Independence Day: Resurgence Dvd

Independence Day: Resurgence is a 2016 American epic science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Emmerich, Dean Devlin, Nicolas Wright, James A. Woods, and James Vanderbilt. A sequel to the 1996 film Independence Day, it stars an ensemble cast featuring Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Maika Monroe, Jessie Usher, William Fichtner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Judd Hirsch, Brent Spiner, Travis Tope, Sela Ward, and Angelababy. The film takes place twenty years after the events of the first film, during which the United Nations has collaborated to form Earth Space Defense, an international military defense and research organization. Through reverse engineering, the world has fused the power of alien technology with humanity’s and laid the groundwork to resist a second invasion.

Plans for a sequel to Independence Day began as early as 2001, with 20th Century Fox eventually green-lighting the project in 2014. Principal photography began in April 2015 at locations primarily in New Mexico but also in the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah, which were featured in the original.

Independence Day: Resurgence was released in the United States on June 24, 2016, twenty years after the release of Independence Day, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D, grossing $389.7 million worldwide at the box office.

Plot

Twenty years after the devastating interstellar war against alien invaders, the United Nations has founded the Earth Space Defense (ESD), a global defense and research program that reverse-engineers alien technology and serves as Earth’s early warning system against extraterrestrial threats. Civilization has been restored and relative peace among nations exists following the human race’s victory over the aliens’ attacks, and major cities around the world including Washington D.C. were rebuilt and modernized with amalgamated technologies. After establishing Area 51 as its headquarters, the ESD set up bases on the Moon, Mars, and Rhea, and orbital defense satellites above Earth, as fortifications against future invasions.

ESD Director David Levinson meets with warlord Dikembe Umbutu and Dr. Catherine Marceaux in the African state Republique Nationale d’Umbutu. They travel to a landed alien saucer and discover that the aliens were drilling prior to them sending a distress signal to their home world before their defeat. It is revealed that people such as former U.S. President Thomas Whitmore, Dr. Brackish Okun, and Umbutu are telepathically linked to the aliens’ collective consciousness, following personal encounters, and have visions of an unidentified spherical object.

An unidentified spherical ship emerges from a wormhole near Earth’s Moon. Despite objections from Levinson, it is destroyed on the orders of the Security Council. Defying orders, American pilots Jake Morrison and Charlie Miller then pick up Levinson, Marceaux, Umbutu, and U.S. federal controller Floyd Rosenberg on a space tug. They head for the wreckage in the Van de Graaff crater, where they recover a large container. An alien mothership suddenly appears, responding to the distress call, and proceeds to destroy much of Earth’s planetary defense systems before landing over the North Atlantic Ocean, where it starts to drill down toward Earth’s molten core for fuel that will destroy the planet in the process. Narrowly escaping death, those on board the space tug are able to avoid capture and return to Area 51.

Whitmore, Levinson, and U.S. General Joshua Adams’ groups interrogate one of the aliens held in captivity at Area 51’s prison facility from the war. They learn that the aliens exist in a hivemind and that one of their colossal Queens is commanding the invasion. Levinson hypothesizes that if they kill the supervising Queen, her forces will cease drilling and go dormant. An ESD aerial fleet, led by Captain Dylan Hiller, stages a counterattack, but they are caught in a trap within the mothership, leaving only a few survivors, including Dylan, Jake, Charlie, and fellow ESD lieutenant and Chinese pilot Rain Lao.

In Area 51, Okun opens the rescued container and releases a giant white sphere of virtual intelligence. The sphere reveals that her mission is to evacuate survivors to a planet of refuge from worlds targeted by the aliens, whom she calls “Harvesters”, and unite them in an attack on the Harvesters’ planet. In the mothership, all surviving ESD pilots manage to escape by hijacking enemy craft; Dylan, Jake, Charlie, and Rain navigate two Harvester fighters to pursue the Queen’s personal ship, which is heading to Area 51 to extract information from the sphere about the refugee planet.

