Ever since the mid 90s, Roland Emmerich has attempted time and time again to repackage and recapture the ideas from _Independence Day_. After many failed attempts, I wonder why there’s still a theatrical market for films like this. Or rather, it’s odd that Hollywood thinks there’s still a market for it, given that all of Emmerich’s films since _2012_ have flopped at the box office. And, he’s about to add another one to his resume. This should’ve gotten a streaming release at best, as it belongs in the same category as a film like _The Tomorrow War_. It’s background noise you throw on while you’re doing the dishes or folding the laundry. It's too disposable, phony, poorly acted and boring to pay any serious attention to, let alone pay money for. There's a sense of authenticity and fun to dumb action movies like _Independence Day_ that you're never going to capture with the way these kind of films are made now. You have to applaud Emmerich for making a big, original studio film, but it’s still generic schlock that doesn’t have a single ounce of personality. Fuck whoever financed this.

Edit: after a little bit of digging I found out that the primary investor of this thing is a Chinese company called Tencent Pictures. They’re also responsible for financing other great films such as _Terminator: Dark Fate, Warcraft, Kong: Skull Island, Men in Black: International, Monster Hunter_ and the 2 _Venom_ movies. To put it mildly, it appears that it’s this company’s sole purpose to flood the market with trash, and not exactly the fun kind. Now I know what you’re thinking: maybe their involvement helps with receiving a Chinese release from the CCP? But here’s the problem: _Venom 2_ was banned in China. So, they’re clearly just a bunch of incompetent investors, given that all of their films (the _Venom_ films excluded) have been massive financial and critical flops. The takeaway for Hollywood should be pretty simple: if Tencent wants to invest in your production, cancel all plans before you have another _Moonfall_ on your hands.

2.5/10

Watch it if you’re a fan of Toto, or genuinly laugh at any point during the first scene.