Independence Day
A wisecracking technician, a fighter pilot, and a shaken president lead humanity’s desperate counterattack against a civilization-ending alien invasion.
Overview
Humanity faces its greatest challenge as alien invaders descend upon Earth, threatening to obliterate everything in their path.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- propulsive
- patriotic
- witty
- blockbuster night
- summer movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized the film as an enormously entertaining and technically impressive alien-invasion blockbuster, while finding its story and dialogue conventional.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The alien assault culminates around the American Independence Day holiday while humanity unites against enslavement.
David Levinson, Captain Steven Hiller, President Thomas Whitmore, and military survivors pursue connected responses from different positions.
New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Paris, London, Houston, and Moscow are targeted by enormous alien spacecraft.
David Levinson's technical expertise and the captured alien spacecraft become central to humanity's counterattack.
Films like Independence Day, and why
War of the Worlds
shared alien invasion spectacle, military counterattack, patriotic heroism, and large-scale disaster imagery
Mars Attacks!
shared 1990s science fiction blockbuster energy, extraterrestrial threat, ensemble action, and visual spectacle
The Tomorrow War
shared military science fiction, global catastrophe, heroic pilots, and escalating extraterrestrial conflict
Armageddon
shared disaster movie scale, countdown structure, ensemble survival, and high-impact destruction
Movie Details
- Director
- Roland Emmerich
- Release Date
- 1996-07-02
- Runtime
- 145 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (10761)
Cast
- Will Smith
- Bill Pullman
- Jeff Goldblum
- Mary McDonnell
- Judd Hirsch
- Robert Loggia
- Randy Quaid
- Margaret Colin
- James Rebhorn
- Harvey Fierstein
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- YouTube TV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Independence Day about?
- A wisecracking technician, a fighter pilot, and a shaken president lead humanity’s desperate counterattack against a civilization-ending alien invasion.
- What is Independence Day like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Independence Day as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Independence Day violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Independence Day as moderate.
- What did critics think of Independence Day?
- Critics broadly recognized the film as an enormously entertaining and technically impressive alien-invasion blockbuster, while finding its story and dialogue conventional.
- Which films are like Independence Day?
- Films with a similar feel include War of the Worlds, Mars Attacks!, The Tomorrow War, and Armageddon.
- How long is Independence Day?
- Independence Day runs 145 minutes.
- Where can I watch Independence Day?
- In United States, Independence Day streams on YouTube TV.
