Independence Day vs. War of the Worlds

So, which one of these two hits harder for you guys, and what’s the reasoning? Personally, I’m leaning towards Independence Day—and honestly, if it’s for nothing else, it’s just because of the story itself! It feels somehow more realistic to expect—God forbid!—an invasion like that and the way things would actually unfold afterward. Plus, as weird as it sounds, I feel like we’d have a much better shot at winning against some tech-based threat than trying to fight off some biological virus.

Elizabeth Price2 said:So, which one of these two movies do you guys think is better, and what's the reasoning? Personally, I’d go with Independence Day, mostly just because of the story itself. I guess it feels a bit more realistic to expect—God forbid!—that kind of invasion and how things would play out afterward. And, as weird as it sounds, it feels more likely that we’d beat a computer-based threat rather than some biological virus.

it's probably more realistic to imagine George W. Bush hopping into an F-16 and blasting off toward some giant alien mothership...

hang on! 🤔

well, maybe that actually IS more realistic 👍 👍

anywho

I guess I care more about the vibe than the actual plot, so I'll pick War of the worlds😛

I mean, seriously. How did they not think to just upload a virus into the alien computers during War of the Worlds? They were pretty damn stupid.

How did they not think to throw a comic relief character into War of the Worlds—you know, some clown who got abducted by aliens way back in the day and is now coming back for revenge? And seriously, how did they miss the chance to show a President and his Advisors just leaning in and whispering "Nuke 'em" into his ear the whole damn time?🙏

It is absolutely wild how aliens have zero respect for Americans, especially since we’re considered a "GLOBAL SUPERPOWER," yet they decide to strike right on Independence Day! And can you believe our top pilots are just a rapper and the President? Honestly, what a total comedy show!!!!

Independence Day holds a special place in my heart.😳

I’d pick War of the Worlds just for the visual effects, but I still remember sitting in the theater eight years ago watching Independence Day... I was absolutely floored. It held the top spot in my mind until Fight Club showed up. Independence Day had those insane special effects back then, too, so that's my vote...

My vote goes to Independence Day..

Independence Day... No matter how naive I might seem, it’s still a hell of a lot less irritating than War of the Worlds.

Independence Day is absolute garbage, easily one of the worst things to ever come out of Hollywood...

It’s honestly more believable that George W. Bush would hop in an F-16 Fighting Falcon and blast off into deep space—wait, hold up! Actually, yeah, that DOES sound more plausible. Anyway—I'm totally voting for the vibe over the actual plot, so I'm going with War of the Worlds.

Nah, what’s actually more realistic to me are those biohazard suits the aliens wore in Independence Day—you know, the ones meant to protect them from all our nasty Earth germs—rather than just having a bunch of "naked" dudes digging through people's basements🙄!

I can't believe Independence Day is leading.

Turns out Dolph Lundgren is actually a better actor than Jim Carrey.

I can't even begin to process this. Total chaos.

Terry Fisher2 said:Honestly, I just want to take all you cowards, shove you in a closet, tie you to chairs, tape your eyelids open, and force-feed you Independence Day 24/7. You ungrateful, brainwashed freaks.

