User Reviews

Despite tasting like milk, the Movie is better than I assumpted. Also, who would have thought that it was phenomenal of its time? It was 1996, there were dated FX but they were done so well, it won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. I do not like it when people criticise a movie for being too depressing. This movie tried not to by being funny at certain points. This movie is rather hopeful - a few American men with families working together to save us from disaster. When America would have been nice to live in. Whatever ages like milk is the twin towers & I think Patrcicia should have her own bed instead of sleeping with Thomas J Whitmore the President, unless.

It makes a thrilling movie without dipping way too far into gore, it is a patriotic movie, where the characters are awesome and loveable, the plot sometimes seems just out of place, its hard to explain, but overall its a great movie

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Independence Day is good entertainment. It has pretty good characters, that you care for and when they are in danger, you're nervous. There are a few pretty emotional scenes in the third act. The dialogues are cool, but unnatural, sometimes they go too far, but thankfully that was a minority. The directing, the cinematography and the editing work together almost perfectly. The way they use parallels to cut between scenes was amazing. Some scenes are a bit lengthy though. The cinematography is okay, but I did notice the shots that were inspired by North by Northweast and Star Wars. The production design is great, while the visual effects are really good for 1996, but with a modern eye, a lot of it looks off. The cast is amazing, the performances don't disappoint.

Greetings from Lithuania. "Independence Day" (1996) is true classic. Good plot, terrific special effects, great action scenes, lots of heroes - it has it all to be called a classic. Sadly, i haven't had a possibility to enjoy it on the big screen at the time, i believe it was a blast off. It started Will Smith who at the time wasn't a big star, and it proved, that this man can save the world. Needles to say, this is probably the best film of Roland Emmerich. His other movies which i enjoyed more or less didn't come to this movie. A film that still has a great look, great special effects, and it can take you the place that only movies can. Revisiting it in 2026 on 4K UHD disk was a blast. Special effects still holds up and this movie is a highly entertaining escapism. Great film.

Classic pure entertainment on every level. This has aged so well and in 2026 so good to sit with my son and for him to see real hero’s, where the men are men, dads are dads. and they save the world. Great one liners, great soundtrack. AND the visuals are still better than what Hollywood produces today.

No words can descibe my feelings when I'm watching it again, like I did back in 1996 in theatre. The CGI still holds up in 2025 it's so good. The acting and actors. (Will Smith in the 90's was in a league of his own). Everything is peak 90'sand science fiction, served with side dishes: bit of good humour, bit is tragedy, bit of horror. It's one of my all time favorites.

What a pathetic joke of a movie. I always found its story to be extremely confusing and just weird. This is easily the worst movie I've ever seen.

Maybe it’s because it’s 2025, but I happened upon this movie, which I had heard of, but had never previously watched…I was struck by the ridiculousness of Dennis Quaid‘s role, the chaotic scene shifts, and the consistently terrible dialogue.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

İlk defa izleyecek olanlarında izleyebileceği bir yapım ama çok bir beklentiniz olmasın çünkü ortalama bir yapım.

