WOW!!! Judgement Day is just a bigger version of
Visu-Hell Reality. Picture Turner gone mad with a paint brush
in the best tradition of Cecil B. without Chuck on the
mountain top and you get an idea of those whirling,
swirling clouds that choke open like the mouth of Hades to
announce the unseen visitors from another planet as their
hidden crafts approach the stratosphere. Yes, folks, this
is really the Red Sea and the only chariots of fire are
riding in the sky. What a day for a barbecue!
In a world filled with the cinema of breath-taking effects
and computer truths, if you're out for the big kicks, it's
worth your while to see a solid story with a strong cast
under the direction of a magician backed up by a top-notch
D.P., a master of special effects, and a clever crew. So,
what else is there to say?
A DON'T MISS
It's a Don't miss, which you
probably already knew before you began reading this. But,
things being the way they are and since momentarily I have
control of the written word, let me take you a little
further anyway. Humor me. Let me ramble. Watch me
pitch.
Take the main premise of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds,
starting off with a shot of an American flag and marking
stone on the moon to get those U.S. patriotic juices
suitably flowing, introduce several mother ships (larger
than the one in Close Encounters), let them approach earth
like something from X-files, fill them with creatures
similar to Giger's Alien (showing them in similar short
sharp shocks to tease), let them use mankind's technology
against itself (in a Terminator kind of way), build to a
point of attack, and then show them blasting the hell out
of the Empire State Building, the White House, and the
rest of the earth in a way not even the combined muscle of
Arnold, Sly and Jean-Claude could begin to deal with and
you wind up with a new kind of Independence Day.
Underneath it all, it must remain a modern-techno-version
of an us-against-them 1950's World-War-Two film. Sort of
like watching The Longest Day in living color with FX and
(a different batch of) aliens. Take someone who has
courage and guts like a character out of The Right Stuff
and you're on the path to heroism and history of a kind
that can only manifest itself in America. That's why it
all starts on the 2nd of July and leads to culmination on
the 4th, the Independence Day of the United States (get
it?) that can become the Independence Day of the entire
United Earth against all evil forces from outside.
Everyone will fight for freedom because freedom is worth
fighting for, isn't it. Kill those creepy-crawlies. Of
course, a couple of "wuzzes" will put glue into the works
along the way, but the Big Battle becomes inevitable, in a
Star Wars kind of fashion, leading to a kind of Dr.
Strangelove finale.
The star appeal is sort of like that from a 70's disaster
film in which the cast is designed to draw you to the
cinema where you can see them giving brilliant
performances in limited roles so no one is able to get the
upper hand. Lots of stars with lots of stories and any
one of them can die at any time: sort of an "Airport
Millennium" or "Global Inferno" or "Burnt on the 4th of
July". Keep the audience guessing is the "modus
operandi."
And, of course, the disaster film envelope opens wide the
potential for ensemble acting. How's this sound?:
Jeff Goldblum (of The Fly and Jurassic Park fame) as David
Levinson, the intelligent, clever cable guy and computer
genius who sees through the alien tricks once he discovers
and deciphers their secret code. Judd Hirsch (of Taxi
fame) as David's father Julius, whose blunt comments often
reveal the good old practicality of Jewish common sense.
Harvey Fierstein (of Torch Song Trilogy fame) is David's
camp boss who is neurotic and nervous and whose
exclamations are often quips. Bill Pullman (of While You
Were Sleeping fame) as Waspish President Whitmore, a man
filled with the solid and stable values that made America
great and who isn't afraid to go in and get his hands
dirty alongside his fellow citizens. Mary McDonnell (of
Passion Fish fame) as Marilyn Whitmore, the Waspish
president's Waspish wife, who still has enough time, even
when in danger, to respect people for who or what they
really are. Robert Loggia (of Mancuso, F.B.I. fame) as
General Grey, a military no-nonsense good guy who really,
really cares about his men. Randy Quaid (of L.B.J.: The
Early Years fame) as Russell Casse, the patriotic
alcoholic pilot, widowed father of two Hispanic children,
and suspected nutcase who, when all is said and done, is a
man whose values are founded upon some good old-fashioned
morals.
