Written by Chris Snelgrove | Published
When you think about it, the holidays are a bit of a contradiction: They’re about coming together as a family, but a lot of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners start with some nice wine and end with the nastiest arguments this side of Reddit. If this sounds anything like your own vacation experience, you’re probably mourning the time when your family can function around each other like normal humans. For those who want to reunite with the family, here’s some good news: you can stream independence daythe movie that brought the entire country together, is on Hulu today.
Independence Day is full of grandeur
If you’ve never watched independence day (on Hulu, in theaters, or anywhere in between), you should know that it has a wonderfully simple premise. When aliens invade the planet and begin killing humans en masse, the fate of the entire world rests on the shoulders of a brilliant jet pilot and a crooked computer tech. Whether they succeed or not, however, may ultimately depend on the contributions of everyone, from an inspiring US president to an alcoholic Vietnam veteran.
One compelling reason to check out this creature feature is that the out-of-this-world cast includes Will Smith as the cocky pilot and Jeff Goldblum as a top-notch computer technician. Bill Pullman plays the president facing the biggest crisis in the history of the world, and his wife plays the president Battlestar Galactica Queen Mary MacDonnell. Other great actors in this film include Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spiner, and Randy Quaid (in what is almost certainly the best film of his career).
monitoring independence day on Hulu is a great way to revisit the iconic speech Pullman’s character gave to bring the world together against a common threat. In real life, the world must have come together to turn this Hollywood blockbuster into a galactic-sized hit. For a budget of just $75 million, the film grossed a staggering $817.4 million, earnings that ultimately prompted 20th Century Fox to release a sequel that was (sorry to say) less good in every respect.
Bringing audiences together
independence day It brought the world together Before Hulu was even a twinkle in a streaming executive’s eye, it also did something nearly impossible: brought audiences and critics together. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critical score of 68 percent, with critics generally noting that the film makes up for its bland characterization with all the action and spectacle we’d expect from a great summer blockbuster. As for audiences, the Popcornmeter for this movie is 75 percent, showing that casual movie fans were generally more enthusiastic about this movie than their critical counterparts.
All these years later, it’s clear that what helped make this movie a hit was more than just the hype. Will Smith’s charisma helps him steal every scene, and his manic energy pairs perfectly with Jeff Goldblum’s eccentric knight in armor. In this respect, Bill Pullman is the quintessential cinematic president, and after he combines rousing rhetoric with death-defying heroics, you’d probably wish our politicians were as inspiring and brilliant.
In many ways, Pullman’s character brings home the essence of the film…when you return to it independence day On Hulu, you may be surprised to discover that this movie is much more than just the sum of its explosive action scenes. Everyone remembers the iconic scene of aliens blowing up the White House, and because of that, it’s hard to remember that this movie isn’t so much about tearing things apart as it is about putting things together. As we descend further into the chaos of a country divided by everything from politics to social media, this film’s vision of international unity is a fantasy we can certainly move beyond.
Will you find independence day As inspiring as it was when you streamed it on Hulu, or is this the one movie you want to “welcome to the ground” by throwing it on the floor? You won’t know until you check it out for yourself. Then, you can help us try to answer a burning question: How did aliens develop interstellar travel before they invented malware-blocking software?
flow independence day On Hulu.