Giant, hostile alien spaceships appear overnight to move on Earth's natural resources; humanity's last, desperate hope is a shaky plan involving a captured UFO from the 1950s and an old PowerBook laptop. Seems like this one was a guilty-pleasure classic from opening day. ID4 isn't well-written and constantly bathes itself in dense layers of cheese, but it tries hard, most the character arcs connect and the big special effects hold up quite well, despite their age. For a movie that's so thoroughly reliant on spectacle, that last point is pretty important. The power of watching the White House or Empire State Building burst into a billion bitty pieces is still there, irresistible, while the magnitude of the invading fleet remains immense, and I think both can be attributed to the production's choice to eschew then-new CG techniques in favor of a large, intricately detailed stable of miniatures. We get a few hiccups, like the obviously green-screened fighter jets or the absurd visual **** retriever leaping to slow-motion safety through a fiery inferno, but for the most part it all looks great and it's still easy to get **** into the experience. Of course, the whole thing is over-acted to death. Roland Emmerich has never been one to bring out nuance from his cast, but this is an awfully shallow effort, even by his standards. Bill Pullman nails the big motivational speech, set to a telegraphed swell of patriotic symphony, but otherwise lacks conviction as a limp, reactive PotUS. Randy Quaid is a cheap xerox of every alien abductee stereotype to ever enter pop culture. Jeff Goldblum is naturally quirky enough to make his role worthwhile, but it takes every bit of his innate charismatic magnetism to overcome the dumb plot developments. Will Smith is the only unequivocal success, barking and fist-pumping his way to bonafide action hero status in a simple but essential role as a beefy marine / pure force of will. From a critical perspective, Independence Day is cinematic junk food. Big bangs and shiny lights to dazzle the box office crowd, with a few easy jokes to lighten the mood. But yet, there's something else to it, something essential and inexplicable. It's just raw, simple fun, I suppose, that makes no apologies for how it acts or what it aims to be. It won't make you think or weep, but you'll feel, and that's worth something.

This is a bad movie with an overdone plot, a silly storyline, and bad acting. The special effects were likely good for their time, but by today's standards, they stink. The dialogue was cringe-worthy. The characters are all stereotypical, and the aliens are generic evil aliens with the depth of a puddle. A 3/10 is a gift.

An absolute classic. I did, however, watch the extended edition (9 more minutes of screentime!!) and it was a good choice to cut those 9 minutes. The theatrical is the way to go and I dearly love that one.

One of the most 90s movie ever. In all of the best ways. It's cheesy, it's patriotic, it uses clichees, it's self-serious.

C’en deviendrait presque marrant, désopilant (et pathétiquement navrant) tant cette débilité hollymerdienne accumule un concentré de conneries avec un aplomb sidérant. Mais au mieux, on rit jaune, car cette daube casse toutes les limites et frontières du ridicule et du grotesque très con… Entre Will Smith la pauvre tanche qui se croit toujours dans sa sitcom à mongolos, Bill Pullman qui fait son « y a t’il un président dans l’avion ? » et les idées grand-guignolesques du style « je balance un virus aux aliens avec mon portab’ appeule », il y a de quoi se les **** tout avec une mise en scène patriotique 100% premier degré, cela va de soi. C’est filmé correctement et assez spectaculaire, soit, mais quel lavage de ciboulot ce truc de golios ! c’est horrible de débilité et ça n’en finit pas !

I only remembered big ships and Will Smith. I rewatched and was surprised that the film is very large-scale.

It's a fun movie and weirdly intense at times. Haven't seen it in years but I know I like it.

Very good movie. Funny as well with plenty of action. As they try to save the world from an alien invasion.

Amazing movie. Great plot and idea. Really pulls of the alien invasion plot. VFX is amazing specially considering the time it was released. I also shows what could also happen in real life if aliens invaded and is not just a fictional movie that throws out logic.

Alien movie that marked its generation, the movie is a bit mundane for the plot but wonderful for everything else, special effects and acting are really great. The whole film is funny and entertaining, with also a good dose of tension and emotions.

Dumb cheesy fun for sure (Your review must be at least 75 characters long) ok Metacritic.

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This is an absolutely glorious movie, at no point was I skipping bits. It's extremely quotable and the cgi holds up even in 2021 although it has a bit of a slow **** has good comedy, Look its on Disney plus go watch it

When an enormous alien ship arrives in the skies above, satellite technician David Levinson,, decodes a signal that he soon realises is countdown timer for a coordinated attack. Alerting the White House to the threat he must then work with the President and his staff to save Earth from annihilation. Independence Day received a mixed critical reception upon its release back in 1996, and its undeniably all very ‘Hollywood’, but if you’re looking for an entertaining blockbuster this more than fits the bill. The cast is great (Will Smith became a major film star off the back of his performance) the effects still largely hold up and the action scenes are excellent, so switch off your brain and enjoy the ride!!