Will Smith (of "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" fame)
appears as Marine Captain Steve Hiller, the Afro-American
fighter pilot who has always dreamed of flying high in a
space shuttle, but didn't know it was gonna be in an alien
craft. He deservedly gets superb points for coming as
close as anyone possibly could to being the "star" of the
film. (But why'd he have to kick that alien so
nasty-like? Not nice, boy, what would your mama say?) Of
course, we all knew that Will can act since we saw him in
that fabulous piece of work Six Degrees of Separation. On
the side of the unintentional bad guys (meaning: so
dedicated they don't know how questionable their actions
are) we have James Rebhorn (of Silkwood) as Secretary of
Defence Nimziki and Brent Spiner (better known to
"Trekkies" under the name of Data) as Dr.Okun, the
scientist who can't wait to open up another gooey alien.
Add in Margaret Colin (of Chicago Hope fame), Harry
Connick, Jr. (of Copycat fame) with the talents of Viveca
Fox and James Duval and you have an all-star cast in which
everyone is expendable (in accordance with the story line,
naturally).
Jeff Goldblum, commenting on the movie, said that it's
"about how different people can join together for a
common, grand and noble purpose, and how the best in them
comes out in the process. The enormous threat brings out
our sense of brotherhood and responsibility and causes us
to connect with what's really important, and I liked that
about it."
Really, Jeff? Considering this aspect, the television
clip used in the film from The Day the Earth Stood Still
becomes an interesting and ironical choice if we stop to
reflect upon and compare the (thematic?) plot line of
Independence Day itself. In the earlier film Michael
Rennie, as Klaatu, appears from his saucer-like saucer
wearing a silver-lameÀ suit and opens a tool-like gift of
peace and brotherly love which appears surprisingly like
some extra-terrestrial egg beater. At this point, a
trigger-happy soldier, fearing evil is afoot, believes
attack is imminent and knows it is his mission to keep
America safe. In other words, he shoots the alien. This
doesn't quite kill Klaatu, so later in the film the
militia give it another try. End of potential
interplanetary peace? Not quite. Lucky for Michael that
he brought Gort, the robot with the pressure-cooker
helmet, along for the ride.
Lucky too that Patricia Neal
remembered those immortal words, "klaatu barada nikto".
On parallel lines, this 1950's film has several
similarities built into it, but decides to present us with
the positive elements of another life form (much in the
way of Close Encounters or E.T.) whereas Independence Day
deliberately opts for the evil foreigner from another
planet whose malevolent intentions could ultimately become
the catalyst to unite earthlings by bringing them together
for the realization of the destruction of their common
enemy. Is this a positive outlook on life? Is this the
way for nations to reach out to one another? Sounds like
it's loaded with lots of questionable political ideologies
and scattered throughout with dangerous insinuations
dressed to look like sheep. Oh, those vicious sheep. Why
should we worry; we've got the bomb. Think I'm going too
far? Don't get me wrong. I'm not insinuating that
there's anything subversive about this film. In fact, I'm
prone to agree with so many others that it's fabulously
exciting to watch, more enjoyable than most cinema
spectacles of recent years and has absolutely nothing
relevant at it's core. So, what's subversive? The
subliminal seeds might very well be there, but not in any
intentional way. So, why worry?
Poor aliens. Once again they're getting a raw deal, just
like they did in the fifties when they served as a
metaphor for those stinking pinko-commie-reds. (If
someone had thought of having the aliens shoot up in their
ships this time around perhaps it might have been utilized
to show exactly how bad drugs are for you.) They,
however, are not the point of order in this film. The
monsters here have been drawn as a heartless race of
locust-like creatures bent on total destruction.
Emanating from main stations as if leaving a cave for
their ruthless attacks and caring less about mankind than
mankind cares about itself. They're merely an extension
of a problem already familiar to us. But, since they
don't really look like us, they'll be easier to kill.
Independence Day was conceived by director Roland Emmerich
and producer Dean Devlin (a team that previously gave us
that visual treat Stargate) as a "popcorn movie" that
would give people an exciting and fun ride. It
unquestionably succeeds in its goal.
On the other hand, it might be better and wiser to really
start considering positive action toward the situation of
the world's population for solving the plight of so many
hungry and needy human beings by beginning negotiations
between all nations on earth. Otherwise, how are we going
to deal with the situation when they actually do arrive?
Don't depend on Mulder to help you.
The Green Hartnett would like you to add your efforts
toward the movement of equal rights for aliens, Global
Legislative Organization for the Registration and
Integration of Aliens (GLORIA). In the meantime, those of
you who won't make the effort can keep watching the skies.
© 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett
|