Today, "Independence Day 2: Comeback" is also added to this "list of street throwers". Emmerich has personally created well-known commercial masterpieces such as "Independence Day", the 98th version of "Godzilla", "Patriot" and "The Day After Tomorrow". Eyeballs, achieved box office success. But "Independence Day 2" with a "worrying IQ" declares that Emmerich can't play new tricks again.
In 1996, "Independence Day", with a story of earthlings and aliens fighting against aliens, won the North American box office of 300 million US dollars and the global box office of 800 million US dollars. It was the double champion of the North American and global box office that year. Twenty years ago, 300 million and 800 million were quite remarkable achievements. Unlike today, there are always several Hollywood movies that can achieve this result every year. That alone is worth remembering. What's more, I think this is really the best work in Emmerich's directorial career. It's fast-paced, full of pride, and sensational.
Twenty years later, when "Interstellar" has elevated the interstellar theme to a philosophical level, "The Martian" has made serious science fiction lively, and "Star Wars 7" has blessed the world with invincible feelings, the appearance of "Independence Day 2" seems so great. Outdated and backward. Of course, "Independence Day" also has feelings, but this feeling will eventually be diluted by the inferior narrative method.
The humans in the movie are really lucky. At the moment when the entire earth is about to be destroyed, human beings rely not on the technology or weapons that have been developed for twenty years, but on the well-intentioned "Flying Immortals" (that is, the alien planets in the film). "Flying Immortals in the Sky" knows everything, but cannot provide mankind with a magic weapon to win. In the end, it was the Director-General who borrowed a trick from China's ancestors to "tune the tiger away from the mountain". It is not the Chinese in the film who came up with this trick. After the war was won, the "Flying Immortals from the Sky" with advanced wisdom said that they would teach human beings the weapons to defend against the enemy, and then fight the enemy together. To put it lightly, victory is a fluke, and joining forces is like an afterthought. A battle of life and death, shot like a family.
This is the least skillful and IQ storytelling style. Storytelling, Mr. Jin Yong is definitely a master. Zhang Wuji was taken as a hostage because his parents were pressed by martial arts people about Xie Xun's whereabouts. Because of the need for treatment, Zhang Sanfeng took Wuji to Shaolin, but returned without success. On the way, he rescued Chang Yuchun who was being chased and killed. Because he wanted to repay his kindness, Chang Yuchun took Wuji to Hu Chunniu to seek medical treatment. Because of the medical skills, there was a series of entanglements with He Taichong in the Kunlun Mountains, and they lived in the mountains. Because he was living in the mountains, he was framed by Zhu Changling's design. Because of being framed, he unintentionally learned the Jiuyang Magical Art and healed his injuries. After that, he had a foundation to stand on. The cycle of cause and effect is intertwined, step by step, without a link or step, the story does not hold. This is what a wonderful story should look like. It is no wonder that over the years, Jin Yong's dramas have always been continuous.
Can the story of "Independence Day 2" fit into such a causal sentence pattern? Because it was attacked by aliens in 1996, the earth defense system was developed using the leftover alien technology. Because of the defense system, then what? ...because Dr. Katherine has been working on alien glyphs, and then what? ...The truth of the aliens is revealed after the activation of the lovely "Flying Immortals in the Sky"... There are so many different things.
The story is already like this, can the performance be better? It's a pity that Yang Ying, who is popular all over the country in China, seems out of place in Hollywood movies, making people play in minutes. Whether it is surprise, sadness, anger, all of them are expressed with "open your eyes". It turns out that the way of expressing human emotions is the same as the force index when foreign enemies attack, so it is so stretched. I don't know since when, China's entertainment industry has been active in such a large number of stars who do not rely on strength, acting skills and works, but rely on so-called appearance and team promotion, and now they have been sent to Hollywood's A-level productions. What kind of intimacy can the Chinese audience have with such a stiff Chinese element?
The current president is as brave and courageous as he was 20 years ago. When Emmerich has been selling American heroism for 20 years, we are no longer in tears as we were back then. Our tastes have long since changed and are no longer so easy to satisfy. We all know that this is not a comeback after 20 years of sharpening a sword, this is just a continuation of the sable with pale gestures. It's better not to come back. Just like the stunning beauty 20 years ago, seeing each other again is beyond recognition and lost all spiritual energy. The beauty is cut off the silk, why should I see you again. Shi Huang should be secretly glad that he did not return for the sequel, otherwise such an "Independence Day 2" will be added to the list of works, and the day of turning over will be far away. A sequel is clearly hinted at at the end of the film, and Fox has already announced the project is on the way. It's just that the quality of the second film is so good that the box office results can barely pass the test. The champion of the previous work can only be looked up to. How many times can the life inside and outside the play make a comeback?
Just like "Star Wars", the reason why it can become an American national drama, in addition to the timeless feelings, also has a world view setting with complete infrastructure and rich details, which is the environment and foundation for the development of all stories. The same universe, different planets, and different people are experiencing magnificent love-hate relationships. George Lucas' greatest achievement was not Star Wars, but the creation of a world of the Force like never before. It's a pity that Emmerich is not good at these things. He is a bit like Michael Bay. He bombed very well, and bombed very beautifully. Under the colorful and prosperous, he never cared where the bomb came from or what it exploded. The visual is satisfied by special effects, and the feeling needs to be filled by human nature.
Therefore, when the film ends, "Flying Immortals" praises human beings as an excellent race, we do not feel that it is worthy of the name. We humans, who are conceited in peace and panic when we are in distress, really deserve to be saved like this for no reason?
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