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RECYCLE
Independence Day’ offers fun summer viewing
Despite the initial popularity
of this summer blockbuster, it
may not attract Oscars the
way it has moviegoers
By Jean M. Bond
Entertainment Reporter
I ''he alien beings are
straight out of Aliens, the
-L. from War of the Worlds,
the ending is right out of Star
Wars (although you might recog
nize ending elements from War
of the Worlds, too), and it’s all
wrapped up in a two-hour spe
cial effects show.
Summer is here, and that
means movies vying for your at
tention. One of the biggest right
now is Independence Day, which
just had one of the biggest open
ing weekends ever. But while In
dependence Day is a fun movie,
don't expect Oscars for this film.
It rides on special effects and
stars that everyone loves, not
originality.
Will Smith plays Captain
Steven Hiller, a tough and talent
ed young fighter pilot who as
pires to fly the space shuttle and
hopes to marry his girlfriend Jas
mine, a single mom and stripper.
Smith is quite good in this role,
as predictable as it is. Smith's
portrayal is especially funny at
all the right moments, and his ex
tra attitude really makes this
character.
Hiller's love interest, Jasmine,
is played by Vivica Fox. This is
Fox’s first starring role in a fea
ture film, and if her acting does
n’t improve, it could be one of
her last. To be fair, Jasmine's
character is also poorly devel
oped in the script. A minor com
plication involving her job seems
superfluous. The writer didn’t
take this aspect of Jasmine's life
far enough to make it interesting
or relevant, so why bother?
Bill Pullman plays the Presi
plot is blatantly stolen
COURTESY PHOTO
Independence Day aliens descend upon America in a flurry of special effects.
MOVIE REVIEW
hdeiminaDq
Rated PG-13
Playing at Cinema World
★★★
dent of the United States, and
does so superbly. This guy is re
ally good. The President, a for
mer fighter pilot himself, seems
to be having a rough presidency
until the aliens show up. He's
plagued by media accounts of
him as wishy-washy and wimpy.
But when the going gets tough,
Mr. President becomes the hero
of the day. Pullman is the tough,
decisive president we'd probably
all like to see in an election year.
At the same time, Pullman brings
out the confusion the President
feels when he's trying to figure
out what to do about the aliens,
and the pain the President goes
through at the death of one of
those closest to him. Pullman ac
complishes all this without being
ham-handed about it.
Jeff Goldblum seems to be in
serious danger of being typecast
as the eccentric genius. As in The
Fly and Jurassic Park, Goldblum
plays a quirky, brilliant type
whose genius helps save the day.
Not that I mind. Goldblum is
very good at this role, and his
character in Independence Day is
somewhat more tender than in
similar roles he's had.
Judd Hirsch as David's acerbic
father, Randy Quaid as a drunken
ex-pilot who claims to have been
kidnapped by the aliens ten years
earlier, and Robert Loggia as Gen
eral Grey, who stays by the Presi
dent's side through it all, round
out the cast.
Harvey Fierstein and Brent
Spiner have small roles in the
film as well. Fierstein as David's
boss and friend is fabulous, as al
ways, but I expected more from
Spiner, better known to Trekkies
as Data. He plays Dr. Okun, a sci
entist at the government's alien
research lab, but he just didn't
push the role far enough.
While the acting may be a
mixed bag, the special effects are
truly incredible. Much of the
movie is done with models, but
you wouldn’t know it to watch
the movie. Almost a year's worth
of work on the models resulted in
beautifully detailed alien ships
and realistic miniatures of major
cities. Computers filled in more
of the effects with digital compo
sition and animation, and incred
ible pyrotechnic effects complete
the show.
All in all, Independence Day is
not a bad movie, but you should
know what you're getting into.
This isn't a serious film, the plot
isn't original, and the perfor
mances are patchy in places. But
if you don't mind the crowds,
you want to see some impressive
special effects, you're fond of the
actors in this movie, and you just
want some summer fun, this is a
good excuse for sitting in a nice,
cool theatre and eating too much
popcorn.
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