"A cast full of well-known names was assembled for the movie, also known as "ID4":. WILL SMITH is Capt. Steven Hiller, a Marine Corps F/A 18 pilot.
. JEFF GOLDBLUM is David Levinson, a cable company employee and computer expert who discovers a hidden code inside the aliens' signal broadcast.
. BILL PULLMAN is President Thomas J. Whitmore, a former fighter pilot and now President of the United States. David Levinson once punched him in the nose.
. MARGARET COLIN is Constance Spano, David's ex-wife and currently White House communications director.
. ROBERT LOGGIA is Gen. William Grey of the U.S. Marine Corps, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
. RANDY QUAID is Russell Casse, an alcoholic crop duster, Vietnam War pilot, and former UFO abductee.
. JUDD HIRSCH is David's father, Julius Levinson.
. MARY MCDONNELL is the First Lady of the United States, Marilyn Whitmore.
. VIVICA A. FOX is Jasmine Dubrow, an exotic dancer and single mother, and Capt. Hiller's girlfriend.
. ADAM BALDWIN is Major Mitchell, a U.S. Air Force officer and Area 51's commanding officer.
. BRENT SPINER is Dr. Brackish Okun, scientist in charge of research at Area 51. (Spiner was "Data" in the "Star Trek Generations" TV series).
. HARRY CONNICK JR. is Capt. Jimmy Wilder, Steve's friend and wingman. The aliens aren't coming, they have arrived. Everybody is asking, "Why are they here and what do they want?" The answer is quickly forthcoming when giant ships hovering over major cities and world capitals fire their death rays. They want to take over and deplete our resources and will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.
David Levinson figures out that there's a countdown. And when the count reaches 0, all hell breaks loose. He "is" able to warn the President, however, and the nation's leadership is saved.In the meantime, Capt. Hiller has lost his wingman, Capt. Wilder, in a dogfight with alien fighter craft. He has, however, managed to capture one of the ugly things and delivers it to Area 51, which by the way has been found by a fleet of refugees. Included in the fleet is Russell Casse and his children. Russell has been the target of ridicule for years because of his "I was abducted" claims.Hiller's girlfriend, Jasmine, has found Mrs. Whitmore, who was in Los Angeles and just leaving the city when the aliens zapped it with their death ray. Badly injured, things look hopeless for her until Hiller appears with a "borrowed" helicopter.At Area 51, revealed to truly exist, all the principal characters are finally assembled. The captured alien revives and fortunately is contained, but not before causing damage and revealing the invaders' intentions to the President. An all-out counter-offensive is planned, using an alien space craft that's been in custody since the 1950s. Capt. Hiller will pilot it to the mother ship hovering "out there," and David will inject a virus into the aliens' system. Hopefully that will damage its communication with all of its ships hovering over world cities.The offensive kicks off with one of the best and most arousing "locker room go get-'em we're in the right" speeches I've heard in a long time, delivered by President Whitmore on the Area 51 airfield, in front of an old airplane hangar that once housed the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Are they successful? There probably aren't many who haven't seen the movie, but in the interest of the small minority who haven't and hope to, I won't spoil their fun here."Independence Day" is one of the most successful movies of all time. The special effects are worth every penny spent to create them. Produced with a 75-million budget, the movie has grossed in excess of 817 million to date. In 2009, director Roland Emmerich revealed he is planning a sequel, perhaps two of them to form a trilogy."Grade: A+"
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