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I remember the first time that I saw Independence Day. I was eight years old. A movie can have quite a lasting effect on an eight year old boy, but this was something different. I saw the movie at least three or four more times in the theater, and by my third viewing, I had the movie completely memorized. I remember almost wishing that the planet would be invaded by aliens so that I could prove that I was just as heroic as Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. Looking back, I realize that I probably would have gotten my prepubescent little ass kicked six ways to Sunday, but that doesn't mean that I didn't have the fighting spirit. It takes a special kind of movie to make someone believe that they can do those kinds of things, and this article will chronicle the reasons that I still feel today that this is an important milestone in American cinema.

The quotes. The lines that people remember from this movie are absolutely priceless. 'Welcome to Earth!'? I mean, come on! That's just cool! For me, however, the best part of the movie comes near the climax, when President Danny Whitmore, played by the sci-fi vet Bill Pullman, gives a rousing speech to the fighter pilots getting ready to launch a counteroffensive attack ont he alien invaders-

'We will not go quietly into the night, we will not vanish without a fight. We're going to live on, we're going to survive. Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!'

I don't care who you are, that's just classic.

Granted, the movie contains some very implausible, if not impossible, scenes. For example, the President of the United States of America suits up and climbs into the cockpit of a fighter jet to help the Air Force attack an enemy that vastly outnumbers and easily outguns them? Oh well, at least we get another classic line out of the situation; 'Alright, Mr. President, here we go!' Besides, no matter how implausible, the president in a fighter jet is just so damn cool!

I know that a lot of my arguments for the greatness of this movie have been that it's just so damn cool, but you gotta admit, it is. Besides, it doesn't really have a lot of the best dramatic acting to note, nor the most original sotryline, but, well, you know.

Perhaps the greatest strength of this movie its message of hope and unity. Even when all the cards are on the table and things are looking grim for the good guys, the can-do American spirit saves the day. The movie also contains many instances of sons seeking their fathers' approval, as well as the reverse. Throughout the movie, people are asked to make difficult decisions for the greater good of mankind, and they always do.

A large part of my love for this movie is rooted in a very warm nostalgia, but even watching it now, it still gets me going. I yell the memorable lines along with the characters, I get teary eyed when the president gives his speech, and I still sometimes wish I was cool as Will Smith and as smart as Jeff Goldblum.

'Hello boys, I'm baaaaaack!'

Learn more about this author, Jesse Bailey.
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