Breaking Down the ID4: Resurgence Trailer Reaction Shots

As Cinema Romantico has previously noted with unbridled joy, "Independence Day", that rollicking barrel of absurd movie monkeys, was all about the reaction shot. Roland Emmerich puts his actors in front of the camera and tells 'em an alien ship or a fireball or a something-or-other is up in the sky and "ACT O.M.G.!" And they did. And they do in the trailer that just dropped for the mildly-awaited "ID4" sequel, "Resurgence", arriving next summer. My hope is that this is but a tiny taste of the all-you-can-eat reaction shot salad bar to come...

Readers's Note: There is no Charlotte Gainsbourg reaction shot in the trailer, only her harmoniously haunting voice to open it, and so we remain staunchly committed to the idea that Ms. Gainsbourg plays the leader of a violent SETI splinter group. *Fingers crossed.*

Breaking Down the ID4: Resurgence Reaction Shots

Goldblum is back, baby, and he brought his "Oh my God" face with him. In truth, he says "Oh my God" paired with a different reaction shot earlier in the trailer, but I like this reaction shot better; this reaction shot doesn't need the "Oh my God."

IMDb tells me that Sela Ward plays the new ID4-universe President and that reaction shot is Presidential.

I've included an original President Whitmore reaction shot to contrast with a new President Whitmore reaction shot not simply to highlight the facial hair variance (did he become a Saddam Hussein-ish dictator post-ID4 invasion because he felt it was the best way to maintain Earth's safety only to be forcibly ejected by a Sela Ward coup d'état and sent into hiding?) but to showcase the difference twenty years makes in Presidential facial expressions. Young Whitmore had never seen anything like this; Old Whitmore thinks, seriously, this bullshit again? 

Whoops! I forgot Mae Whitman didn't get to be in the sequel! She seems apathetic.

Roland Emmerich worked with Joey King on his brilliant action movie bouillabaisse "White House Down" and obviously trusted her reaction shot game enough to re-hire her.

Is it just me, or does Judd Hirsch look like less of a schlemiel than he did in the first one?

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: "That guy behind William Fichtner is more on point with his reaction than William Fichtner." But the thing is, William Fichtner is William Fichtner. When you've looked into the eyes of Neil McCauley, what, you're gonna get bent outta shape over a few aliens? I imagine in the movie this reaction shot is followed by a Fichtner good-humored sigh combined with a "Well, how do you like that?"

Who In The World Will Charlotte Gainsbourg Be In Independence Day 2?

Virtually everyone in the original “Independence Day” that lived appears set to return for the seemingly unnecessary “Independence Day 2” aside from Will Smith. But Will Smith’s absence is not what intrigues Cinema Romantico. No, what intrigues Cinema Romantico is the presence of Charlotte Gainsbourg. That’s Charlotte Gainsbourg. Yes. You heard me. Lars von Trier regular, César Award winner, official card-carrying member of the Arthouse Charlotte Gainsbourg is going to be in “Independence Day 2.” This is incredible. This is the kind of out of the box casting Hollywood needs to be leaning on with a vengeance. How in the world is Charlotte Gainsbourg going to fit in with the original ID4ers? Ah, what an excellent question, inquisitive reader! Luckily we here at Cinema Romantico have a few theories!

Who In The World Will Charlotte Gainsbourg Be In Independence Day 2?

1. As the foremost and forgotten primary rival of Vivica A. Fox at her, ahem, adult dance club, Gainsbourg’s Loleola Eppinette, who was involved in a deep and passionate relationship with Harry Connick Jr’s Jimmy Wilder, blames Capt. Steven Hiller for her lover's death. She sets out on a path of both physical and psychological vengeance – successful at first, only to devolve into a literal canyon of existentialism when the second alien invasion commences.

2. Gainsbourg stars as Sophie Archambault, wife of the late French Prime Minister, killed in the alien attacks of “ID4”, not unlike President Whitmore’s own spouse. However, through a series of diary entries, reveals by staffers, soul-searching voiceovers, and crane shots set on windswept cliffs, we learn that Whitmore’s wife and Sophie’s husband were engaged in an illicit transnational affair. Inexplicably, Sophie and Whitmore are drawn to one another in their hour of need. A new alien invasion erupts. Sophie and Whitmore throw off the shackles of stewardship and opt for passion instead.

3. Despondent over the death of their beloved father, Russell Case, his three children, Miguel, Alicia and Troy, find themselves drawn into a doomsday cult lorded over by a charismatic if unstable woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg) whose fervent belief that extra-terrestrials would prove the savior of mankind has gone to pot. When another wave of aliens attack, she beseeches the heavens for the apocalypse. When the aliens are repelled once again, she vows to engender the apocalypse herself.

4. In a post alien-invasion world, relations between the United States and France grow testy when the latter accuses the former of being “too bossy” on account of its primary role as Earth’s savior and the former accuses the latter of “cowardice” in fending off their invaders. President Whitmore calls upon his trusted NATO Ambassador (Charlotte Gainsbourg) to ease tensions. Yet as the situation develops and a new alien threat emerges, the Ambassador begins acting wonkily as nations pull out of NATO left and right, turning their back on America. Eerie sounds echo throughout the White House. President Whitmore begins seeing the Ambassador at odd hours. He has visions of aliens. In a late film reveal, President Whitmore, combing through the Ambassador's file, realizes she was once a junior intern at S.E.T.I. and has since become highly involved in a violent splinter S.E.T.I. group advocating for alien rights. Hearing a clang behind him, President Whitmore turns, and there she stands with a digital readout of an impending alien invasion she has helped coordinate. The world is destroyed.

5. After a brief re-ignition of love with his ex-wife at the first film’s end only to have it fizzle out, David (Jeff Goldblum) has re-married with Sonia (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and they are living happily in the same tenement building as David’s wacky father (Judd Hirsch). Then a young ingénue (Ludivine Sagnier) moves in next door and almost instantly begins making doe eyes at David. Sonia suspects something is amiss. It is. Soon, David’s wacky father winds up dead in an accident that doesn’t seem so accidental. And now it appears Sonia might be next. There also aliens.