Anything below 90 IQ and you'll have no idea about what I'm talking about. People say that with movies like this you have to leave your brain at the door, the problem is, they don't tell you just how much you have to leave behind. Well....With this movie, the only way you can accept it, is to bring 10% of your brain. Any logical aspect of your mind will be thoroughly insulted with the whole concept and the lame a** storyline with an unbelievably predictable plot.

In this movie, the director and writers are saying "Your so stupid, that we can feed you any crap and bull and you'll take it like a fish". And by looking at the reviews here, it certainly seems to be just that. Here is SOME of my list of amazingly craptastical issues I personally had with the movie. Lest I had accidentally brought 15% of my brain had been a mortal life changing mistake.

(Wife/Tunnel/Fireball) Wife in car sees fireball coming at her, has time to get out of car, run long ways down tunnel, find a door in tunnel, try to open door but locked, kick door down and get in all while the exploding blast took 5 min to get to here, but it didn't end there. When she got in the door she realized her dog was missing. Still fireball blasting in her direction had time to call her dog. Dog responds and starts running in her direction and jumping just in time to miss the fire blasting behind him.

(Wife/Husband/Desert) Husband wandering aimlessly in desert just happens to run into his wife who happens to be caravaning with America finest trailer trash park.

(Amazing Virus compatibility) Mac is a great computer, but it's amazing just how the aliens had the same operating system as we do that we could download a virus to their computer. AMAZING!

(Trailer trash F-14 pilots) All our skilled highly trained F-14 pilots are all dead, but the planes somehow all survived.
"Any of you trailer trash have flight experience?"

(Highly Skilled Alien Pilots out piloted by trailer trash pilots) I have nothing more to say on this one.

I honestly looked forward to this movie and am more than willing to leave my brain at the door, but there are some movies, as such, that is so horribly written and insults your intelligence so bad, that even when leaving your brain behind that you just can't get by how dumb they think you are.

On another note, I'd like to accredit the people who had done the special effects. Where the people who had put months into perfecting the explosions and overall graphics of the movie, the screenwriter had only spent a half day on writing his quality script. It's sad to see so much hard work done, only to be insulted by a half as* job of writing. My review may not be the popular one, but I'll be damned before I ever suck up to this crap.

Another movie made to stroke the American ego. Predictable plot is made a little more tolerable by its entertainment value.

Independence Day is a good movie with a pretty good cast. It's one of my favorite Will Smith movies, and while Jeff Goldblum basically plays the same character that he played in Jurassic Park (he even repeats a couple of the same lines), it's a pretty good character. What really tells me that it's a good movie isn't that I liked it the first time I saw it, it's that I can enjoy re-watching it.

I don't know why there are so many negative reviews of this movie. It was an entertaining shoot-em-up with a vast amount of special effects. Worth a rental.

I wonder why is it that every alien species of the Universe only come here to invade us and conquer us? And the most hilarious thing is that, despite of their far superior technology, we manage to defeat them with sticks and stones, LOL.

I feel that the movie was over hyped,but it did show how well the special effects department has improved compared to thirty years ago when you could almost see the string dangling the spacecraft as it landed on earth

Laughable jingoistic flave waver.  Bill Pullman's performance as the jet pilot ace President of the United States  was the silliest thing I'd ever watched with the possible exception of Harrison Ford's performance as the the jet pilot ace President of the United States.

4 and a half stars for making everyone's jaw drop to the floor when they first saw this. Instant classic with Mr. Cool himself, Will Smith. A must-own.

The movie overall is ok but overhyped. The part that bothered me (and it is a biggie)is that a computer virus could penetrate the aliens vastly superior technology, thus defeating them. It is a fun, action packed special effects take off of War of The Worlds (1952).

Cliched film, though watchable enough, it was predictable dumbed down tripe that the public made a huge hit of without blinking. Like a 70's disaster flick, they stuffed a bunch of stars and familiar faces into this generic, been done a million times before, sci-fi film. Didn't Jerry Suckheimer have something to do with this? He always makes generic crap.

It was disappointing and predictable but you did give a cheer when the boys blew up the alien ship. The david and goliath schtick has been done many times.

It was so predictable that I fell asleep- at the movies, and I never do that :)

Nothing to have climax over, but a very solid movie. If it wasn't for the millions that they spent on special effects it would be mediocre... because the acting was questionable.

