Awesome effects
3/4 stars

What kicks me about this movie is is that for its time the special effects were phenomenal! This was what made this movie one of the biggest grossing films of the time. Will Smith was finally on his own kicking away from the baby face image that he had from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Admittedly ID4 is one of those semi-rare movies that people either love or hate. This was a time, we must remember, when the X-Files was on TV, as well as Millennium and when interest in aliens and end of the world prophecies were rampant, especially because the year 2000 was approaching. Will Smith as Captain Steven Hiller is delivering the kind of action-hero role he has for the most part performed and is enjoyable nonetheless. Vivica A. Fox as a stripper/mother is another fine role, though she, like all the women in this film, take backseats and it's the men who save the day. Especially good are Judd Hirsch and Jeff Goldblum, as a Jewish father and son Julius and David who constantly bicker but prove resourceful and valiant in mankind's darkest hour.
One of the things that attracts me to this movie is the little details that give the story a personality. One of my favorites is the newscaster who says "LA residents are warned not to fire their guns at the spaceship, as it may cause an interstellar incident".
Over all I really enjoyed the movie and it will be always be known as one of the more creative special effects movies made.

Review by TheWolf