Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

For two decades, E.T and planet Earth have had the chance to prepare for the next armageddon, and that time has arrived once more. The sequel to the 1996 film “Independence Day”, “Independence Day: Resurgence” is nothing more than special effects with a wishy-washy cast, as this sequel lacks with depth, emotional tone, and corny styled dialogue.

Roland Emmerich returns to helm the sequel, and while he has several credits underneath his belt for films being “every man for himself” types of movies, therefore as a result Resurgence counts as this kind of film. While it's enjoyable to watch with an overwhelming amount of CGI and other special effects, Emmerich relies on those aspects more so than the cliche and corny styled screenplay.

For those who are fans of veteran actors from the original film, like Jeff Goldblum & Bill Pullman, their presence on screen is just not enough, or just plain dull and rustic. Same goes for “The Hunger Games” star Liam Hemsworth who is a usually talented performer.

This is not the first extra-terrestrial, doomsday, and armageddon film to ever so grace the “big screen”. Audiences have previously witnessed the film adaptation of the widely popular board game “Battleship”. The difference between this film and the adaptation of “Battleship” is that for many generations, this game has entertained a variety of people. Therefore people are more familiar to it. In contrast, the acting and levels of action in “Battleship” is much better than in Resurgence.

“We had twenty years to prepare. So did they.” The slow-moving, utterly corny sequel "Independence Day: Resurgence" isn't exactly a movie with that full throttle that you'd expect for a sequel in a franchise. What this film does succeed in, is the pazazz and exciting action sequences. Suffice to say that Resurgence excels on a action-packed scaled effort, but other Extra-Terrestrial & Earth take down films like “Battleship” put this unneeded sequel to shame.

Rate: D+

20th Century Fox presents a film directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Emmerich, Nicolas Wright, James A. Woods, Dean Devlin and James Vanderbilt. Running time: 120 minutes. Running time: 120 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for sequences of sci-fi action and destruction, and for some language). Now showing at local theaters.