aaaaaa but you don't get that thirty-minute showdown between the bad guys and the hero who somehow becomes the only hope for a World for survival. No nuclear strikes, no alliances between Europe, Eritrea, Brazil, and America just to finally nuke 'em those motherfucking thugs across the globe.
So, picture this: Tom Cruise is just absolutely tearing through these beasts with an automatic AK-47 loaded with nothing but self-refilling, blessed bullets—because apparently, that’s the only way to take them down, by hitting them right in the backside since that's their only weak spot. Meanwhile, he’s got a Tripod driver tucked under his arm in a death grip, just waiting for the guy's head to pop.
So, there aren't any flying saucers buzzing around dropping angry aliens on Freedom Island, either. No one is broadcasting their invasion plans through some high-tech interstellar radio gadget that the main guy just cooked up in a comedy prequel—the same device that ends up causing generals to accidentally trigger a World War because they misread the signal by a few seconds.
aaaaaa, there’s zero comedic relief, no badass using hair spray to knock out three villains with evil intentions, no blonde bombshell that both father and son fall for, and no pet saving someone's life while leaving a million people behind in a literal hellscape.
aaaaaa, but Tom Cruise doesn't even reclaim the territory, the kids aren't tossing him into the heavens at the end of the movie, and he only manages to take down one single tripod—though honestly, I don't even think he actually needs to deal with one of those assholes anyway!!!
aaaaaa, honestly though, the movie title has absolutely nothing to do with what actually happens on screen. I’m still holding out hope for that "The Borg vs Species 472" script they promised us... those guys are total frauds.
aaaaaa, I don't get why the aliens ended up losing. It's like they couldn't even turn their brains on for a single millisecond.
aaaaaa, seriously though, why are they crawling out of the dirt instead of some other dimension? And why does nobody actually die? It’s ridiculous. They were destroyed so poorly, too—like, they’ve been buried underground for an eternity, so shouldn't they have figured out basic chemistry by now? You know, just wake up every few decades to adapt to the surroundings or something? Makes sense, right? And why is that idiot heading to Boston to see his ex-wife? Why doesn't he just take an F-16 with Dakota and hit them from behind like a total pro? Also, why is the kid screaming like she's some eight-year-old with aliens breathing down her neck? And why on earth does she think they're terrorists instead of, I don't know, Jehovah's Witnesses? Then there's the part where he kills Robbins while the guy is just quietly digging a tunnel to connect them with the underground mole and shrew resistance movement... all while those creatures are just loitering around the house?????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????

aaaaaa, man, like 99 percent of this is totally fine, but it's that last 1 percent that makes everything such a massive pain in the ass!!!

Look, after disasters like this one—and plenty of others just like it—I get why some of the hardcore movie buffs might be hating on it. But honestly? Talk to the hand, 'cause the brain isn't listening.

When you strip away all the extra noise, it really just boils down to what’s on the screen. You've got this guy trying to pull his family together while everything goes absolutely sideways. Honestly, there's only one real question worth asking here: What would I actually do if I were in his shoes? Look, I can stack two shipping containers at once without breaking a sweat, and I definitely know my way around a busted engine, but am I actually going to have a sudden moment of genius while watching ants tear apart a praying mantis in the backyard? That’s when I’m supposed to meet General Fitzvalas... or am I just gonna go full hero mode and try to save my kids no matter what?

So, I was thinking about comparing Independence Day and War of the Worlds. Just two massive blockbusters that basically defined a certain era of spectacle. One’s about us teaming up against an alien invasion, and the other is more of a cosmic horror show where humanity just kind of... well, fails. It's a weird contrast if you think about it. 👎 👎 👎

You sure you didn't mean the movie War of the Worlds?😁

Which would you prefer: someone forcefully kissing you on the mouth—or just dealing with diarrhea instead?

rapidbison42 said:I can't believe Independence Day is leading.

Turns out Dolph Lundgren is actually a better actor than Jim Carrey.

Independence Day is an incredibly watchable movie. It took me a minute to realize why. It’s because it uses every single cliché ever conceived in the history of cinema. You've got the funny Black guy, JEWS, the President and his Advisors, hot chicks, fighter jets and that whole Top Gun vibe, aliens with even better planes, EXPLOSIONS, kids tied to every main character, USING MORSE CODE, a unified world (it feels like those guys at the end are shouting USA, USA!), the ATOMIC BOMB and, most importantly—we win by absolutely smashing those aliens into the dirt led by the USA!

To hell with America and their high-tech toys. Now that we've got Al-Qaeda breathing down our necks, I want to see who else dares to step up. We'll make sure they send Mars flying into pieces.

Elizabeth Price2 said:I honestly think we have a better shot at winning against a computer virus than a biological one.

🤣

So I just realized, there isn't a single Black or Jewish lead character in the whole damn War of the Worlds story 😲 😲 😲

Eric Jackson43 said:I just realized, there isn't a single Black or Jewish lead character in War of the Worlds.😲 😲 😲

Well, those people are basically the heavy hitters in Independence Day.🙏

It just hit me—they even threw in a gay character. That boss working with Goldblum on TV. They covered every single strategic demographic. Nothing was left out.🙏

People, have any of you actually bothered to read the book "War of the Worlds"? Because if you had, you certainly wouldn't be sitting there questioning how the movie ends...