Plot: What’s it about?
The debate over alien life has been going on for decades, but when a group of large flying discs arrive and hover over major world cities, the debate seems to be over. Now the discussions revolve around the intentions of these visitors, since the discs haven’t moved or sent any kind of signals. But one man believes he has answers, as scientist David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) has uncovered a signal being emitted, though it is deeply buried. He thinks the signal is a countdown of sorts, so he races to inform the President and others in power. He is rebuffed of course, thanks in part to some personal bad blood with the President, but soon enough, his theory is proven to correct. Now as the discs lay waste to the world’s cities and countless thousands of lives are lost, can mankind make a stand and defend its home?
A prime example of a summer popcorn movie, Independence Day parlayed a thin storyline and robust special effects into hundreds of millions at the box office. The movie is so over the top and demands such suspension of disbelief, that you really just have to give up on any kind of plot coherency. I mean, if a drunk in a bi-plane and laptop computer virus are mankind’s primary weapons against alien invaders, you know the writers didn’t sweat out the details. But people love big, loud, dumb movies and this one was a massive hit with audiences. I wasn’t that taken with the movie, but I did like the destruction scenes, though now going back, the movie is worse than ever. I didn’t expect Independence Day to stand the tolls of time, but it hasn’t aged well at all. Fox’s Blu-ray release looks great and sounds even better, which is important for a movie like this, since home theater demonstration is about all ID4 is good for, these days.
Video: How does it look?
Independence Day is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The movie is now twelve years old, but it still looks good, even if not quite reference level. The print is clean, with little debris or marks to mention, but there is grain and it does impact some scenes, especially the special effects shots. But without question, this is the finest visual presentation we’ve seen for ID4, with bright, vivid colors and mostly accurate contrast, though contrast shift a touch at times. I found detail to be strong, if a little soft here and there, but more than solid across the board. So perhaps not the flawless visuals some might expect, but Independence Day looks great and fans should be satisfied.
Audio: How does it sound?
The lossless DTS HD 5.1 option is also impressive and has moments of reference level power, but compared to the more recent reference tracks, this one falls a little short. When the aliens attack however, the power pulses and the speakers will boom, as those scenes provide some serious thunder. But while the action driven scenes supply great surround presence, the other scenes don’t, which leaves us with a poor balance. The audio design kind of abandons the lower impact scenes, so there isn’t much life in this mix unless something is exploding. The music has good range however, while dialogue is clean and clear. This disc also includes Spanish and French language tracks, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Korean.
Supplements: What are the extras?
As this is a Fox release, we should expect some supplement loss and that is the case. Back from the previous releases are two commentary tracks, one with Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, the other with members of the special effects squad. The technical track is informative, but not as casual as Emmerich and Devlin. So if you only listen to one or the other, then go with the first session, as it isn’t so dull. Also back are the film’s teaser and theatrical trailers. New to this Blu-ray edition we have a trivia track, an interactive alien hunt game, and well, that’s it.
