A Quick Reminder of What Happened in the First ‘Independence Day’

It’s been 20 years since Independence Day, when Randy Quaid and company showed the way this planet deals with violent extraterrestrials — we explode ’em. Friday marks the release of Independence Day: Resurgence and a new battle against some, well, really mean aliens. To help you remember what previously happened, we’ve assembled the four things (Get it? Fourth of July?) you should remember from the original.

1. The Heroes

Jeff Goldblum, as David Levinson was a schlub who, against all odds, figured out how to defeat the aliens. Bill Pullman, as Thomas Whitmore. Whitmore was president of the United States and, against all odds, oversaw the victory in ’96. Will Smith … isn’t coming back. But he was Stephen Hiller, who, against all odds, took out an alien and then led an assault against the mother ship. Hiller survived the ’96 war but died in 2007 after experiencing a malfunction midway through a flight test of an alien fighter.

2. The Destruction

A lot of famous buildings here in the U.S. were destroyed, not the least of which was the White House.

3. The Quotes

We showed you a couple already: “Welcome to Earth,” “Hello, boys, I’m back.” The most famous, of course, was President Whitmore’s motivational speech:

“Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind. Mankind — that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution but from annihilation. We’re fighting for our right to live, to exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday but as the day when the world declared in one voice: ‘We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive!’ Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!”

4. The Win

Levinson used a virus to disable the alien force fields. Joined by Hiller, he infiltrates the mother ship and then sets off a nuke to destroy it. With the force fields disabled, the rest of the gang takes on a destroyer ship headed their way, but it only gets defeated when Russell Casse, Quaid’s character, sacrifices himself in a kamikaze attack. Word spreads on how to defeat the aliens, and there ya go!

Independence Day: Resurgence Star Jessie T. Usher Talks Close Encounters and Death-defying Stunts:

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