‘Independence Day’ with Will Smith is Currently at the Top of the Streaming Charts

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As the Fourth of July is still six months away, it’s Will Smith’s 1996 blockbuster Independence Day that currently tops the Tubi Top 10 charts. This film played a significant role in propelling Smith’s career to new heights, with the double success of Independence Day and Men in Black following closely within the same year.

Under the guidance of director Roland Emmerich and his creative partner Dean Devlin, Independence Day was the movie everyone was eagerly waiting for in 1996. Unusually, Twister had been released earlier in the summer on May 10, but by the time Independence Day debuted on July 3, there were no other major films to challenge it. With a production budget of $75 million, this blockbuster went on to rake in an impressive $817.4 million globally.

The movie chronicles an extraterrestrial attack aimed at Earth’s annihilation, with the iconic scene of the White House’s destruction serving as a shocking moment. Smith portrays Captain Stephen Hiller, a U.S. Marine pilot, while Bill Pullman takes on the role of the President, Jeff Goldblum plays David Levinson, a tech-savvy expert, Randy Quaid is an unstable former astronaut (somewhat like ‘Cousin Eddie in space’), and Brent Spiner appears as a eccentric scientist.

The movie is incredibly extravagant, featuring stunning special effects – the spaceships are gigantic compared to cities – and an abundance of action that keeps audiences entertained. Admittedly, sending a computer virus from a Mac to an alien ship was rather implausible, but the film still managed to rake in $306 million at the domestic box office.

20th Century Fox had an interest in making another film, but Emmerich and Devlin were presented with substantial funds to direct and produce the 1998 American Godzilla movie instead. Smith was already a prominent actor, and though he appeared in the less successful Wild Wild West, he also starred in numerous successful films, garnering several awards and nominations. Additionally, Lucasfilm even criticized the American Godzilla film on their Star Wars website.

‘Independence Day’ Helped Usher in the Return of the Sci-Fi & Disaster Blockbuster

As a film enthusiast, let me tell you, summers used to be all about “Independence Day” and “Twister,” but boy, did that change! In just a few short years, we were inundated with disaster movies like the underappreciated “Dante’s Peak” (1997) and “Armageddon” (1998), not to mention sci-fi classics such as the “Matrix” trilogy and the “Star Wars” prequels. It was an exciting time for cinema, indeed!

Before these two movies, it appeared that many action films followed the pattern of “Die Hard in a…” or starred action stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and numerous ’80s actors. However, by the 2000s and 2010s, superhero films became the favored blockbuster for audiences instead.

In the end, Fox released Independence Day: Resurgence in 2016, a follow-up that, wisely, Smith chose not to participate in. This film introduces a new alien invasion happening 20 years after the first, with only Pullman and Goldblum reprising their roles, while Liam Hemsworth and Maika Monroe joined the cast. Unfortunately, both critics and audiences found it disappointing, and it would have been more effective if it had been released within a couple of years following the original movie.

ID4 and Dumb and Dumber both embodied the spirit of their respective eras – ID4 as a mid-90s sci-fi/disaster blockbuster, and Dumb and Dumber as a Jim Carrey comedy from the same period. However, the sequels to both films seemed outdated and repetitive. Top Gun: Maverick, on the other hand, managed to offer a modern take, which contributed significantly to its success, both critically and financially. As for the fate of the characters in ID4, they chose to write off Smith’s character off-screen.

Watch Independence Day for free on Tubi.

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2025-01-10 23:01