Chapter 120: The Disgusted and the Excited
"The destruction of New York and Los Angeles fell like dominoes. Flames spread, cars flipped, buildings collapsed, and the whole world shattered in a sea of red fire. When the White House and the Empire State Building were blown to pieces from top to bottom, I felt the entire theater shaking."
The staff at the Los Angeles branch of APP Survey Consulting were in for a busy weekend, gathering firsthand on-site feedback at major theaters right after the midnight screenings.
"When that pilot flew his plane in a suicide run against the alien ship to protect his family, I was in tears!"
"A grand alien invasion, an epic Earth counterattack—an excellent, thrilling sci-fi blockbuster!"
"The film didn't disappoint. I was absolutely blown away by the sequence where major cities across America were bombarded! It proves that Duke Rosenberg's films are truly worth the wait!"
"The plot was tight, the scale was massive, and the concept of an energy shield was fascinating. Since nuclear strikes were useless, using a computer virus as the ultimate weapon to paralyze the alien ships was incredibly creative!"
Hames, stationed at a theater near Beverly Hills, collected almost universally positive reviews. The midnight screening audience rated the film extremely highly. The explosion sequences and the final decisive battle, in particular, earned praise from countless moviegoers.
Although there were a few negative comments complaining that "the plot is too simple and full of holes" or "there are no bright spots besides the special effects," they were vanishingly rare. They made up less than a twentieth of the random audience members he interviewed.
Trading gifts for completed questionnaires, Hames also received the midnight screening statistics from the partner theater chain. This theater had four movies opening with midnight screenings simultaneously. The other three were direct competitors to Independence Day this weekend, but judging by the audience distribution, these rivals weren't even in the same league.