Independence Day, Too

Ok, so it sounds like we're (finally?) getting a sequel to 1996's "Independence Day". Fortunately, Will Smith does not appear to be involved; all that is known is that it will feature his character's stepson, or at least a character with the same name (though played by a different actor, even though the dude who played him in the first movie is still acting), the lesser Hemsworth (speaking in terms of muscle mass, not acting talent), and Jeff Goldblum. Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich are once again teaming up to write and direct, respectively.

So, yay? I guess? I'm not sure why people were clamoring so vociferously for a sequel, but they're finally getting it. The studio almost literally threw money at Devlin to write a sequel after the crushing success of the first one, but he threw it back in their faces and said, "Dean Devlin ain't for sale, bitches!" Actually, he placed it back on their desk and said, "Dean Devlin is totally for sale, and I tried, but it's all terrible. Just utter crap." He went on to write the screenplay for 1998's "Godzilla" abomination, so think about how bad his "Independence Day 2" scrip must have been.

The first ID4 was fun. It had great effects, funny lines, a superb action story line, the alien threat felt real and was scary. The final act had emotional impact and catharsis. It was a cool movie. It wasn't a movie that made me feel like I wanted to see more. Nor was it really set up for a sequel. The invaders are dead. Wiped out. There might be survivors, but what's left of the world's military should be able to handle them. When the President meets with the alien just before trying to nuke them, he sees their plan, and says "They're moving from planet to planet...their whole civilization..." So, does that mean the whole civilization is currently attack the Earth? That's the way I'd always interpreted the line, especially given how many aliens Goldblum and Smith see on the mother ship. I always just figured that was all of them.

Maybe not, though. Maybe that was just the advanced guard, prepping the planet, wiping out the resistance in anticipation of the rest of the troops. Maybe the rest of the civilization is still on the previous planet, living it up, and this was just their opening salvo. Maybe this is how it goes - they attack, the inhabitants fight back, but are depleted for when the rest finally show up. In this case, it's 20 Earth years later, and the humans actually managed to win, but their society has been crippled, Just as they start to get back to normal, the bulk of the aliens show up, establish some ground bases (Houston is probably up for grabs, after being nuked in the first movie), and start to take over.

Whatever the story is, I'm sure it will feature two things in quantities bordering on excess: explosions and sass. I can hypothesize on what it will be and what it should be, but in the end, that is so far out of my hands I'm better off playing the lottery and expecting any sort of real result. This news does bring up two questions from me, though, which perplex me for different reasons.

1. What do we call this movie?

Ok, "Independence Day 2". Easy. The first movie, though, also went by the title, "ID4". If you talk to someone who was a teenager in 1996 and mention "ID4", they will know exactly what you're talking about, in much the same way you can say "T2" or the awesomeness of flannel. It's on movie posters, media, and even the video/DVD/Blu-Ray case. So, what will this movie be? ID4:2? ID4-2? Both of those look like robot names from a Star Wars movie. ID4^2? Wouldn't that just be ID16? I know people (apparently) have been waiting with bated breath for this sequel, but I don't think any but the most rabid fanpeople would want 15 sequels. Five, six tops.

2. Where are the rest of the aliens?

No, not the rest of the invading aliens, all the others. This honestly had never occurred to me until today, but it might be the single most glossed-over point in the entire movie, and this is a movie featuring a family surviving a flaming wall of death by hiding in an open maintenance closet, a bunch of untrained pilots suddenly being able to fly advance jets in formation, and the military allowing hundreds of RVs to enter one of the most secret bases in the country on the word of one guy in fatigues with no authorization other than a dead alien. There was a lot of other stuff going on, what with the world ending and all, but it doesn't even get mentioned when people discuss this film.

The big revelation is that we are not alone in the Universe. This is evident when the aliens show up, and there was much rejoicing until they started killing us. At that point, we've gained a little knowledge - there's another species out there. Later, we find out that they'd visited here before; possibly many times, but at least the once. Then, we learn that this attack wasn't just this race attacking Earth because we're the other species, but simply because we were next.

Think about that for a moment: we were next. There were others before us, there would, presumably be others after us. Holy crap. Not only are we not alone, but the Universe might just be downright crowded! There are other alien races out there! Some have been wiped out by these tentacled, biomechanical suit-wearing bastiches, but there are certainly more. No one ever brings this up. Not even when discussing a sequel. 

I would love to see that explored a little more. We have their tech, we have a bunch of their ships. It's been twenty years. Maybe we co-opted more of their tech and took to the stars? That would be cool to see in the sequel. Maybe we attack their home planet (if they have one). 

Or, maybe we'll just get "ID4 (with More Explosions)". Meh. 

(And yes, I will probably still see it in the theater.)