Is it a Classic: Independence Day

[Nowhere Man]

I'd say that Independence Day is proof-positive that a movie can be a classic without actually being good.

I mean, there's no denying that it's a horrendously stupid movie-- I mean, this is the same guy that did The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and the '98 Godzilla. There's really no point in analyzing the plot, the characters, the dialogue, etc, because they all exist solely to have an excuse for Roland Emmerich to blow up a bunch of monuments. And that's not even getting into the absurdity of an interstellar alien species using computers that are compatible with 90s MacOS.

On the other hand, there's also no denying how much of it is ingrained in pop culture to this day. Sure, the destruction was nothing but pure disaster porn, but it was fun disaster porn. Sure, the characters were almost all one-note stereotypes, but at least they were really quotable. And this movie did wonders for Wil Smith's career, exposing him to the huge summer-blockbuster audience in numbers that the R-Rated Bad Boys couldn't.

Plus, y'know, there's probably the single greatest corny-inspirational speech in movie history:



The guy saluting so goddamn hard at the end is what really sells it.

So yeah, I'm gonna say ID4 is a classic. It's also stupid as hell, but not every movie needs to be Ingmar Bergman.

[road doggy dogg]

Originally Posted by Nowhere Man I'd say that Independence Day is proof-positive that a movie can be a classic without actually being good. I mean, there's no denying that it's a horrendously stupid movie-- I mean, this is the same guy that did The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and the '98 Godzilla. There's really no point in analyzing the plot, the characters, the dialogue, etc, because they all exist solely to have an excuse for Roland Emmerich to blow up a bunch of monuments. And that's not even getting into the absurdity of an interstellar alien species using computers that are compatible with 90s MacOS. On the other hand, there's also no denying how much of it is ingrained in pop culture to this day. Sure, the destruction was nothing but pure disaster porn, but it was fun disaster porn. Sure, the characters were almost all one-note stereotypes, but at least they were really quotable. And this movie did wonders for Wil Smith's career, exposing him to the huge summer-blockbuster audience in numbers that the R-Rated Bad Boys couldn't. Plus, y'know, there's probably the single greatest corny-inspirational speech in movie history: The guy saluting so goddamn hard at the end is what really sells it. So yeah, I'm gonna say ID4 is a classic. It's also stupid as hell, but not every movie needs to be Ingmar Bergman.

oh my god I would hate to do anything fun in life ever (re: movies, amusement parks, dinosaur stuff, activities) with you

fucking buzzkill deluxe mode here

[Nowhere Man]

THINKING AM HARD, MAKE ANGRY