This movie was all about the effects. It was a good movie though. I enjoyed it a lot. It is not a movie I would put in my Top 10 but it was worth the money.

This movie was interesting and had very good visual effects. Earth forces didn't have the power to defeat these aliens, so they ended up out-smarting them instead.

A great german director, a high-class actor Jeff Goldblum , an d the award winner Volker Engel for special effects! Well, the story is typical Mars Attacks style. But for 154 minutes this film will entertain you! mark my words!

The F/X in this movie are great and the plot is interesting if not original. The cast is perfect, I am not a huge fan of Jeff Goldblum but he did a good job in this as did Will Smith. If you have not seen this movie, what planet have you been on?

The most interesting thing about this are the numerous tribute scenes to other movies. Frankly somewhat of a disappointing pastiche.

I used to love this film until 9/11, but now can't stand to watch those scenes where the Empire State building gets blown away. It gives me the creeps and makes me think of the Twin Towers.

Very very good idea; very poorly carried out. Will Smith completly kills the movie. Some of the action is worth a look, and the biggining into the middle allright, but it instantly jumps to a quick and cheesy ending.

The special effects were great, as well as the acting jobs of Bill Pullman and Will Smith, but other than that, it was a pretty predictable movie. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, which is why I'm giving it a 3, but its not worth going to the movies to see or buying. Its quite sad that this movie did not live up to all the hype. However, the musical score was pretty good though!

Against all reason and better judgement, I actually liked this film. I was not exposed to much of the hype marketing and I watched the film in almost total lack of expectation. I laughed, and laughed and laughed and laughed. So did almost everyone in the theatre. The others just walked out. I honestly thought the film was a sci-fi comedy along the lines of Mars Attacks and Mom and Dad Save the World. It was only later that I learned it was intended to be a drama.(?????) For pity's sake, who could take that film seriously? I mean, modern fighter jets dogfighting with Alien spacecraft WWI style...the rest of the world hanging limp and flaccid while they wait for the Americans to do something...the Ethipian tribespeople who manage to bring down one of those giant alien carriers at the end of the film with what? throwing clubs?...and best of all, the President of the United States, a politician, manfully leading his airmen into battle rather than cowering in some five-star bunker. Let me say again, I actually liked this film - because it put a smile on my face, because it was utterly stupid, because it was a conceited, corny and unintentionally cynical glorification of American cultural superiority. I'm hoping for a sequel.

This movie gets this rating from me just for Will Smith's line about whoopin' ET's ass. ;)

When I first watched this, I was expecting to be blown away by all the effects. Instead, I was blown away by the hype. It wasn't nearly as good as some people would have had me believe. It's way too long and the story was underdeveloped. You'd think in over two and a half hours they would have corrected that problem, but no. The characters, for the most part, aren't very likable either. It's one of those movies where you never really have any doubt how it's gonna turn out.

Yeah, yeah, sure, it's kinda vaguely fun to see everything blow up in full surround-sound Dolby stereo, but with each subsequent viewing this movie becomes more and more stupid. It's a complete and total rip-off/re-hash of War of the Worlds, and all three versions of THAT story (1898 novel, infamous 1938 Radio play, 1953 movie) are infinitely superior in overall quality. Another sad example of sp fx over good plot and acting (although Smith and Goldblum manage to rise above the dreck .... usually).

Will Smith was excellent in this film, I personally think it was more of a comedy than a science fiction movie.

Thank God those aliens had windows '95 are we were all screwed. Why revive the first lady twice just to kill her off in an anti-climactic scene? Why was Bill Pullman doing a bad Eastwood impression? Why was Judd Hirsch doing an even worse Jackie Mason? Why did the annoying guy from the Big Chill save the earth (Goldblum doing a dead on but dreadful impression of himself from that movie)? How can Will Smith drag an alien from Colorado to Utah and back to Nevada in one afternoon? Why did it take a hundred machine guns to kill that alien when Will knocked him out with one punch for two days last time? What was the point of teasing the Harry Conick, Jr. character without developing him enough that we should care that he died? Why are brain dead moviegoers so easily manipulated by things that go boom that they don't notice plot holes? Because it had a big budget and an all star cast I declare this movie as THE WORST WASTE OF CELLULOID IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!!!!