In hindsight this was not a truly great movie back then. However it hit the right spots at the right times and is a good popcorn movie. It is basically a reimagination of “War of the Worlds” or lets say it is heavily influenced and has B movie charm and cheesiness. Also it has the pathos, spirit and patriotism that wins over the US audience. All together Roland Emmerich created a truly convincing movie that works well enough to ignore the weaknesses. Maybe it is one of the biggest dazzles in movies that hides its weaknesses so well that you recognize them only far later. Story: Shortly before the US independence day an enormous alien mother-ship arrives in the orbit of earth (Smaller moon size to be specific) and deploys a few dozen city size saucers that stay stationary above huge cities of earth. Because no successful contact could be made no one knows what to expect. This is the set up and the movie follows the story of a few protagonist in the following days. I avoided spoilers here but don't even know if it is needed. The movie, its story and a lot of scenes are close if not common movie knowledge. Like I said the movie pulls all the right strings to be entertaining. It is a good popcorn experience and worth watching. Of cause it is not an all time classic or in the realm of the best movies of all times. It has however a lot of memorable scenes, a good bit of humor and an enjoyable cast. Cast: We have a cast of really likable and good actors. There is Will Smith as ace pilot Steven Hiller, Jeff Goldblum as engineer David Levison and Bill Pullman as President and former ace pilot Thomas J. Whitmore. These 3 work well and get you invested into the / their stories. Then we have the support characters and lets start with Randy Quaid as Russell Casse who is probably the most memorable (side) character of the movie and steals the show. Judd Hirsch as Julius Levison delivers a good performance. Then there is Vivia A Fox as Jasmine Dubrow who also delivers a good performance as does James Rebhorn as Alber Nimzicki. Brent Spiner as Dr. Brackish Okun is really weak int the movie and I blame it on the script as he is a truly good and convincing actor. In total we have a solid to good performance with some weaknesses. I must admit here that we have a bit of cheesiness and maybe to much pathos and stereotypes. This can drag down the enjoyment and rating for others and I will say it is a valid point. Presentation: The special effects worked amazingly well back then. It helped a lot to create the atmosphere and feeling of the movie. The White House scene in particular is quite famous. The sets and other visuals look good too and there is no grave misstep in this category. The soundtrack was amazingly good and I fully praise the composer David Arnold for this. It is fondly remembered. Overall I repeat that in hindsight it was not a great movie but it pulled the right strings and was entertaining. It camouflaged its weaknesses well. However it earned its place in movie history for its impact and success. I would recommenced it to watch at least once to be able to discus it. Bonus knowledge: Despite different depictions in movies, TV series and books aliens would not even have to leave their solar system to wage war or destroy other civilizations. A Nicoll-Dyson beam combines a Dyson sphere with a death ray and there is the relativistic kill shot where you use the energy generation to speed up an object to high fractions of light speed. If at 98% light speed you have a reaction time of a week per light years distance and the relativistic speed makes an object far more destructive than any nuclear weapon we can build (Not planet destroying but civilization erasing except you use bigger objects which is an overkill).

59??! Did 1990s film critics not like excitement, charisma, incredibly paced and suspenseful first act, a superb blend of practical and special effects, *very* emotional character (arcs) - just look at the absolute emotional rollercoaster they put President Whitmore through - loads of humour and an amazing soundtrack featuring 6 or 7 incredible themes to represent different characters and situations? I read reviews of utterly forgettable action films in the past two decades that get 65+ on Metacritic and weep for this pop culture classic, woefully underrated by critics. Special note: the sequel is probably a 2 out of 10, or maybe a 3, because they mostly forgot to include humour, excitement, emotion or suspense in it. Whoops.

Independence Day is a typical Roland Emmerich movie. Epic, beautiful in the trailer, but at the same time with an idiotic plot. There is not a bad cast here, a unique alien invasion of some kind. But the stupidity of the plot and the delusivity of the final battle only finally spoil the opinion of the film.

