Dylan, the famed son to ID4’s character of Steve Hiller, and Maika Monroe’s Patricia Whitmore, the daughter of Ex-President Whitmore, are serviceable, but are shallow and thinly written characters, which is sad because had the potential to be great roles (especially the character of Dylan).
As side characters goes, Resurgence adds more than enough to bolsters its already large principal cast, which again is another one of the film’s problems. Sela Ward and William Fichtner do serviceable jobs as President Landford and General Adams, but are, more or less, caricatures in Resurgence’s grand scheme, Joey King, Patrick St. Espirt, Vivica A. Fox (an ID4 alum), and Deobia Oparei are also in the film, but these performances (by talented individuals) are merely supporting roles to help drive the narration forward, whether by comedy or plot point, acting as part of the background rather than a fully fleshed character.
Literally right now (as I’m writing this review), I’m watching Independence Day on HBO and I can definitely see a difference between the two movies and appreciate ID4 over Resurgence.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The aliens have returned for their second conquest of Earth as mankind makes their “last stand” in Independence Day: Resurgence. Director Roland Emmerich’s long-awaited sequel to the original 1996 film definitely has its moments with creative fun, impressive visuals, an interesting cast (both returning and newcomers), and continuation a narrative to what began 20 years ago. However, the movie doesn’t resonate as strong as it predecessor, feeling hokey and cheesy with over-the-top dialogue lines, ridiculous plot points / development, flat characters, and a less “emotional” story arc (for both its immediate characters and for humanity). To me, it was just medicore (not as completely deplorable as some are calling it to be), but I was somewhat disappointed with Resurgence. It has its moments, but just wasn’t impactful as the first film was (even for a summer movie). Thus, Resurgence is a really tossup as some diehard fans of Independence Day will embrace Emmerich’s roll coaster ride of ridiculousness in Resurgence (as a rental), while others might “skip” the feature altogether, preserving their ID4 memories without tarnishing them. In short, Independence Day: Resurgence represents the epitome of today’s “big budgeted” blockbuster by Hollywood, choosing to be more of a mindless visual spectacle rather than a solid sci-fi sequel follow-up.
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