Didn't I Promise You Fireworks?: "Independence Day" at 30
After three decades, Roland Emmerich's alien disaster epic is still a flawed but effective blend of cinematic wonder and blockbuster stupidity. By: Josh McCormack Thirty years ago today, Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day” was released on nearly 3,000 screens across the U.S. By the end of 1996, the film had grossed more than $300 million domestically, contributing to an impressive $800 million haul worldwide. It was the biggest film of the year and, for better or worse, ushered in a new kind of blockbuster. It paved the way not only for Emmerich, but also for even more vulgar auteurs such as Michael Bay, whose prominence began to grow in the years after “Independence Day.” While it was a big hit with audiences, critics were skeptical. Janet Maslin of The New York Times may have called it a “rush of gleeful, audience-friendly exhilaration,” but the late Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times found it to be “timid when it comes to imagination.” Like all of Emmerich’s films, “Independe...
