Independence Day: Resurgence (12A) Empire, Odeon, ABC **
DURING the calm before the digital effects storm in Independence Day: Resurgence, Jeff Goldblum’s quixotic scientist stares slack-jawed at an approaching alien mothership and gasps, “That’s definitely bigger than the last one”.
Those words encapsulate the bombastic sequel to Roland Emmerich’s 1996 sci-fi blockbuster, which famously blew up The White House as a symbol of extra-terrestrial hostility.
Second time around, the German director isn’t content with razing iconic buildings in Washington D.C.
He deposits the whole of Dubai including the spearlike Burj Khalifa skyscraper on top of London, flattening landmarks with whooping abandon, then proceeds to pulverise America’s eastern coast.
Restraint isn’t in the film’s limited vocabulary and repeatedly, Emmerich and his army of special effects wizards conjure wanton destruction on a grand scale.
With the benefit of this state-of-the-art trickery, eye-popping 3D and immersive sound, Independence Day: Resurgence should be a pulse-quickening thrill ride.
So it comes as a crushing disappointment that the second film lacks the roughly hewn excitement and charm of its predecessor.
The Secret Life of Pets (U) Empire, Odeon, ABC ***
CREATURES great and small wreak havoc on the streets of New York City in Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney’s colourful computer-animated romp.
Employing a similar framework to Toy Story, The Secret Life Of Pets imagines what our four-legged, feathered and finned friends get up to when our backs are turned, suggesting that the fun begins when we go to work or school.
The Secret Life Of Pets is the brainchild of the makers of Despicable Me and Minions, and retains a similar visual style and family-friendly sense of humour.
The main feature is accompanied by a cute animated short entitled Mower Minions.
PREVIEW: The Meddler (12A) Empire
SIXTYSOMETHING widow Marnie Minervini (Susan Sarandon) is a well-meaning New Yorker, who drives her screenwriter daughter Lori (Rose Byrne) to distraction with frequent telephone calls.
The matriarch misses her late husband Joe and invests her time and energy into Lori as her connection to the past.
When Lori breaks up with her boyfriend Jacob (Jason Ritter), Marnie transplants her life to Los Angeles to offer emotional support to her child.
This bittersweet comedy drama written and directed by Lorene Scafaria should tug at the heartstrings and raise a few smiles.
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