Cast: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Margaret Colin, Judd
Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Vivica A. Fox, Mary McDonnell, James Rebhorn, Harvey
Fierstein, Robert Loggia, Harry Connick, James Duval; Directed by: Roland
Emmerich
Synopsis:
A group of intrepid humans attempts to save the Earth from
vicious extraterrestrials in this extremely popular science-fiction adventure.
Borrowing liberally from War of the Worlds, Aliens, and every sci-fi invasion
film in between, director Roland Emmerich and producer and co-writer Dean Devlin
present a visually slick, fast-paced adventure filled with expensive special
effects and large-scale action sequences. The story begins with the approach of
a series of massive spaceships, which many on Earth greet with open arms,
looking forward to the first contact with alien life. Unfortunately, these
extraterrestrials have not come in peace, and they unleash powerful weapons that
destroy most of the world's major cities. Thrown into chaos, the survivors
struggle to band together and put up a last-ditch resistance in order to save
the human race. As this is a Hollywood film, this effort is led by a group of
scrappy Americans, including a computer genius who had foreseen the alien's evil
intent (Jeff Goldblum), a hot-shot jet pilot (Will Smith), and the President of
the United States (Bill Pullman). While some critics objected to the film's lack
of originality and lapses in logic, the combination of grand visual spectacle
and crowd-pleasing storytelling proved irresistible to audiences, resulting in
an international smash hit.