Battle of Area 51 ( Independence Day) (4/9)

Independence Day was one of the biggest blockbusters of the 1990s. The special effects of the film definitely have not aged as well as Star Wars, but the movie is a lot of fun so long as you accept it for the corny sci-fi flick it is.

The film tells the story of an invasion of Earth by an alien race, who use their advanced technology to quickly overwhelm the human defenses. All seems lost for the human race until the end of the film when the launch a last ditch defensive maneuver by flying an alien ship into the mothership to upload a virus and deploy a nuclear weapon from the inside.

Meanwhile, a force of F-22 raptors led by President Thomas Whitmore attack the alien saucer ship above Area 51 to distract them. The virus succeeds in destroying the saucer ship’s deflector shields, enabling one F-22 raptor piloted by Randy Quaid (in what is depicted as a rather humorous scene with the famous “it’s payback time!” quote) to sacrifice himself by ramming the plane into weapon port of the alien aircraft.

Humanity then rejoices in victory as the alien ships crash down into Earth in what resembles to be a display of fireworks.