Plot:
On July 2nd, communications systems worldwide are sent into chaos by a strange atmospheric interference. It is soon learned by the military that a number of enormous objects are on a collision course with Earth. At first thought to be meteors, they are later revealed to be gigantic spacecraft, piloted by a mysterious alien species. After attempts to communicate with the aliens go nowhere, David Levinson, an ex-scientist turned cable technician, discovers that the aliens are going to attack major points around the globe in less than a day. On July 3rd, the aliens all but obliterate New York, Los Angeles, and Washington. The survivors set out in convoys towards Area 51, a strange government testing ground where it is rumoured the military has a captured alien spacecraft of their own. The survivors devise a plan to fight back against the enslaving aliens, and July 4th becomes the day humanity will fight for its freedom. July 4th is their Independence Day... - Anonymous

Comment:
This is surely one of the most advertised movies of the year but also one of the most delusive movies I've ever seen. It is not a bad movie but the plot starts well but then degenerates rather soon and ends in a really pitiful way.

The special effects are great, the air combats, the cities destroyed, the big space ships, everything is perfect, so the movie is a pleasure to see, at least on the 'graphical' point of view. There is also enough action and the story advances rather quickly, so the movie is not boring at all.

Unfortunately the plot has many weak points, notably the idea of infecting the alien ships with a virus together with the whole scene of the virus upload. There are also a lot of classic themes and commonplaces which looks too obvious and irritating, from the various heroes and heroines to the speech of the president that was intended to be patriotic and moving but seemed just ridiculous to me.