TheRetroCritic

20 years after Will Smith first punched an alien in the face in the original Independence Day , director Roland Emmerich brings us a belated sequel to one of the 90's biggest blockbusters. Independence Day: Resurgence brings back some familiar faces while adding some young blood to the cast as those pesky extraterrestrials come back with an updated plan to destroy the world with a giant spaceship. Having to follow such a simple concept must have made the writing not too much of a chore and, indeed, the story is one of this sequel's best elements: it's more of the same except we delve deeper into how those aliens work (a lot like bees, it turns out) plus meet a brand new entity who is both an ally and a liability. There's enough there in terms of danger and intrigue to keep even the most reluctant viewer interested throughout. Add to that a reliably good Jeff Goldblum, a dramatic character arc involving Bill Pullman's ex-President plus lots of mindless destruct

You'd think that, by now, Roland Emmerich's gimmicky blockbuster formula would have imploded in on itself and culminated in an undeniable stinker. (post Godzilla , that is) And yet miraculously,  White House Down , while just as dumb and ridiculous as its predecessors, still worked as a popcorn movie. Taking that one iconic scene from Independence Day and inexplicably spinning it off into its very own movie, Emmerich delivers yet another fun, mindless mess complete with vomit-inducing patriotism, big explosions and a bag-full of one dimensional characters and obvious stereotypes. Working with what seems like a much lower budget than 2012 , White House Down focuses its attention on a siege taking place in the White House without going around the world and showing monuments and the French blow-up randomly, as those types of films usually do. Our lead is Channing Tatum, a cop who can talk to squirrels and who aspires to work for the President (Jamie Foxx) as part of the U.