Independence Day: Resurgence is a sequel to the film Independence Day (1996). It stars much of the original cast in the same roles, with the exception of Captain Hiller (Will Smith) and Constance Spano (Margaret Colin), aka David Levinson’s (Jeff Goldblum’s) wife. This story was written around them, and they became unnecessary.

20 years have passed since aliens attempted to eradicate humanity from the face of the earth. Humans reverse-engineered much of the leftover technology, and have adapted it to benefit humanity. They’ve established a base on the Moon and elsewhere in the Solar System, to monitor the skies, as it were, in case of another attack. Gosh darnit, do you have any idea what happens next?

Former President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) Dr Brakish Okun (Brent Spiner) had psychic bond with the unnamed aliens and sense they are returning. They are haunted with visions of something that doesn’t correspond with anything humans have learned about the invaders. Is it something new, or another facet of aliens we didn’t know before? Watch and see.

This movie has a lot of moving parts. There are several story lines, each one dealing with a different aspect of the main story. As you would expect, they all converge at the finish. The main effort is directed to stopping the aliens, and it hits a lot of the same notes that the first film did. There are exciting moments, but the first film had them, too. I’m not saying that this is a rehash of the first movie, but, in some ways, it is. The ending ties up everything in a neat little bow, but leaves things wide open for another sequel.

I have a few logistical complaints about the movie that are probably left to another posting. When new developments are introduced, you have to accept them and move on, because there’s no time to dwell on any of them, or even think of the implications they present. Suffices to say that “it’s just a movie” provides enough of a recommendation that I won’t bother to go into them at this time. Perhaps I’ll collect all my gripes about this year’s movies and write a new article just about them, but not now.

If you’re looking for your typical summer blockbuster that you  will forget shortly after leaving the theater, then this is your movie. I’m on the fence about it. I saw it in a 2D theater, but I could easily see how certain scenes would have been better in 3D. In fact, I’d almost wager that every 3D movie made the past few years has had a scene composed in such a way that the lead characters are escaping or running away from certain doom, while avoiding all these 3D obstacles that are there just to be avoided and to amp up the “drama”, because, you know, it’s 3D. I can think of several films that have that scene.