This movie helped to define the cliché when it comes to alien movies. While it's entertaining, it's also centred around America, it's people and its struggle for survival against the alien threat. This makes it come very close to a classic propaganda movie you expect to see in Soviet Russia or in modern day North Korea.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Independence Day (also known as ID4) is a spectacular, and amazing story about Alien invaders attack us just two days before Independence Day, and they The survivors devise a plan to fight back against the enslaving aliens, and July 4th becomes the day humanity will fight for its freedom! The whole story, is so straightforward as to be superfluous (aliens invade, fights ensue) but even so, it remains an invigorating watch purely because of the spectacle it provides, and the movie really knows not to take the story itself way too seriously. The idea of a film about the very huge alien attack on shortly before Independence Day in the United States and having a war against the aliens for the celebraiton of Independence Day is very original, and it's awesome! The acting is well done, Will Smith did amazing job, so as the other actors, and as well as the Aliens. Alien look very scary, and they are the group of the mother alien ship to kill all humans on Earth, and they so destroying Los Angeles, New York City, and even Washington D.C. This is one of the few times that Roland Emmerich had decent directing skills, one of the good examples that he manages to went out of his way to use every cliche in the book, over-sentimentality, weak, flat characterizations, incredible jumps in logic and reasoning made on the viewer, and the use of special effects to overcome these shortcomings. That there is one infamous last word is, HELLO BOYS! I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!! There is a large ensemble cast of good actors, some in career best roles, such as Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Vivica Fox.,and Harry Connick Jr. in a small role! The final battle with the major countries against this alien ship at the Area 51 is AMAZING, even in the mother's ship! :) Independence Day is a amazing, and a classic sci-fi movie of all time in 1996, and it's one of the best sci-fi alien attack movies ever! :D Although it is a very predicatable movie, but thankfully, it's amazing, always amazing! Hope you love my review! :)

The 4th of July is almost upon and what movie is fitting for Independence Day? Of course, the movie "Independence Day" by Roland Emmerich. The premise is simple, aliens have come and attacked Earth on the 4th of July and the planet but mostly America has got to stop them. I've watched this movie years ago so rewatching it will be a very interesting experience. One thing I've remembered while starting this movie is how amazing and tension-filled that intro is. The scene with mankind's footprint on the moon getting blown away by the alien ship and the people on earth panicking about the ship in the sky is good stuff. My biggest praise for this movie has got to be the visual effects though which still look great even today. I think everyone remembers it since it was all in the marketing but the iconic white house getting blown up by the alien ship is just phenomenal honestly. Looking at how the movie was made and finding out that they built a miniature white house and blown it up which is cool. All the action scenes in this movie are just very thrilling and exciting to watch with its fast-paced air battles and spectacular explosions. The first act with the alien destruction and the final third act with the war is just so good! The movie contains a lot of comedic moments especially from Will Smith and they all gave me a slight chuckle and work in the movie's favour. Speaking of Will Smith, this and Bad Boys are the movies that practically launched his career to action fame and watching this movie again I can see why. Will Smith is extremely charming, funny and awesome as "Captain Steven Hiller". He punched an alien in the face while giving a cheesy one-liner, what more could you ask for? Jeff Goldblum is also likeable as the tech expert "David Levinson" and Bill Pullman is charismatic as the American President "Thomas J. Whitmore" and gives one of the most memorable speeches in movie history. The supporting cast is also great in their variety of different performances from the weird to the serious and they all do a great job. The negatives of this movie are very clear and it is that the plot is just very thin and bland. However, this is kind of expected since the movie is just an alien invasion but the movie runs for 145 minutes which is LONG. So the director does a lot of padding which ruins the pacing of this movie. This is especially noticeable in the second act where it feels like everything is slowing down and coming to a halt just so they can find a way to bring all the characters together and it just drags. Additionally, the movie has to find a way for humans to fight back and win but it is not very convincing. You are required to ignore questioning the logic of the plot and characters and dialling down the sense of believability for this movies plot to work. While I did praise the actors for their performance, the characters themselves are very lacking in depth. I don't feel like I understand any of the characters motives or backstory and none of the main characters changes by the end of the movie either. I never really cared for any of the characters dying and there are moments I've feel where they want you the audience to feel something but it doesn't work because none of the characters is that interesting for us to care. Well except for the dog who is a character we all care for and has a great moment in the movie. Rewatching the movie I've noticed how stereotypical the characters were which is probably why this movie was a product of the 90s and wouldn't be allowed today necessarily. Overall, the movie is still a fun movie to watch and even to rewatch. The true main star of this movie is the visual effects with its stunning action pyrotechnics giving us some of the best destruction in movie history. The production and set design are great and the amount of practical stuff is astounding as well. However, the movie is pretty cheesy and dumb with a very stupid conclusion which I've still find dumb even during my rewatch. One line still sticks to mind is "they'll never let you fly the Space Shuttle if you marry a stripper" and honestly I still think about that because it shouldn't affect ones flying ability but apparently that is important. Nevertheless, this movie is just pure spectacle filled fun and no doubt watching this movie was an enjoyable time which is all that matters in over the top, cliche movies like these.

