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45
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71
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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86
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71
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44
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75
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49
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65
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xx
White on Rice
59
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
74
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43
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69
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Independence Day
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 21 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Sci-fi
Written by:
Roland Emmerich
Dean Devlin
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 3, 1996
DVD: May 11, 2004
Running Time: 145 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for sci-fi destruction and violence
Starring Bill Pullman, Mary McDonnell, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Will Smith, Vivica A. Fox, Randy Quaid, and Robert Loggia
Mysterious and powerful aliens launch an all-out invasion against the human race. The spectacle begins when massive spaceships appear in Earth's skies. But wonder turns to terror as the ships blast destructive beams of fire down on cities all over the planet. Now the world's only hope lies with a determined band of survivors, uniting for one last strike against the invaders - before it's the end of all mankind. (20th Century Fox)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: 10,000 B.C. Godzilla The Day After Tomorrow The Patriot
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Empire Kim Newman
Like "2001," "Star Wars" and "Jurassic Park," it ups the special effects stakes and gets closer to putting on screen the images you've had in your mind while reading epic sci-fi.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
The alien attack, taking place in several cities at once, is breathtaking...All the same, Independence Day is consistently funny.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
A rousing state-of-the-art cartoon capped by an aerial-combat climax that, to its credit, isn't anti-climactic. [2 July 1996, p.D1]
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
It's the first futuristic disaster movie that's as cute as a button. Which, when all the special effects blow over, is what we Americans like in a monster hit.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Cities engulfed by rolling walls of flame, sinister aquamarine power blasts turning beloved national monuments to toast, even the roiling clouds the spaceships appear out of, they are all disturbing, unsettling and completely convincing.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
Two reasons it's impossible to resist "Independence Day": because of its pitch-perfect cartoonish dialogue ("Now you're never gonna get to fly the space shuttle if you marry a stripper!") and because the Captain, like Indiana Jones, is so unflappably tough.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The aliens, meanwhile, are a fabulously nasty lot of slimy, tentacled, malevolent telepaths, but all their superior technology is no match for our red, white and blue ingenuity. Take that, space bullies!
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser
Fans of sci-fi, special effects, big explosions, panicky crowd scenes and theater sound systems cranked up way beyond the capacity of the human ear to hear comfortably will love this movie. I am not among you.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
For all of its huge budget, Independence Day is a timid movie when it comes to imagination. The aliens, when we finally see them, are a serious disappointment.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
With its hackneyed plot, feeble attempts at characterization, and predictable finale, the second half of Independence Day becomes an extremely dull and lifeless affair.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
The dialogue is tacky, the characters stock and the special effects no improvement on anything George Lucas did 20 years ago.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
The cutting-edge perfection of effects in Cameron and Spielberg films is replaced here by work that looks more homemade, particularly toward the end in some faintly cheesy composite shots.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Once you get past the admittedly breathtaking shots of our national landmarks being turned into kindling, the rest of the film is a tired and empty two hours of feel-good patriotism and oddly cast characters.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Kevin McManus
Cruises to an upbeat ending but furnishes no more of the wicked thrills of the initial hour. Particularly disappointing is the human contrivance employed in the defeat of the vastly superior enemy.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The action is fast, furious, and loaded with explosive effects, but the theme is a regrettable return to the us-against-them paranoia that dominated much science fiction in the cold-war era.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
An overgrown hybrid of disaster epic, can-do combat adventure and '50s sci-fi movie, this craft has visited our world many times before. And while she's a beaut, the sticker on her titanium bumper reads: "Been There, Done That, Beam Me Up, Scotty."
Read Full Review >Salon.com Scott Rosenberg
A colossally dumb epic that happily traffics in third-hand imagery and ideas while feeding its audience maintenance level doses of humor, adrenaline and spectacle.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 21 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Nigel M. gave it a0:
The only time I ever walked out of a cinema was halfway through this. I can't imagine the second half making up for the first hour of intelligence insulting drivel. I predicted the rest of the story when my mates met me in the pub, almost to the letter. Awful.
James H. gave it a10:
This movie has a permanent spot in my top-five movies list. Five-star special effects, great acting, good plot, and everyone gets a few great lines. The President's speech just before the final battle is unforgettable. Easily earns a place in any sci fi or action movie lover's library. Highly recommended.
Joyce C. gave it a0:
very predictable and obviously written. Most people say its very good, when seriously it is ridiculous, I hated it, definite crap.
JC Andrew gave it a0:
I'm so sorry Jeff and Will. Two actor's, and one horrible script.
Jared Christenson gave it a0:
The special effects aren't bad, character use magnificent, story pretty superb, acting okay, but it is absolutely cheesy every second. There is one really funny part and thats it, there are several smiles and giggles of entertainment, the action totally passes, the plot has so much and flies. But the lamest part of it all is that the German Shepherd survives a jump into a truck with fire flaming 1 centimetere away from him. And the president's wife goes in a Helicopter and the Helicopter blows up in an instant noticable explosion, and the girl lives lying on the ground with just a bleed and dust particles on her face. when she should have a dissinagrated head and organs melted. That was the main road of the story which is lame, and it really drags on near the end. I just found it boring and unsuccesful, overall not worth it.
Anson G gave it a9:
Cool, i liked this film. U can see jets and alien ship plied the skies like Star Wars. I'm tellin u, it was great movie.
[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Not the best story, but it's high on very good effects and some nice, dumb fun. Forget reading the story on paper, this is a movie that must be seen to be enjoyed for the FX afterburner it is. You can imagine yourself flying a jet against those UFOs.
