Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day is one of the most important blockbusters of the last 25 years, and not just because it became the second highest-grossing movie ever made at the time after hauling in $817 million at the box office in the summer of 1996.
The iconic scene showing the spectacular destruction of the White House kickstarted the trend for blockbuster trailers ending on a jaw-dropping money shot, while the marketing campaign also instigated the biggest productions in Hollywood paying top dollar to secure a promo spot during the Super Bowl.
Independence Day is great for what it is, but the sequel that arrived 20 years later was a crushing disappointment. Having spent two decades lodged firmly in development hell, it probably would have been much better if Resurgence had stayed there. In the end, its mere existence felt forced and unnecessary, with the sci-fi epic sinking without a trace both critically and commercially.
The visuals are suitably impressive and the effects are on point, but the fact it earned less than half of what Independence Day did, even with 20 years of ticket price inflation, tells the story in microcosm. However, Resurgence has fittingly experienced a resurgence of its own over the weekend, with the 20th Century Fox title cracking the Disney Plus Top 20 most-watched list, as per FlixPatrol.