This movie has a great setting and theme, including substantially good special effects. Unfortunatly, that is good about the movie. This film is full of some of the worst and most corny dialogue imaginable. It makes blatent attempts to charge the human and american spirits without reason. The characters are shallow and transparent while the story is completely predictable. None of the characters develop in this film, and the movie relies on laugh track style humor to keep the audience entertained. Additionally, there was no reason for Randy Quaid to be in this movie. His character is the least believable of all, and the alternate ending which was originally considered for the film is even more ludicrous than the one seen in the theaters. Avoid the hype and pass this one by.

Independence Day isn't even a movie, it is a product. Something made to make money and make bundles of money for several different corporations. Next, this product is completly unbelievable and shallow. I could see something like this happening one day (riiiight) and I could see two doofuses like Will Smith and (I actually really like this guy) Jeff Goldblum getting an alien spaceship flying to the mother ship and takeing everything down with the help of an Apple computer laptop. This movie is made for people who like crap like Godzilla(America's Mathew Broderick version),Dante's Peak and Deep Blue Sea. All show and no blow. Completley made for product placement and a large Gross. Go see it if you like ritualistic torture. I think I'll go to my room and watch The Day The Earth Stood Still. You go have fun with your kiddie movie.

Will Smith was terrible in Men In Black, so why would you sign him up to play another sci-fi based character??? Independence Day is one movie that I could have missed.

A movie which was documented to show American supremacy. It's a kids movie. Very far from truth and reality. Aliens are regarded as bad people. Hardly and substance.

Great 4th of July movie for the whole family. Shows great patriotism.

It was a kickass movie. Love the special effects and everyone loves Will Smith. Saw it ten times.

The credit showed early to be given when it is due. Mr. Smith did it again. This movie blew up the charts and rightly so. The presence of one Vivica Fox certainly didn't hurt. But the role of such major proportion being played by an African American was also a big deal by all accounts. This movie certainly gets a two thumbs up.

I will never understand why this movie made so much money. The only rational explanation I can think of is that Americans (and the foreign audience too) wanted to see the White House blown up...sad, sad state of affairs, when this movie is a box office smash.

Will Smith does an excellent job in the role of a hot shot fighter pilot, but Bill Pullman is less than believable as a former Persian Gulf pilot elected to President. Everyone else does a fine job with their roles....and the story is fine, if not outstanding. The effects are spectacular, and the film is clearly depending on them. But the overweening arrogance behind the film is annoying-if you don't mind jigoism, check it out.

I seem to like this type of movie. This one seemed to be very interesting and the SFX were great. Will Smith was a pretty good actor in this movie.

Independence Day is the end-all of Sci-Fi movies. The representation of the aliens disputes on the old big-eyed, grey-skinned theory. The plot is somewhat predictable but twists occur when they are least expected. All in all, Independence Day is a must-see for the true Sci-Fi fan.

Terrible, horrible, disgusting. It's a pity to see how the money is spent on this way.

This movie was bad

The action and effects were good and the plot was neat too. Overall, it was a good movie but it became a tad cheesy at the end.

It was a good movie. Good acting. It was a bit predictable though.

Will Smith was perfect for the role. I liked the story, it seemed like it could happen. The aliens were very creative. It was the best movie of that summer to come out.

While this movie falls into the category of scifi, it uses other elements to tell it's story. Each character is developed through dialogue and action. There is not a feeling of anything unnecessary occuring, everything has a place and a reason.

This movie was beyond great. It was sad, action-filled and funnny. Little stories ran through a big one and it showed stories uniting together, stories of other countries in a truly big Independence Day.

Very good effects and storyline. Perfect actors for the roles. A little long.

Independence Day is one of the greatest movies of all time. It was vey easy to watch because the good guys win. Will Smith was off the hook.

Right down there with "Battlefield Earth." This is a terrible movie and I've written numerous reviews on it... I won't get into it now - there's simply too much to talk about. I'm surprised that so many people can't see how stupid this movie is.

Yes this movie is a one of those "Hollywood Recipe" movies, but it is better than most of the genre. Don't buy this if you are expecting something thought provoking - however it is definitely worth renting / having if you are looking for 120 minutes of solid entertainment - a compelling storyline, a likeable hero in Will Smith, and some fabulous special effects.

not bad.