Independence Day is the perfect synthesis of every cliché of sci-fi movies with its pros and cons. We got the hero soldier who save the world one joke at the time, the nerd that was right all along and of course the America President that makes maybe the longest motivational speach in the history of movies (and of course he's also a badass pilot). When I first saw this, in 1996 I was a child, if I had to judge it then I would have said without a doubt that Independence Day is the best alien movie ever, so cool, so funny, so epic. I would probably have change my nationality to be a badass american like them. Of course opinions change when you grow up and so it does my judgement about this movie. Independence Day still remains an enjoiable movie, with decent acting, good actions and special effects and some memorable scenes (see the White House). But now I can also understand the irony behind this type of movies, with these american stereothipical heroes, the ridiculous presidential speech, all of the jokes that want to be so tough (some sort of "I laugh in the face of danger" type of thing - typical of the american blockbuster's era). After all I think it was the intent of Roland Emmerich (who isn't an american) to give this sort of sensation. The brave americans who save the world once again by smoking cigars, saying cheesy lines and punching aliens: "Welcome to Earth!". In the end I gladly rewatch it from time to time, with my VHS (with the Lenticular/ Hologram promo card), but mainly to laught about it.

This movie has impacted our society and how the general populace views the government and its infractions in very interesting ways. A timeless film in its own right (not least because of the expertly-chosen cast and state-of-the-art special effects), its importance in the cultural zeitgeist cannot be understated. While it may not have been the first movie about aliens, or even about an alien invasion, it is the most copied, parodied, and referenced (the original Alien notwithstanding). If you are too young to have watched this movie when it originally came out in the year 1932, you only recognize it for what other works have made it out to be: a bland, uninspiring film that borrows heavily from the overblown action genera. However, if you are a boomer such as myself, you will immediately recognize the genius behind the masterpiece.

Timeless movie and one of the best movies of the 2000’s My family has watched this movie many times.

Absolutely Amazing ID4 is a landmark for visual effects and the definition of a summer blockbuster.

6/10 - "Independence Day" is a decent alien invasion movie with a few weaknesses. The film starts directly very action-packed and exciting. The story also starts very interesting. You are right in the action and that's good.However, here's a mistake that bothers me a little. A lot of story lines are started fabulously, but only poorly executed. So some stories start out very interestingly within the movie, but in the end you don't really know more about it - which is a pity. And no matter how interesting the movie starts, the sooner the tension decreases. In the middle of the movie the movie seemed boring in my opinion. This increased again towards the end. The aliens looked terrific and were animated very well. I liked this! You could have shown more aliens, but I think it's fine. I also have to praise the general animations and effects in "Independence Day". If you consider that the film was shot in 1996, the animations are really good. The explosions look very realistic! I also think it's nice to see two movie legends like Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum in one movie. That made me very happy! In summary, I can say that I can recommend the film to others. I can recommend the film to anyone who is generally interested in aliens or the question "What exists outside our planet?". In any case, the film is not a waste of time and you can watch it with pleasure.

