Credit: Gage Skidmore

Look at this situation for a second because viewers have dragged Independence Day back into the spotlight with an intensity nobody predicted, so now it sits on your Netflix homepage like it’s back at home for the holidays. The jump looks wild at first, but the more you think about it, the more it tracks, since this is exactly the film people revisit when they want something bold and zero nonsense.

Independence Day literally throws the crisis in your face before you even realise the film has begun. Young viewers jump in expecting some dusty old throwback, and then the plot hits them. The sudden surge of energy and that switch alone are enough to hook an entire generation raised on memes and reels.

The story starts moving when the alien ships take position over major cities, so governments try to figure out what these things want. Nothing works, no signal gets through, no plan lands, so the tension gets heavier by the minute. Then the ships attack with massive blasts, so the film switches into full disaster mode right away. This is the setup: Earth gets hit hard, people panic, and leaders scramble, so survival becomes the only thing left to focus on.

But before you panic, remember who’s the lead of the film. That’s right, when Will Smith pulls up, you know he is here to save the day. Older fans know the minute he enters, they can go back to being relaxed, and new viewers learn what real “aura farming” looked like back in the day. His timing and swagger land so perfectly every time he does something in the film, you just shut up and watch.

Right behind him comes Jeff Goldblum, sliding into the story with his signature calm intensity. Something that tells you that he’s got everything under control. The contrast between him and Smith never feels forced because their energies hold the film together like two perfectly mismatched puzzle pieces. Goldblum works through each scene with precision, so the plot gains stability without losing pace. His presence bumps the film into that sweet spot where it feels smart without pretending to be complicated, which younger viewers absolutely latch onto.

When things start going wrong in the film, everything hits the people at once, and before you know it, Independence Day shifts into a live disaster where cities break apart, and people try to deal with whatever is happening. Sounds scary, right? And there are no big explanations. You think Smith’s presence might constantly bring in the stylish moments, but the director has focused more on the story than Smith as the ultimate saviour, and that’s the reason why the film feels so authentic.

The return of Independence Day on Netflix turned into this funny mix of old and new viewers watching it at the same time, because while older fans opened it for comfort, younger ones pressed play just to see what the hype was about. Or it might just be the time for millennial parents to introduce their kids to this cult classic. Can you believe it was released 30 years ago?

But that’s the fun part too, because when you watched it about two or three decades ago, you might’ve watched it with a totally new mindset and personality, but watching it now might feel totally different. The reason being that we have been introduced to high-quality VFX now, and watching makers in the 90s pull it off with less than what we have and still make a masterpiece hits you with the nostalgia you didn’t know you needed.