Knowing that the Harvester Queen has become aware of the sphere’s location, the ESD hide her in an isolation chamber and use a decoy in Jake’s space tug to lure the Harvester Queen’s ship into a trap. Whitmore volunteers to pilot the transport ship on a suicide mission, leading the Queen’s ship into a trap before detonating a bomb, thus destroying the enemy ship by sacrificing himself. However, the Harvester Queen survives by using an energy shield and a battle breaks out. Initially, the ESD soldiers’ weapons cannot penetrate the Queen’s shield, but after the Harvester Queen lowers her shield to fire her own weapon, a critical hit by Whitmore’s daughter Patricia deactivates her shield. This allows Dylan’s party, which arrives just in time, to kill her before she can take the sphere.

With the Queen gone, all the remaining alien fighters are rendered inactive, while the mothership stops drilling and retreats to space. Okun reveals that the sphere has asked humanity to lead her resistance and has offered them new technology in preparation for a potential counterattack on the Harvesters’ home world.

Cast

Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum and Maika Monroe at the film’s premiere in Japan in June 2016.
Liam Hemsworth as Jake Morrison, a pilot of the Earth Space Defense who lost his parents when the aliens first attacked and Patricia Whitmore’s fiancé.
Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson, the director of the Earth Space Defense and the United States government’s leading researcher on extraterrestrial technology.
Bill Pullman as Thomas J. Whitmore, the former President of the United States who is highly revered by the country as a world saving war hero, but the fights against the aliens has left Whitmore with a post-traumatic stress disorder and psychically linked to the enemy permanently.
Maika Monroe as Patricia Whitmore, the daughter of Thomas Whitmore, who was inspired by her father to follow his footsteps as a combat pilot. She was previously portrayed by Mae Whitman in the first film.
Jessie Usher as Dylan Hiller, the stepson of Steven Hiller and captain of the Earth Space Defense. He was previously portrayed by Ross Bagley in the first film.
William Fichtner as Joshua T. Adams, the United States general and commander of the Earth Space Defense’s main headquarters (Area 51) who later succeeds Elizabeth Lanford as President of the United States. He served as a captain of US intelligence during the aliens first attack.
Charlotte Gainsbourg as Dr. Catherine Marceaux, a French psychiatrist researching telepathic connections between humans and aliens and David Levinson’s romantic partner after his wife Constance died before the events of the film.
Judd Hirsch as Julius Levinson, a retired rabbi, David Levinson’s father, and the author of the book How I Saved the World that narrates events of the first invasion from his experiences and perspectives.
Brent Spiner as Dr. Brackish Okun, the director of research at Area 51.
Travis Tope as Charlie Miller, a lieutenant in the Earth Space Defense and friend of Jake, who also lost his family when the aliens first attacked.
Sela Ward as Elizabeth Lanford, the President of the United States.
Patrick St. Esprit as Reese Tanner, the United States Secretary of Defense who works for President Lanford.
Angelababy as Rain Lao, a Chinese lieutenant in the Earth Space Defense and Dylan Hiller’s second-in-command of the Legacy Squadron who also lost her parents when the aliens first attacked.
Vivica A. Fox as Dr. Jasmine Dubrow-Hiller, Dylan’s mother and the widow of Steven Hiller.
Deobia Oparei as Dikembe Umbutu, the Congolese warlord of the National Republic of Umbutu.
Nicolas Wright as Floyd Rosenberg, a U.S. federal controller assigned to David Levinson and seeks to join the fight against the aliens with the Earth Space Defense.
Ng Chin Han as Jiang Lao, the Chinese general and commander of the Earth Space Defense’s moon base and Rain Lao’s uncle.
Gbenga Akinnagbe as Agent Matthew Travis, a United States Secret Service agent assigned to former President Thomas Whitmore.
Robert Loggia as General William Grey, the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Joey King as Sam Blackwell
Mckenna Grace as Daisy Blackwell
John Storey as Dr. Milton Isaacs, a scientist and physician in charge of Area 51’s medical facility who is Dr. Brackish Okun’s life partner.
Jenna Purdy as the voice of the Sphere, an extraterrestrial virtual intelligence which serves as a liaison between Earth and the Resistance.