Notes

- Glorifies nuclear violence, smoking, aggressive nationalism
- Americentrism. The film tries to reach globally, but then foreign countries are an afterthought (we check up on the "outside" world twice throughout the film, and it's not even on the same countries). All of the American characters are one-dimensional/flat archetypes (we literally have the stripper with a heart of gold), but then we get to the British guys who are complete caricatures.
- Depiction of scientists is insulting, portrayed as inept "these gizmos, this doohickey, we've been here researching for 40 years and never bothered to figure this out."
- When the crisis first breaks out, the President and his Cabinet deal with it in the Oval Office. Not a situation room. Ummm ok.
- The aliens are evil cause their plan is to strip the planet of all its natural resources before moving on to the next...the IRONY (environmentalism and colonialism)
- A character of significance dies and we're supposed to feel something. But we don't. The doctors don't seem to try that hard to help her survive and the related characters move on VERY quickly.
- "Uploading virus"
- The Vietnam pilot's daughter has her own MINOR subplot. At first she's in a romance with a boy who looks EXACTLY like her brother...and he's like "it's the end of the world and we shouldn't die virgins." But then her brother interrupts. And then later she meets this other guy who she likes cause he gives her other, sick brother (who is an entitled little shit, throws his glass medicine bottle on the ground then gets sick. And then there's a weird scene where his father demands that the Area 51 soldiers save him, a strange championing of individualism in a film all about collectively working toward the greater good) penicillin. And then so the daughter and this random boy are reunited in Area 51, and she's like "we might die...I'm a virgin" and he's like "me too. We'll die virgins I guess!" And so yes, SEX IS BAD KIDS.
- We are introduced to the President through a phone call with his wife, where he jokes "I've got a beautiful, young brunette in bed next to me." It's his daughter! Hilarious! Instant likability! Then halfway through the film, suddenly the President starts to sound almost exactly like Trump. Especially in his pompous speech. Off-putting to say the least.
- Vivica A. Fox has a major role and has to share a title card with TWO OTHER PEOPLE in the end credits. Meanwhile, Harry Connick, Jr. gets "AND HARRY CONNICK JR" for screaming "Big Daddy" to Will Smith 10 times in a vague blaccent. No sympathy for him when the aliens blew him up.
- Fox's character is the only woman in the film who isn't just there for the sole purpose of supporting a male character. But even though she has some agency that is still her PRIMARY purpose!
- Outside of a few, a very white cast. Diversity isn't just important for representation, it also helps to distinguish characters from each other! The President's wife and his press secretary look VERY similar! The officiant who marries Hiller and Jasmine looks exactly like the Defense of Secretary!
- Harvey Fierstein feels really out of place in his limited screen time.
- Judd Hirsch is good. Goldblum is fine. Will Smith is surprisingly pretty bad in this.
- In the panic to prepare for the nuclear attack, the Vietnam pilot finds time to shave. He also decides to stop drinking cold turkey the day of the attack. Smart.
- Said Vietnam pilot sacrifices himself. Blows up the alien base and everyone cheers. Meanwhile, his son Miguel (who is the one Hispanic character in the film. Mind you, the actor is not Hispanic, and the film comes up with a complicated backstory that is not that clear to justify why he's the only Hispanic in an otherwise white family.) is upset. His father just fucking DIED. and one of the gov't command people is like "Smile! He was so bRaVe. Why aren't you pRoUd???" Also Miguel is just allowed to walk into the gov't command center where they control the launch of NUCLEAR MISSILES.
- The script feels like a first draft by a couple of high schoolers. The Oscar-winning visual effects are impressive in places, but overall just not that great. Star Wars came out 19 years before this and did everything better. The Matrix came out only 3 years after this and aged so much better. Yeah this has just not stood the test of time well at all.
- Way too long. This could have easily been tightened.