A Fine Tradition
Yesterday was certainly filled with excitement and explosions, although not the ones I had anticipated when the weekend began. Last night, however, saw the continuation of a tradition that I have celebrated for the past few years. The watching of ID4.
I know more than a handful of people that say this film is over-rated. They speak about the stereotypical characters, the amazingly dumbed-down take on technology, and the overall "fluffy" nature of the movie. They say,"It's a so-so sci-fi flick where Emmerich just relies on lots of explosions to make it interesting."
I say, "Shut up and pass the popcorn!"
Independence Day is a fantastic nod back to the "Space-Men-In-Flying-Saucers" genre of the 1950's. The characters are painted with a broad brush with major metropolitan cities providing the backdrop to an invading force of not-so-friendly aliens. Director Roland Emmerich elected to use a lot of models in the film as opposed to CG, and this only adds to the charm and visceral appeal when famous sites start being demolished. Don't get me wrong - I love CGI as much as the next movie/sci-fi/fantasy geek, but there is something special about the effects achieved with amazingly detailed scale models and lots of explosive gasses exposed to open flame.
More to the point, I watch ID4 every year because of the fact that it unabashedly taps into the jingoistic, rah-rah, "Go America!" vein that runs through most of us whether we admit it or not. This is a day when we as Americans sit around and eat hot dogs, drink beer, and watch fireworks go BOOM BOOM BOOM in the night sky. As with many holidays we celebrate, we forget the reason we get that long weekend. I'm not going to turn this into a discourse on our battle against tyranny or taxation without representation (that's not fair!) but suffice it to say, ID4 puts its summer blockbuster lens squarely on the fight of the oppressed against superior forces and you can't help but root for the good guys.
It also doesn't hurt that it has has several of my favorite actors (Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Adam Baldwin, Harry Connick, Jr.) cast in perfect roles. The pacing of the film is brisk, the humor spot-on, and when Captain Steve Hiller (Will Smith) climbs up onto the downed star fighter and then knocks out the alien invader with a good shot to the jaw while saying "Welcome to Earth.", I cheer every time.
On the morning of the huge counter-attack against the alien invaders, the President of the United States (played endearingly by Bill Pullman) stands atop a jeep and gives the following speech to the military and civilian personnel that have been pulled together at Area 51.
In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!
HELL YEAH!
Happy 4th of July Weekend everyone, and thank you to my friends who made last night a great celebration!
I know more than a handful of people that say this film is over-rated. They speak about the stereotypical characters, the amazingly dumbed-down take on technology, and the overall "fluffy" nature of the movie. They say,"It's a so-so sci-fi flick where Emmerich just relies on lots of explosions to make it interesting."
I say, "Shut up and pass the popcorn!"
Independence Day is a fantastic nod back to the "Space-Men-In-Flying-Saucers" genre of the 1950's. The characters are painted with a broad brush with major metropolitan cities providing the backdrop to an invading force of not-so-friendly aliens. Director Roland Emmerich elected to use a lot of models in the film as opposed to CG, and this only adds to the charm and visceral appeal when famous sites start being demolished. Don't get me wrong - I love CGI as much as the next movie/sci-fi/fantasy geek, but there is something special about the effects achieved with amazingly detailed scale models and lots of explosive gasses exposed to open flame.
More to the point, I watch ID4 every year because of the fact that it unabashedly taps into the jingoistic, rah-rah, "Go America!" vein that runs through most of us whether we admit it or not. This is a day when we as Americans sit around and eat hot dogs, drink beer, and watch fireworks go BOOM BOOM BOOM in the night sky. As with many holidays we celebrate, we forget the reason we get that long weekend. I'm not going to turn this into a discourse on our battle against tyranny or taxation without representation (that's not fair!) but suffice it to say, ID4 puts its summer blockbuster lens squarely on the fight of the oppressed against superior forces and you can't help but root for the good guys.
It also doesn't hurt that it has has several of my favorite actors (Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Adam Baldwin, Harry Connick, Jr.) cast in perfect roles. The pacing of the film is brisk, the humor spot-on, and when Captain Steve Hiller (Will Smith) climbs up onto the downed star fighter and then knocks out the alien invader with a good shot to the jaw while saying "Welcome to Earth.", I cheer every time.
On the morning of the huge counter-attack against the alien invaders, the President of the United States (played endearingly by Bill Pullman) stands atop a jeep and gives the following speech to the military and civilian personnel that have been pulled together at Area 51.
In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!
HELL YEAH!
Happy 4th of July Weekend everyone, and thank you to my friends who made last night a great celebration!