‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ is a monumental rehash

'Independence-Day's' David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) and President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) return in 'Resurgence'

“Independence Day: Resurgence” occurs 20 years since the so-called “War of 1996”, and humanity is in an ostensibly-utopic state, having taken the lessons of the previous film to heart.

A female president (the effortlessly regal Sela Ward) holds office in the White House, and former cable TV satellite programmer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) is now head of the Earth Defense Force, an agency tasked with reverse-engineering alien technology to create vehicles and weapons with which to defend the planet.

The film opens with Levinson discovering that, two decades after their failed invasion, the aliens from the first “Independence Day” are on their way back, hell-bent on finishing what they started. All across the world, long-dormant alien technology is springing back to life, and humans who’ve had prior telepathic contact have begun dreaming of mysterious symbols, including returning characters (former-) President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) and eccentric scientist Dr. Brackish Okun (Brent Spiner).

Before long, a gargantuan vessel enters the Earth’s atmosphere, wreaking havoc from Shanghai to London by drawing up entire cities from one continent and dropping them unceremoniously on another. The scale of the destruction would be eye candy at its finest if each frame weren’t packed to a point nearly beyond comprehension, with landmarks, debris, and bodies flying every which way while our heroes emerge with nary a scratch among them. Of course, with so much going on, one has to wonder just how much world there’ll actually be left to save when Levinson and co. succeed in their mission.

As a massive alien ship drops cities on other cities, the action is sometimes diffiicult to follow, much less relate to

As Levinson, Goldblum makes no effort to distinguish his neurotic genius from any of the other neurotic geniuses he’s played over the years. While Judd Hirsch (of TV’s “Taxi”) is a welcome presence as always, he’s wasted here as Levinson’s returning father; instead of providing counterpoint to his son’s neuroses, he’s saddled with a subplot that involves driving a school bus to Nevada. Indeed, Hirsch, like the rest of the returning cast, seems to have been included solely on the basis of having been in the first one.

Sorely missing from “Resurgence” is any sense of suspense of mystery; it was easier to be afraid for the characters because they lived in a world that was recognizably ours. Now that Levinson, Whitmore, et al. live on an Earth with laser canons, hovercraft, and energy shields, our ability to care for the characters is hampered by the mere fact that we can’t relate to them anymore.

Also absent is the original film’s sense of levity, though how much of that can be attributed to the absence of Will Smith (who cemented his superstar status with the first film, but opted to make “Suicide Squad” instead of appearing here) will depend on your affinity for the former Fresh Prince. Here, his function as maverick fighter pilot with a penchant for one-liners is divided between Jessie Usher and Liam Hemsworth (whose characters also happen to be fighter pilots).

Portraying Smith’s character’s son, Usher fails utterly at the (admittedly) unenviable task of trying to follow an actor known almost entirely for his charisma. But, to be fair, “Get ready for a close encounter, bitch!” would be a tough line for anyone to pull off.

In 'Independence Day - Resurgence', Liam Hemsworth's maverick fighter pilot is excellent at looking good on camera

Faring slightly better is Hemsworth, who really just needs to be attractive. Thank goodness it’s something he’s inherently good at, because the man has all the onscreen charisma of a sack of wet potatoes.

While one would prefer to judge “Resurgence” on its own merits, the filmmakers bring unflattering comparisons upon themselves by opening the sequel with footage of President Whitmore’s now-classic pre-battle speech and littering the entire screenplay with blatant references and callbacks. However, unlike “The Force Awakens” or “Skyfall”, which wisely used franchise callbacks to further their narrative agendas, “Resurgence” only succeeds in highlighting the better parts of the preceding film. 

Take, for instance, the sequence where William Fichtner, as a general, attempts to rally the world’s forces with an international radio broadcast about standing together, complete with obligatory shots of desert nomads listening in. A usually-dependable character actor with projects such as “Prison Break” and “Armageddon” under his belt, Fichtner is unable to hit the sweet spot between earnestness and cheese that Pullman knocked out of the park in a similar (i.e. exactly the same) situation the last time around. Heck, even Pullman can’t deliver the big screen hero mojo he brought before, rendering the majority of his scenes representative of the film as a whole: a former hero trying to remind everyone of the days when he was relevant.

Nobody denies that “Independence Day” was pretty much a product of its time, but at least it wasn’t trying to be anything other than a good time at the movies. Stripped of that unpretentiousness and optimism, “Resurgence” isn’t just a hollow imitation—it’s a product.

Released in the summer of 1996, the original “Independence Day” (abbreviated in promotional materials to “ID4”) won audiences over with its awe-inspiring spectacle, snappy wit, and an unabashed sense of optimism. Viewed through modern eyes, said optimism is more noticeable as the film willingly wears its heart on its sleeve: the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, and evil loses when humanity bands together to fend off its threat.

While simplistic in concept and tone, director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin attacked their material in an enthusiastically deliberate and precise manner, making old tropes seem fresh in what was a pretty standard alien invasion story. 

Adding to the old school feel (even then) was the sprawling cast of characters (including fighter pilots, a cable satellite repairman, the U.S. President, and a stripper with a heart of gold) which harkened to the Irwin Allen (“The Towering Inferno” and “The Poseidon Adventure”) disaster flicks of old, where social status evaporated in the face of special effects-based mayhem.

With ID4 going on to become the (then-) second-highest-grossing-film of all time, and a nostalgic favorite of 90’s moviegoers, it was only natural that Fox would want a sequel. However, if “The Godfather: Part III” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” have taught us anything, two decades may be a little bit too long to wait between installments. — AT, GMA News