; the star cast are mainly stick figures in a CGI game with a ridiculous plot.
The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth; fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to
survive.
Successful rejuvenation of the 50s alien invasion/doomsday subgenre offers top-of-the-art special effects and action coupled with some good-natured tongue-in-cheek humor.
Halliwell*: "Enjoyably silly, jingoistic nonsense that found an appreciative audience for its sensational effects of blwing up the White House and most of the world; it sticks closely to the plot of The War of the Worlds, offering a technological version of a biological virus to knock out the aliens."
Maltin**1/2: "Spectacular - and spectacularly stupid - sci-fi saga...Big, Oscar-winning special effects are impressive, but the human stories are so dumb, the writing so lame, and some of the performances so broad they make some silly '50s sci-fi movies look brilliant by comparison."
The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply
strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured
father, and the guilt-ridden younger son.
Fine analysis of a family on the verge of catastrophe, subtly and grippingly told with a great ensemble.
Halliwell***: "An actor's piece which on that level succeeds very well, and accurately pins down a certain species of modern American family."
