Every review I've read or heard about this flick has been negative. I even heard them talking about it on Coast-to-Coast last night and they said to give it a pass until it makes it to the budget cinema.
This movie flubs it by overdoing everything. It is as if all these studios have to destroy more, blow up more, and make things threaten the very fabric of existence. And it does NOT work. The alien invasion had a much bigger impact in the first movie, and the way the movie unfolded was on a smaller simpler scale and that made it work. I am not sure if I can spoil this spoiled meat of a movie, but suffice it to say we have made extensive use of alien tech in the 20 years since 1996.
Things the movie got right:
- They successfully pull off the alternate earth story where there was an alien attack in 1996 and in 2016, and it does not clash with our reality or the enjoyment of the movie.
- They got a decent replacement for Will Smith in the pilot role. They had a more gender diverse, more multicultural ensemble of characters.
- There was a female President
- The cities which had been destroyed were shown to be part old architecture, part new.
- Dr Okin is back, and he is better than in the first film.
- The approach of the ship, the size of the ship, EVERYTHING about the big ass dumb ship.
- The aliens.
- The military
- The pace of the story
- Adding of the Queen alien, along with everything about her and her presence on earth.
- Lots more