INDEPENDENCE DAY
A film review by P. Clark
Copyright 1996 P. Clark
Independance Day is one of this summer's great combination movies. The film features plenty of fast action, heartfelt laughs, sweet romance and go-get-em-tiger heroism. In addition, you could take a kid to see it because there just isn't any gratuitous gore. I think the rest of the industry could take a lesson from this one: Guess what, Charlie, you don't have to have flying limbs to make 'em jump out of their seats! I have heard other critics making mock of the romance elements in this film, and I think that they need a reality check. If one day, God help us, anything like ID4 did happen I know I'd be real worried about my family, even if I was president of the USA. Bill Pullman plays the Pres and I thought he was refreshing, a brave man who is more interested in the welfare of the human race than in the next popularity poll. Will Smith puts in an amusing performance as a fighter pilot who turns out to have serious guts. Again, I don't think his craziness is entirely illogical; after all, Marines have long been known for being out-of-the-ordinary. Maybe an authentic Marine would say Will's a softie, but I still think real men are allowed to have feelings. Jeff Goldblum plays a brilliant if unambitious MIT brain, who has lost his wife (Margaret Colin) to the glamor of Washington. Three cheers for the not-so-average heroism he displays as he fights his way upstream into an evacuating city to bring vital news to the powers-that-be, and then goes along on the mission to deliver the killing blow to the aliens. At least his wife has the brains to realize what she nearly lost and lets him know how she feels before it's too late. Judd Hirsch is Jeff's crusty dad, Randy Quaid a drunken ex-fighter pilot, Brent Spiner a half-mad scientist who's been underground too long. All three put in believable and humourous performances. Um, yeah, I did say believable. ID4 itself requires that all disbelief be left at the door. We have to swallow a really amazing string of coincidences (you'll know what I mean when you see the movie) but Hollywood has long required that of its audience. What is important is that ID4 is in something of a unique class, a feel-good thriller (?!), and since I am capable of making a leap of faith, I enjoyed it. If you're not too demanding that a film be high art, you will too.
Pam
http://www.accent.net/tmc (At the Movies)
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