"Independence Day: Resurgence" has been nowhere near as successful as the original 1996 blockbuster, but it did get me thinking about our fascination with alien invasion stories. You've probably seen a few articles like this already, but here are a few of my personal favorites with completely arbitrary rankings.
1. "Independence Day."
Obviously, I had to fit it in somewhere, so why not get it out of the way first? This is one of the movies that made Will Smith's film career. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the movie offers a very simple plot of humans (with Americans leading the fight, of course) resisting an invasion by hostile aliens who like to wreck our landmarks. The story may not be very nuanced for contemporary audiences, but the movie featured some cutting edge CGI for 1996 and set the standard for summer blockbusters from '96 onward.
2. "Mars Attacks!"
Think of this is Tim Burton's version of "Independence Day." It had a huge ensemble cast that included Jack Nicholson, Pam Grier, Natalie Portman, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker and Tom Jones as himself. Unlike the heroic pilots of the "Independence Day" movies, most of the characters were ordinary people working together to beat back the Martians. The way the aliens are ultimately defeated is memorable for being so gloriously stupid. You probably never see another movie with Tom Jones as one of the heroes.
3. "Ender's Game."
For this item, I'm thinking more of the 1985 novel by Orson Scott Card rather than the 2013 film adaptation. Say what you will about the author's views on gay marriage, but this is still one of the classics of science fiction. This is one story where the glory of human victory against aliens is tainted by the knowledge of how we achieved that victory. I'm not going to spoil the twist for those of you who have never read the book or seen the movie, but I recommend it along with its sequels.
4. "Cowboys & Aliens."
The title says it all. Based on a graphic novel of the same name and starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde, this movie pits all the Western character types against aliens who want to steal our gold. I shouldn't have to explain it any more than this. Just watch it and (maybe) enjoy it.
5. "Alien."
Not an invasion movie, but still showcases the worst in human and alien relations. You don't actually see the alien designed by H.R. Giger very much, but the suspense makes for a much better movie than the cheap jump scares you get from too many horror movies. Along with "Gravity," it makes you never want to go into space.
