While Hollywood leaves us reeling from sequels and remakes -- someone Rising or Returning -- there’s the matter of Independence Day: Resurgence. It took twenty years for director Roland Emmerich along with producer Dean Devlin to dream up a worthy second chapter to the 1996 box office smash. Have they succeeded?

With good and evil clashing once more, the film follows a worldwide alien invasion. Unlike the first entry, humanity now carries an ace up its sleeve: advanced technology. Suspension of disbelief notwithstanding, the opening scene includes futuristic helicopters and even colonisation of the moon. Despite leaving these details unexplained, the characters  face a new and mysterious entity. Reacting with fear rather than understanding, the current president orders the military to shoot first. There’s more to this, yet spoilers prevent expansion. Meanwhile, the same aliens we saw in ’96 eventually turn up, only this time their mother ship covers a larger chunk of the Earth’s surface.

Initially, I felt bewildered due to Brent Spiner's reappearance as Dr. Oaken. Apparently, this scientist was left for dead during Independence Day. How could he return? Suffice to say, the explanation seems relatively easy, although Spiner’s dialogue does include the funniest lines. Even more perplexing, I assumed that Jeff Goldblum would lead this comedic ensemble. Therefore, Emmerich has created Independence Day: Resurgence without considering the fan boys in the audience. Rather careless if you ask me.

Meanwhile, Maika Monroe -- rather effective in the horror film It Follows -- comes across as unmotivated and dull. She’s got the potential to be excellent, yet Emmerich doesn’t know how to extract such talent here.

In my view, Independence Day was a standalone cinematic trip. It didn’t require a sequel, yet we got one anyway. For Independence Day: Resurgence, some familiar faces return including Judd Hirsch, Bill Pullman and Vivica A. Fox. However, there’s no sign of Will Smith, who declined participation.

Also, we are missing composer David Arnold. A magnificent collaborator whose strong work in the 1990s marked him as one to watch, Arnold respected the Hollywood Golden Age. Those big orchestral movements favoured theme over mere background accompaniment. Because men like Harald Kloser and Thomas Wander have become go-to composers for director Roland Emmerich, each soundtrack experience has diminished as a result. Compounding this frustration, Independence Day: Resurgence contains scant musical inspiration.

(Released by 20th Century Fox and rated "PG-13" for sequences of sci-fi action and destruction, and for some language.)