Kinda good action and some decent humour but mostly this is just dumb and silly.

A pesar del presupuesto que tiene, parece una película de serie B, y se hace divertida, básicamente por Will Smith.

When disasters call for Americanism. In this film, directed by Roland Emmerich (the man who likes to destroy the earth again and again and again), the Earth is threatened by giant alien ships that come out of nowhere in the sky, covering the major cities on the planet. The first attacks confirm the worst expectations: they are hostile. It's the opportunity of "Uncle Sam" to save the world from bad guys in full holiday of July 4th. From cast we can detach Will Smith, Bill Pullman and Mary McDonnell, respectively in the role of an Air Force airman, the U.S. President and his wife. This film addresses a theme that recurs in the film: aliens, and the possibility of they want to invade us. The question is what we would have so interesting to arouse that desire. The film also raises another question: although the film is American, why are Americans always the heroes of such films? The answer is simple: because only then these films can be used as propaganda to United States and all they represent. And if doubts exist of that see the title itself: the "independence day" has nothing to do with aliens but with the holiday of U.S. independence declaration. The way it's portrayed the US president himself also helps to see the "hidden" nature of this film. Although the actors fail to surprise and the script aren't innovative (even recalls, partially, the H.G. Wells novel "War of the Worlds"), the film becomes interesting for the visual and special effects, which earned the Oscar for this category. Also the sound effects deserve a very positive note. Therefore, sci-fi and special effects lovers: this film was made entirely for you, especially if you are American.

i'm hanging up.. Independence Day It's the same survival-natured script with just another perspective with some good visuals and battles but still the audience is smarter than this.

This film is very exiting. And this is one of only mass destruction movie what i can watch and enjoy. And this film has great acting. This is one of the films what everyone should see in their lifetime.

Independence Day is a quality pleasure it's not good but it's a million times better then it's **** 2016 sequel .

Funny, action packed and even a bit scary (scene with the glass). And great role by Will Smith. Overall excellent alien invasion movie. Plain fun - and after the first one - don't bother with the sequel/remake.

Another great movie that never gets old. I mean Jeff Goldblum and freakin Will Smith just top this movie.Just better hope the new one is just as good. 10/10

Okay I am gonna give this movie credit for the special effects and all that but the story line is cheesy. I am not saying this is a movie I wouldn't pick up again but it is definitely not something I would add to a top 5 or top 10 list.

The first act builds up nicely, like in a classic John Carpenter movie, all the actors are well cast, the effects are good, there's some humor, but after the major disaster porn strikes, there's not much more to see, except patriotic Americans who love their president too much. Still, maybe the best film by Hollywood's garbage man No.1 Roland Emmerich. 6/10

People may complain, critics may bash it, but the truth is that Independence Day set the standards for disaster/alien invasion movies, all subsequent movies of these genres were compared to it, that's why it 's still remembered and loved to this day. And it is not a bad movie, I'd say it is a good as a disaster movie can be, besides being very memorable.

"And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice: we will not go quietly into the night!" Independence Day was an idiotic film, but at the same time, it was also a great one. It's not meant to fascinate you; it's meant for enjoyment and a whole lot of fun. If you look at it that way, then you can forget the fact that this can be a dull creation and enjoy it's blockbuster, CGI, action sequences and most of the characters too. Rating: 8/10 A+ = 10 A = 9 A- = 8 B+ = 7 B = 6 B- = 5 C+ = 4 C = 3 C- = 2.5 D+ = 2 D = 1.5 D- = 1 F = 0

[7/10] better than average. ------------------------------------- PROS: 1.Good action. 2.awesome sci-fi ideas, effects. 3.Aliens. ------------------------------------ CONS: 1.Lengthy 2.boring in the middle part.