Independence Day: Resurgence

Twenty years ago, on the 4th of July, Earth had to fight for its independence against an alien invasion. I was a high schooler, and remember the awe of the special effects mixed in with some pretty cool one liners; Will Smith in his early glory, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman showing that you don’t necessarily need an A-list actor to carry a blockbuster, and the ushering in of a new genre of film that has left a massive impression on the film industry.

Director Roland Emmerich is who I would consider the Godfather of next generation disaster films. Since “Independence Day”, he has treated us to a variety of earth-shattering experiences, but none were quite as epic and ambitious as the alien invasion that started it all (besides “Twister” which opened about two months earlier, that really started it all).

Well, twenty years later, the next generation, armed with space alien technology has arrived to once again protect the masses from the calamity of an even bigger, badder invasion. One can only imagine what “Independence Day 3” has in store for us (spoiler alert?). Humans have come together in a global effort to fight back, planning for the inevitable return ever since Randy Quaid rammed his jet up the mothership’s tailpipe. Technology is humming thanks to the incident; we have a Moon base, a global satellite defense system, enhanced transportation, and a stronger military. Alien technology seems to make progress move faster.

Will Smith is noticeably absent this time around, but nearly every other survivor from the first film is back, including Vivica A. Fox. Adding youth to the cast are the other Hemsworth (it’s hard to take him seriously knowing he’s going to marry Miley Cyrus), Maika Monroe (“It Follows”) as the former First Daughter, and Jesse T. Usher as Captain Hillard (Will Smith’s progeny). Sela Ward ruins a ripe role as the current President with wooden and emotionless dialogue, and William Fichtner tries his hardest to keep the audience engaged and caring as General Adams, but his efforts are fruitless.

Jeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch continue their father/son routine, but it is much less playful and more obligatory. The survival and peril seems to take on an almost comedic vibe that ruins any sort of tension that may have existed in the first place.

What I did enjoy about the film is the duplication of the tone and mood of the first film. The dialogue is light and the action is virtually nonstop with absolutely no pretense of any sort of seriousness. Come for the popcorn and action, leave feeling a little bit patriotic. I suppose that’s the goal.
What makes it more difficult to digest as an adult, however, is that the characters aren’t developed even a smidge. For some reason, everyone is an excellent pilot, but beyond that, they are terribly shallowly written. Each scene is rushed just a tad too much so there is no time to savor the visual effects that are feeding a constant stream of ocular sugar into your eyes. The alien ships are fantastic, and the battles must have cost a fortune at the digital effects lab. There’s even a pretty cool destruction scene that although would have killed tens of millions of people, looks pretty cool on the screen. I know you’re not supposed to think about the collateral damage, but I can’t help it.

The writers (Nicolas Wright and James Woods), who will be collaborating again with Emmerich on the upcoming “Stargate” reboot (don’t even get me started) seem to have wanted this to be bigger than it really needed to be, and bigger than it had the capacity for. It is overflowing with stand-alone scenes that set up incredible trailers and feed a fantastical imagination, but I found myself unable to immerse myself into the story because of the lack of focus.

You can bet it’s a mish mash of recycled attempts at emotional pull, and to be honest, the 11-15-year-old crowd will go crazy for it. It’s great to see some of the old faces back in harm’s way twenty years later, but in the end it just wasn’t very satisfying for me. Go see it if you liked the first and are in need of a blockbuster fix, but don’t expect an improvement on the original. 5/10.

Warcraft

The film based on the global massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) of the same name, “Warcraft” is an ambitious project on the scale of something like “Lord of the Rings”. The budget, writing/directing experience, and source material drastically lowers expectations, but even so, what unfolds on screen is a bit of a mess.

Let me preface this by saying it’s never a good sign when you doze off in the middle of the movie. It’s also not a good sign when you doze off and don’t miss anything important. Part of the problem with “Warcraft” is that one who isn’t familiar with the game is completely lost. There is no attempt to convey any insider information to the viewer, we just jump in and get to the story, which doesn’t fuel intrigue one bit.

Fortunately, (and unfortunately), there isn’t much to the narrative. Giant Orcs cross dimensions through a portal that is fed by the souls of battle-captured foes. The unsuspecting humans (and I think there were some other creatures in this realm, but we’re never really explained much in this regard) take up arms and do battle to preserve their kingdom, following the warrior/King’s brother-in-law, Anduin Lothar, played by Travis Fimmel, into an all-out rumble for terrestrial supremacy. Throw in some mystical powers that are a bit cliché and misguided in Ben Foster’s Medhiv and Ben Schnetzer’s Khadgar, and there is utter confusion about the extent of rules of this particular universe. Paula Patton plays the eye candy as the half-breed, Garona, who doesn’t really fit anywhere, and thinking about the two species breeding makes me wonder “How?” even more than “Why?” Was the male an Orc, or the female? I’m not sure which is worse.

Director Duncan Jones (“Moon”, “Source Code”) gives a valiant effort for his first true big budget blockbuster, and his choice of project is paying dividends in spades internationally, particularly China. I suspect that given the ending of the film as well as the reception, we will see a series spawn from the film, although I won’t be participating in viewing of any subsequent films.

Despite all of its very noticeable problems, I greatly admire the CGI and the vision of the Orcs. The giant beings with toothy upward-pointing fangs are meticulously rendered, looking like a bunch of Incredible Hulks running around flexing their oversized muscles with their knuckle-dragging testosterone. Toby Kebbel gives Andy Serkis a run for his money as the best motion-capture actor around as the Orc chieftain, Durotan. After his performance in the “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” back in 2014, he proves again that he is more than capable of bringing to life the emotions of a hybrid Neanderthal-simian creature.

Beyond the Orcs, the acting was pedestrian and the rest of the creatures and landscapes seemed rushed and done on the cheap. There were scenes that just seemed sloppy. A flying Griffin was kind of cool, but I felt like I was brought back to 1984, watching Atreyu riding Falkor through the clouds in terms of cinematic quality. I wasn’t impressed. Likewise, with the Orcs riding giant wolves. Or dogs? Whatever they were, they weren’t nearly as seamless or detailed as they could have been.

Essentially, “Warcraft” is an opportunity to capitalize on a global video game phenomenon and nothing more. It clearly lacks creativity or originality, but I suppose that’s part of the challenge that Duncan Jones faced in the first place. The market is already established, and it was inevitable that it would become a film at some point in time, so I can’t blame the studio for trying. At the height of the game’s popularity, this may have been a stronger film, but for the uninitiated, it just lacks the quality to be enjoyable a la carte. Skip the film unless you’re a veteran Warcraft player and even so, you will probably be disappointed. 3/10.