Movies - Independence Day

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	Movies - Independence Day

Independence Day (or ID4) is an American action movie about an attempted alien takeover of Earth. The movie features several scenes of major American landmarks being destroyed by the aliens, such as the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles, California, the Empire State Building in New York City, and the White House in Washington, D.C. The film's success was partially credited to an extensive marketing campaign which began with a dramatic commercial during Super Bowl XXX. The movie was scheduled for release on Wednesday, July 3, 1996, but due to the high level of anticipation for the film, many theaters began showing it on the evening of July 2, the same day the action in the film begins.

Plot

The world is in shock on July 2 as an alien ship about one quarter the mass of the moon and over 550 kilometers in diameter enters the Earth's orbit and deploys several smaller ships, each one over fifteen miles in diameter, that settle over many of the world's major cities. Using advanced technology, the aliens quickly destroy these cities and millions of people. Conventional missiles and nuclear weapons are useless against them, as the alien ships are strongly shielded by impenetrable force fields. The President of the United States, a veteran fighter pilot of the Gulf War, leads the human resistance from Area 51, where the military has kept an alien fighter aircraft that crash-landed in the 1950s, to ultimate victory over the aliens. The movie climaxes on July 4 as the humans use the fighter to infiltrate the mothership, activating a computer virus to disrupt the aliens' shields, and sneaking a nuclear missile aboard. The disruption of the shields opens a window of opportunity for humans to strike back and destroy the smaller alien ships, and the nuclear missile is detonated, destroying the mothership.

Characters

President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman): President of the United States throughout the movie, Whitmore is a former Gulf War pilot who leads the resistance against the alien invaders.

Captain Steven 'Steve' Hiller (Will Smith): A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 fighter pilot, Hiller is the only person able to bring an extraterrestrial aircraft down in the first wave of the human counterattack. Hiller's ambition is to join NASA, and his dream to fly into space comes true when he flies the alien spaceship from Area 51.

David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum): Employee of a cable company, Levinson is an MIT-educated chess enthusiast who discovers the aliens' plans to attack after stumbling upon their hidden satellite signal, and later suggests the idea of infecting the mothership with a computer virus in order to deactivate shields protecting the alien crafts.

Julius Levinson (Judd Hirsch): Jewish immigrant and father of David Levinson

Constance Spano (Margaret Colin): White House Communications Director and David's ex-wife

First Lady Marilyn Whitmore (Mary McDonnell): President Whitmore's wife

Jasmine Dubrow (Vivica A. Fox): Exotic dancer, survivalist, Steve's girlfriend and eventually his wife

Russell Casse (Randy Quaid): crop duster, claims to have been foremerly abducted by aliens, avenges himself by flying into the UFO's "primary weapon", which takes out the alien battleship.

General William Grey (Robert Loggia): chairman of the Joint Chiefs

Albert Nimzicki (James Rebhorn): Secretary of Defense

Marty Gilbert (Harvey Fierstein): David's flamboyant boss

Major Mitchell (Adam Baldwin): security chief at Area 51

Dr. Brackish Okun (Brent Spiner): chief scientist at Area 51

Miguel Casse (James Duval): Russell Casse's eldest son

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Movies - Independence Day

Plot

Characters

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