Independence Day (1996) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction
Added 2023-03-02 18:41:10 +0000 UTCHey everyone! This watchalong is now available for viewing. Thanks for watching and please enjoy! ❤️ [Direct link here.]
✦ KL
Comments
That speech is very good! Correct, super fun movie to watch.
kaiielle
2023-03-13 04:23:34 +0000 UTCThis is always a fun movie to watch when you don't want something super serious or "too much" (sometimes marvel movies can feel just toooo much, I felt that way watching Guardians the last time). Always love the cast and the president's Independence Day speech is just perfect.
Keeley Thurman
2023-03-13 03:52:18 +0000 UTCIt is definitely that cheesy yet wholesome vibes!
kaiielle
2023-03-04 20:51:44 +0000 UTCWhen this movie was released it was obvious to movie fans that it was cheesy yet wholesome. But more, it was an homage to classic sci-fi adventure themes tropes and cliches, and it was gloriously reveled in by fans. Also Will Smith's launch of his movie star era.
James M
2023-03-04 20:36:40 +0000 UTCI do still feel there was more hype ahead of its release than other summer blockbusters and movies like Stargate, which I felt earned its hype post release by simply being a really good movie. Of course it's all very subjective in what people enjoy and memory is terribly unreliable, but I do know that I was never squashed into a packed cinema in the same way for other releases. I suspected I was the target audience for ID4 but was disappointed. I can see why the US would absolutely lap this up, afterall they did save the world again. I'm sure you are correct about its popularity, even outside the US. Was it ever considered top-tier though? I'm no film buff so I'll submit to others better informed than myself. Based on Cassie's reaction to Burton's Batman I think there are plenty of people still feeling the need to defend that one. Schumacher's though, did anyone ever cherish those? Only joking, each to their own.
James Hadden
2023-03-03 11:07:27 +0000 UTCThere was a period in the 90s when Will Smith owned the Fourth of July, and that started with this movie. Was it overhyped? I’d say it was hyped as much as any carefully arranged formula summer blockbuster of the era. These were the filmmakers who gave us UNIVERSAL SOLDIER and STARGATE (and later the American GODZILLA), so there was definitely a pre-existing set of criteria for what to expect. And I don’t think many in the target audience were disappointed. ID4 (as is came to be known) grossed a ton and sold a ton when it came to VHS and laser. Today, I think INDEPENDENCE DAY exists in an interesting space in which we no longer need it to be at the top-tier of genre/franchise moviegoing, so it’s more enjoyable as a result because the need to cherish and defend it is hugely diminished. I think the same goes for the Burton/Schumacher Batman movies now that much of the world has (erroneously, heh) decided the Nolan trilogy is the be-all, end-all for Batman…and still others went on the worship at the altar of Zack Snyder. (For the record, the best Batman movie ever made is BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM from 1993.) Anyway, yeah, I’m one of those who was lukewarm on ID4 when it came out but have enjoyed it more and more since on it own terms, now that that’s allowed.
Jason Chirevas
2023-03-03 10:15:12 +0000 UTCMy memory isn’t great and it was a long time ago, but my feeling is that the marketing budget must have been even higher than the production budget, just the buzz around it. I don’t remember anything else in the 90s selling out my local cinema the way this did.
James Hadden
2023-03-02 22:52:39 +0000 UTCOh, was it really hyped up?! I can definitely see how disappointed people would have been, because it definitely isn't THAT amazing or anything. Yeah, if you've seen it a lot of times no worries on not having to sit through nearly 2.5 hours again. 🤣
kaiielle
2023-03-02 22:42:55 +0000 UTCThis was the most overhyped movie I had ever seen when it came out and it taught me a good lesson in keeping my expectations in check. I did have the worst seat in the entire cinema (front row against the wall) which didn’t help. I have been more disappointed by some other movies but not many. I have since gone on to enjoy this movie more and have probably watched it half a dozen times, so clearly I don’t hate it, but will probably just catch the edit for this one (very unusual for me). I still roll my eyes at a bunch of scenes but can enjoy it for what it is. Stupid fun. Regarding the second movie, all I can offer is a shrug - I didn’t make it past the 20 minute mark.
James Hadden
2023-03-02 22:36:29 +0000 UTCCan totally see that! The cast was definitely the best part for me.
kaiielle
2023-03-02 21:17:12 +0000 UTCThis Movie is a guilty pleasure of mine. Not really good but not bad either, way to cheesy and the script is predictable but its still good entertainment and from time to time a good waste of time.
Curaitis
2023-03-02 21:06:45 +0000 UTC🤣 Makes sense. I'd still be interested in checking it out, but maybe on my own time.
kaiielle
2023-03-02 20:37:01 +0000 UTCMy guess is you won't have anyone clamoring for you to watch the second one. I liked it (classic Tyler), but it was also intended to set up a third movie that never happened because everyone hated the second, so even I have to think, "well, it's not really worth it."
Tyler Foster
2023-03-02 20:24:35 +0000 UTC
