Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.0

Independence Day: Resurgence Blu-ray Movie Review

Is "regurgitance" a word?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 20, 2016

The tagline for Independence Day: Resurgence states “We had twenty years to prepare,” and the same of course might be said for this film’s creative crew, who took two decades (more or less, not counting pre-production, of course) to craft a sequel to 1996’s blockbuster extravaganza Independence Day. Considering the less than rapturous response Independence Day: Resurgence received from both critics and (at least some) audience members when it was released theatrically, some wag might suggest that Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin needed twenty one years (at a minimum) to really think through the ins and outs of this follow up. This is one of those special effects spectaculars that seemingly has everything money can buy, and yet which can look surprisingly cheap at times and which never builds to anything like the emotional fervor that made the first film so memorable. The film tries to weave together a navigable story built out of some of the rubble left after the alien incursion in the first film, bringing back a bevy of characters from that enterprise while also introducing a gaggle of newcomers (in what is assumed to be an attempt to craft a foundation for a new franchise, even if the next installment doesn’t appear until 2036). The overstuffed screenplay repeatedly references the first film while also working in weird subplots that seem like distant echoes of films like Top Gun . Filled with the sort of CGI wonderment that has become de rigeur in today’s science fiction cinematic universe, Independence Day: Resurgence provides occasional thrills, but is so concerned with ticking off predictable plot points that it forgets what made the first film kind of unique in the annals of overblown “alien invasion” movies: it had heart. Few who watched the first film back in the day were able to avoid a lump in their throat over the family dynamics of President Whitmore (Bill Pullman), and few similarly were able to keep from cheering (if only virtually) when Steven Hiller (Will Smith) laid down some serious butt kicking on one particular alien. Had Emmerich and Devlin merely gone for the gusto in SFX overkill (which they do, just not “merely”), Independence Day: Resurgence might have satisfied both fans of the first film and those who are way too young to remember what “July 4, 1996” means. However, it’s obvious that the pair (reunited for this film) have grander ambitions to forge another film that somehow doesn’t lose its humanity in the wake of an alien invasion (no pun intended), and it’s here that Independence Day: Resurgence tends to falter.

Whitmore may not be president any more, but he’s still experiencing nightmares. Who knows what Dr. Brakish Okun (Brent Spiner) is experiencing, since he’s basically a brainwave flatline as a coma patient? David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) has assumed some of Okun’s duties in the wake of that development, and he still has a lovably bantering relationship with his father Julius (Judd Hirsch) who like any good Jew has retired to Florida. While Steven Hiller isn’t around any longer, his stepson Dylan (Jessie Usher) is poised to follow in his heroic footsteps, hob nobbing with the high and mighty like President Elizabeth Lanford (Sela Ward). Lanford’s speech writer is a former denizen of the White House, Whitmore’s daughter Patricia (Maika Monroe), now an appealing and very smart young woman. Patricia is concerned that Dylan’s contentious relationship with fellow pilot Jake Morrison (Liam Hemsworth) will lead to needless conflict (three guesses if it does, and how that all works out).

Needless to say, there wouldn’t be a movie if those nasty aliens didn’t make a return appearance, and they’re actually seen early on, evidently reacting in sheer horror to the fact that those pesky humans managed to beat them back twenty years ago. Meanwhile various people, including Whitmore and, are experiencing weird visions of impending disaster, with several folks channeling a vision of weird circular object that plays awfully similarly to a certain pile of mashed potatoes in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Okun’s condition also suddenly changes, with the patently odd scientist suddenly awakening from his twenty year sleep. Mankind is (hopefully) being protected by the Earth Space Defense, an organization formed in the wake of the first alien attack and which has utilized some of the alien technology to forge new weaponry.

It’s almost pointless to tick off the various nooks and crannies of the plot, since Independence Day: Resurgence doesn’t really do anything surprising along the way. The aliens are nasty, with a Queen (why is it always a Queen) kind of symbiotically controlling the attack, and the humans kick into high gear to get to her to bring down the entire invading array. Friendships are tested, scientific strategies are questioned, love affairs blossom, and it all unfolds pretty much exactly as one might expect. The film is long on spectacle, even if much of it has the flat aspect of greenscreen work, but awfully short on actual human emotion, the one element that really seemed to set the original Independence Day apart from its alien invasion kin. It’s obvious that Emmerich and Devlin rather belatedly came to the conclusion they had the makings of a franchise, even if the second installment took two decades to arrive. My hunch is after this largely haphazard array of characters, plot contrivances and hyperbolic effects work the two may be reconsidering that strategy.

Independence Day: Resurgence Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Independence Day: Resurgence is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMdb lists this as a Red shot feature, at various source resolutions which were finished at a 4K DI. A lot of the transfer looks lustrously glossy and smooth, with excellent detail levels, but the decision to grade so much of the film in blues and teals leads to a lack of fine detail and even general detail throughout some rather long swaths. While some of the visual effects work is undeniably impressive, the reliance on so much greenscreen work leads to a certain flatness at times, especially in some of the backgrounds. Contrast is a little inconsistent at time, with milkiness intruding into some of those heavily graded scenes and a kind of effulgent quality leading to slightly blown out highlights in some more naturally lit environments. The darkness of so much of the film works to the detriment of both the visual effects and detail levels, at least at times, and some may wonder if this was actually done intentionally to help cover some CGI seams.

Independence Day: Resurgence Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Independence Day: Resurgence features a bombastic DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix which provides everything audiophiles have come to expect from these science fiction spectaculars. Cool rumbling LFE accompanies several reveals of various calamities, including of course the arrival of the alien mothership, but there are also some excellent effects in several set pieces both on the moon base and back home on Earth. Huge panning effects accompany many of the flying sequences (alien and otherwise), and the encroaching fiery cloud that is a spectacular visual effect also has its attendant sound and fury. Dialogue (such as it is) is rendered cleanly and clearly and is well prioritized, and the brass inflected score also sounds bright and inviting, spreading quite naturally through the surround channels. Dynamic range is extremely wide on this problem free track.

Independence Day: Resurgence Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 8:24) feature optional commentary by Roland Emmerich.


• The War of 1996 (1080p; 5:11) is a brief faux news recap of events.


• It's Early ABQ (1080i; 3:07) is another "pretend" piece, this time featuring Fred Armisen as an early morning talk show host.


• Another Day: The Making of Independence Day: Resurgence (1080p; 55:25) is a well done extended four part EPK with some good interviews and fun behind the scenes footage.


• Gag Reel (1080p; 6:14)


• Audio Commentary by Roland Emmerich


• Concept Art

  Aliens (1080p; 5:48)

  AI (1080p; 00:43)

  Humans (1080p; 2:58)

  Locations (1080p; 1:33)

  Original Presentational Images (1080p; 1:28)

• Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 5:18)

Independence Day: Resurgence Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's an old adage that runs something like "too little, too late," but in the case of Independence Day: Resurgence that might be more accurately amended to read "too much, way too late." It's obvious how Emmerich and Devlin (along with their collaborators) sought to reinvigorate this putative franchise, attempting to organically weave it into the first film while providing enough new content (and characters) to thrust things forward, but the film just seems overstuffed, overblown and weirdly lethargic a lot of the time. Performances are okay but hardly inspiring, and even the effects work look a little flat some of the time. Those who are willing to simply shut down their brains and enjoy the film for its still intermittently impressive visuals and hyperbolic sound design may enjoy things as far as they go, and for them, technical merits are strong. The supplementary package on this release is also above average, for those considering a purchase.