Independence Day: Resurgence
Bore Of The Worlds
released 14 November (blu-ray/dvd) Out Now! (download) 2016 | 12 | 4K blu-ray/blu-ray 3d/ blu-ray/dvd/download Director roland emmerich Cast Jeff Goldblum, liam Hemsworth, Jessie T Usher, maika monroe
Despite the message sent at the end of 1996’s Independence Day, Roland Emmerich never really intended to make a sequel. Still, here he is, with a whole new CGI toybox at his fingertips. But to paraphrase a Jeff Goldblum character from another ’90s outing, Resurgence proves that just because he could it doesn’t mean he should have.
For while the sequel – set 20 years after the aliens last attacked – has one or two fun ideas (like a rebuilt, united Earth with retro-engineered alien tech) and the charisma firepower of Goldblum and the other ID4 veterans, the result is much less than the sum of its parts. Excess replaces emotion, and what character work there is coasts on cliché and warm feelings for those who first met the extra-terrestrial menace. The new recruits, meanwhile, are never fleshed-out beyond their basic tropes – including Liam Hemsworth’s troubled hero and Maika Monroe’s driven President’s daughter.
Raising the stakes is one thing, but Emmerich has swapped the focused damage of the last film for setpieces that have more volume and a lot less weight. And while there are some stabs at suggesting a wider scope of conflict and other alien races, it feels less authentic to the story and more like he’s been encouraged to fill the corners in with franchise opportunities for the Cinematic Universe-obsessed world we now inhabit.
Extras Director’s commentary on the movie and eight deleted scenes (nine minutes); a 53-minute Making Of (only available digitally with the Blu-ray); a short faux doc about the 1996 war; a fake local news interview; a gag reel; concept art; trailers. James White
Jeff Goldblum brought the play Death Of A Salesman to set, and would have his cast mates read it between takes.