Roland Emmerich makes enormous threats easy to grasp and, at his best, enjoyable to watch. We rate his patience before the destruction, but have less use for the thin characters and insistent heroics.
Fi1m perspective
Roland Emmerich gives us time to recognise a building before he threatens to demolish it. In Independence Day (1996), that preparation is a substantial part of the pleasure. We felt the dread in its patient build-up, because familiar landmarks make the size of the danger immediately clear. That is where we rate him: the spectacle has been prepared carefully enough to survive some foolish writing.
His early Hollywood run of Universal Soldier (1992), Stargate (1994) and Independence Day established him in effects-driven science fiction. The Patriot (2000) was a turn towards historical spectacle, but The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and 2012 (2009) brought catastrophe back to the centre of his work. Moonfall (2022) continued his attachment to large-scale science fiction. His recurring preference for ordinary or unlikely heroes is sensible: even an enormous disaster needs someone whose next decision we want to follow.
Much of what works in Independence Day is practical craft, carefully co-ordinated. Production designers Patrick Tatopoulos and Oliver Scholl give the threatened world enough solidity for the destruction to matter. David Brenner's editing makes space for the large cast without letting the first half become a queue of introductions. David Arnold's music brings exuberance where the dialogue struggles to provide it. Emmerich benefits from collaborators who keep the spectacle clear and the mood generous, and the cast makes the foolishness easier to forgive.
The screenplay Emmerich wrote with Dean Devlin is the main limitation. Thin characterisation and implausible behaviour become harder to overlook once the spectacle has to sustain a story. The insistence on American heroism grows tiresome, particularly when the film wants to speak for everyone. We would rather spend more time with these people than keep being reassured about their heroism; the cast has already earned enough goodwill. Start with Independence Day for the patient build-up and the cheerful company, with modest expectations of the plot.
Biography
Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter and producer. Born on 10 November 1955 in Stuttgart, he studied at the University of Television and Film Munich. His student film The Noah's Ark Principle (1984) opened the Berlin International Film Festival, after which he co-founded Centropolis Entertainment with his sister.
Emmerich is known for science fiction and disaster films. He directed and co-wrote Stargate (1994) and Independence Day (1996), the latter of which became one of the highest-grossing films of its time. Subsequent credits include Godzilla (1998), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), 2012 (2009), White House Down (2013), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) and Moonfall (2022). His films have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide.
