So, I know this isn't prototypical of my reviews, but I am doing this because of a special request. :) I love this movie. It was great when I was a kid, it is equally great now, despite all of its little flaws. Sometimes it's just the imperfections that really make you appreciate how magical something used to be.
I grew up with this movie, it was the start of the doomsday alien movies for me, and it was a great one. Will Smith was, and still is really, super hot, Bill Pullman is, and probably always will be, one of my favorite presidents, and you can't go wrong with Jeff Goldbloom or Judd Hirsch. Yes, Jeff Goldbloom may be an asshole, but he does well as the neurotic asshole in dramatic, end-of-the-world type movies.
Now, the plot is a bit ridiculous for many reasons. As Francis pointed out, how is it that an alien race that is so far superior with defenses, weapons, general intelligence, etc. is taken out by a simple computer virus. How crazy is it that they did not have a super advanced form of Norton or McAfee to go along with their impenetrable physical defenses? Also, they spent at least 15 minutes blowing up holes in the big alien ship outside of Area 51, that does no damage, BUT one man in one plane goes up the center of the HUGE ship and then it falls to pieces? I think not, but that is the magic of an end-of-the-world action film, impossible things happen and you love it! Even bringing up these questions does not shake my love of this movie!
Some more unexplained scenes: Area-51 has a full medical center that even in the late 1990s cannot stop internal bleeding, they have a chapel, and they have a room where bullets literally bounce off the walls....with a "poing" and all! There is nothing wrong with nuclear infused fireworks. Fire somehow does not go in every crevice available. And, again, a superior alien race is taken out by a 1990s computer virus.
Now, as I started, I love this movie. The fact that I am pointing out some obvious flaws only makes me appreciate how much I enjoyed this movie. It is ridiculous, it is kind of supposed to be (sort of), and the imperfections really do just make me like it more. I can have even more fun with it!
In the end, I give this movie an 8 out of 10.
