Movie · 2016 · Action, Adventure, Science Fiction · 2h · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 0.3/10 (341.9K ratings)
We had twenty years to prepare. So did they.
Overview
We always knew they were coming back. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.3/10
IMDb: 5.2/10
Letterboxd: 2.10/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 28%
Metacritic: 32
TMDB: 5.4/10
Director
Roland Emmerich
Production
20th Century Fox, TSG Entertainment, Centropolis Entertainment, Stereo D
Cast
Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Jessie T. Usher, Bill Pullman, Maika Monroe, Travis Tope, AngelaBaby, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Judd Hirsch, William Fichtner, Brent Spiner, Sela Ward, Chin Han, Patrick St. Esprit, Vivica A. Fox, Deobia Oparei, Nicolas Wright, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Robert Loggia, John Storey
Curator Review
Verdict
A noisy, effects-heavy sequel that has some spectacle and a few nostalgic carryovers, but it is widely regarded as bloated, thin on character, and less coherent than the original. It may work as disposable alien-invasion popcorn for viewers who mainly want destruction and visual scale, but it struggles to justify its existence as a sequel.
Best for
Viewers who want big-budget alien invasion spectacle
Fans of disaster-movie visuals over story depth
People curious about late-2010s franchise excess
Skip if
You want strong character arcs or emotional stakes
You dislike clunky plotting and sequel-bait endings
You expect the charm and simplicity of the 1996 film
Overview
Independence Day: Resurgence is the kind of sequel that mistakes escalation for momentum. It throws around bigger ships, bigger explosions, and bigger mythology, but the result feels oddly hollow, as if the movie is constantly rushing to the next set piece without earning the one it just left behind.
Worth noting
There are still flashes of the old Roland Emmerich disaster-movie instinct: global-scale panic, gleaming destruction, and a few moments that remind you why this franchise once felt like an event. But the new characters are underwritten, the emotional beats are thin, and the film leans so hard on inherited nostalgia that it never finds a reason to stand on its own.
Bottom line
If you’re in the mood for undemanding alien-invasion spectacle, it can pass the time. If you want the wit, clarity, and crowd-pleasing lift of the original, this one mostly undercuts its own ambitions.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Tasha Robinson (1.5★) · 579 likes
Is this three-fourths of a movie? There are some transitions in this thing that are just incomprehensible in terms of moving characters from one place to the next instantaneously, and there are several points where characters seem to be referencing past events that never happened onscreen. New characters abruptly appear out of nowhere and are treated as though they have backstories and are relevant and interesting. Magical technology works until it abruptly doesn't, at convenient moments and for no clear… more Is this three-fourths of a movie? There are some transitions in this thing that are just incomprehensible in terms of moving characters from one place to the next instantaneously, and there are several points where characters seem to be referencing past events that never happened onscreen. New characters abruptly appear out of nowhere and are treated as though they have backstories and are relevant and interesting. Magical technology works until it abruptly doesn't, at convenient moments and for no clear… more
davidehrlich (1★) · 384 likes
On July 2nd, they arrive. On July 3rd, they strike. On July 4th, we fight back. On June 24th, 2016, we…wish they had won.
In the summer of 1996, Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day” reinvented the alien invasion genre for the blockbuster era, using newfangled digital technology to make a B-movie big enough to bring the whole world together. Its reputation may be overinflated by millennials who subsist on a steady diet of their own petrified kitsch, but Emmerich’s war of… more
Matt Singer (1.5★) · 285 likes
Like so many Hollywood blockbusters these days, Independence Day: Resurgence ends with a beginning. Before the dust has even settled on the final conflict, the next conflict is already set in motion. Rather than tying a bow around the previous two hours of planet-leveling carnage, Resurgence’s last scene begins teasing another sequel.
Then it cuts to black and the credits begin to roll. When they did last night at Brooklyn’s United Artists Court Street 12, one of the other attendees… more
Jade talks too much🎅🏻🎄 (1★) · 221 likes
Did they really think they could distract us from the lack of Will Smith by casting Liam Hemsworth & Jessie T. Usher?😒 That's just embarrassing.🤦♀️
Slog of a sequel to one of my fave movies💩. All the fun is sucked out & the new leads have exactly zero personality😑.That one star is for Judd Hirsch & Judd Hirsch ONLY🚍⭐️.
MizfitMathew (2★) · 208 likes
Alright, this wasn't as terrible to me as some people made it out to be.
It wasn't great.
But I didn't hate it. 🤷
All of it just kind of feels unnecessary.
If you couldn't get Will Smith to do it. Why even bother? Sure, you got majority of the cast back...but Will WAS ID4.
Also, the plot was super convoluted and overall just kind of stupid.
I still found some enjoyment in it. I thought visually it was pretty… more
2021 · Action, Science Fiction, Adventure · 2h 18m · PG-13 · Curator 1.1/10 (463.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Another modern effects-heavy invasion saga that leans into scale, urgency, and crowd-pleasing action.