Review: 'Independence Day: Resurgence' has too many characters

Angelababy stars as Rain in “Independence Day: Resurgence.” (Twentieth Century Fox)

Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.

Secret ending? No.

Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)

“Independence Day: Resurgence” is a science fiction disaster film that’s the sequel to 1996’s “Independence Day.” Once again, Earth finds itself under attack from hostile aliens. It stars Liam Hemsworth (Jake Morrison), Jeff Goldblum (David Levinson), Bill Pullman (Thomas J. Whitmore), Maika Monroe (Patricia Whitmore), Jessie Usher (Dylan Dubrow-Hiller), Sela Ward (President Elizabeth Lanford), Travis Tope (Charlie Ritter), William Fichtner (Joshua Adams), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Dr Catherine Marceaux), Judd Hirsch (Julius Levinson), Brent Spiner (Dr Brakish Okun), Angelababy (Rain Lao), Ng Chin Han (Jiang Lao), and Jenna Purdy (voice of the Sphere). It is rated PG.

“Independence Day: Resurgence” is one of those films that spends too much time setting up the foundation for a possible future film franchise, but too little time on making sure that it’s a proper standalone movie. It sows the seeds of possibility but none of them blossom into satisfying storylines, not in this movie at least. In the end, you don’t really care about Earth’s destruction, since the film never gives you a reason to.

A spaceship in “Independence Day: Resurgence.” (Twentieth Century Fox)

Highlights

Good special effects

“Independence Day: Resurgence” brings the alien technology to life not only through the equipment they use, but also via the upgraded tech that the human civilisation has benefitted from. Some of it may be derivative, like perfectly formed geometric shapes or invisible force shields, but that doesn’t lessen the fact that these are well executed effects.

Theme of international unity

The film repeatedly emphasises the fact that the alien invasion is what has brought the global community together. Coupled with the visuals of an international council, the effort at creating a culturally diverse cast, and the inclusion of (odd sounding) Mandarin in the film, it assures the audience that this is Independence Day not just for the US, but for the entire world as well. In light of current world events, this is a timely reminder that we are one human race after all.

Destruction in “Independence Day: Resurgence.” (Twentieth Century Fox)

Letdowns

Too many plot lines and characters to follow

There are at least ten disparate storylines that make up the film, some of which never intersect (and could really have been replaced with a few sentences of exposition). On top of that, the film tries to integrate the old characters while introducing the new characters, and forces everyone to play a part in the final battle. It’s a Herculean effort that falls flat on its face. Without a single protagonist to follow and empathise with, “Independence Day: Resurgence” could have been mistaken for an anthology of alien war stories rather than a single unified film.

Never any doubt of their eventual victory

Did you really believe that we humans would lose? The film does, and attempts to lure you in by setting up the possibility of failure. But that doesn’t work, because nobody even doubts that the aliens would lose. Instead, the film should have focused more on the journey(s) of the characters, and showed us more of the struggle and trials of our heroes, rather than pretending that Earth is in actual danger.

Long, drawn-out climax

The aliens are defeated… or are they? The humans have won, but wait, they haven’t. The climax keeps going on and on, as the criteria for victory changes constantly. It becomes a tedious exercise in waiting for the good guys to win, and by the time the fight ends, you’re too exhausted to feel for our heroes.

Liam Hemsworth is Jake in “Independence Day: Resurgence.” (Twentieth Century Fox)

“Independence Day: Resurgence” looks like it’ll be the beginning of a regular resurgence of aliens.

Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yeah.

Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? No.

Score: 3.0/5

“Independence Day: Resurgence” opens in cinemas 23 June, 2016 (Thursday).