A.V. Club's guide to saving the world the Will Smith way
Now that's what we call a close encounter of the awesome kind: Smith in "Independence Day"
Article Tools
In two days, we celebrate our Independence Day, the 233rd annual commemoration of the American colonies' adoption of the Declaration Of Independence. But the colonies' legal separation from Britain can technically be celebrated today, a day marked by another monumental event in human history: the first time Will Smith saved the world. Yes, it was on this day in 1996 that the former Fresh Prince launched a nuclear warhead into the heart of an alien mothership, assuring the survival of mankind ("Mankind: That word should have new meaning for all of us today…") and a $306 million gross for Independence Day. From that day forward, Smith could be expected to surface nearly every summer—and one December—to pull the world back from the brink of destruction and foil any threat, be it alien, robotic, vampire, or steampunk. With Master Pancake Theater set to mock Smith's ID4 (Remember when ridiculous summer blockbusters came with equally ridiculous promotional nicknames?) efforts this weekend, Decider would like to honor his work, and possibly inspire a new generation of Captain Steven Hillers through these tips for saving the world with a cocky grin on your face and a cigar clenched in your teeth. (It's for the look; "he don't light it".)
Quip first, ask questions later
"Welcome to earth. [Punch.]" With one line and one mean right hook (pretty much booking Ali in one blow), Smith changed his image in the public eye from "street-smart West Philadelphian living with his auntie and uncle in Bel-Air" to "badass alien fighter." During Men In Black's climactic battle, Smith's use of fire and rocks does little to keep the "big, bad bug" from escaping—it's not until he starts crushing roaches from a nearby Dumpster and insulting the creature's connection to its earthbound brethren that the insectoid E.T. becomes distracted, thus allowing Tommy Lee Jones to shoot his way out of its stomach.
Never underestimate the power of a good pair of sunglasses
Permanently hungover, homeless superhero Hancock needs his shades to block out the harsh rays of the sun (and the collateral damage caused by his careless heroics), while Agent Jay's Ray-Ban Predators are the only things keeping him from neutralizing away his alien policing know-how. There needs to be a degree of exclusivity to these sunglasses, however: Smith's only world-saving financial failure, 1999's Wild Wild West, was tied to a cheap line of eyewear sold at Burger King.
Get a nerdy sidekick
In the exposition-heavy intro of Men In Black II, it's revealed that since the departure of Tommy Lee Jones' uptight, torch-carrying Agent Kay, Smith has gone through one partner after another. It isn't until Jones' return that Smith is capable of stopping a tentacled Lara Flynn Boyle from kidnapping alien princess Rosario Dawson (so, so many diminished returns, Men In Black II). Smith may get the world-saving credit, but there's usually someone less suave and considerably more left-brained backing him up, like Jeff Goldblum (Independence Day), Bridget Moynahan (I, Robot), Kevin Kline (Wild Wild West), or Jason Bateman (Hancock).
Save the girl first
Put yourself in this scenario: You're Will Smith in Independence Day, and you're the only person on the planet to have taken down an alien fighter. Do you cool your heels in Area 51 while Data plays biology class with the captured alien? Oh, hell no. You commandeer a helicopter and go find your stripper girlfriend. Though, when it comes to Salma Hayek in Wild Wild West, let Kline take care of her—turns out she's already married.
Turn a past trauma or childhood dream into inspiration
Sometimes, we are driven by the fantasies that never leave us, like Smith's Independence Day desire to go into space, which prompts him to accept the suicide mission to destroy the mothership. Sometimes, it's an event from our more recent past, like the [spoiler alert] amnesia-inducing attack that turns Hancock into a drunk, or the robotic rescue that inspires Smith's I, Robot technophobia. Either way, if a hero is to save the world, they have to have one concrete detail from their past—easily explained through visual clues, flashbacks, or expository dialogue—influencing their every decision and quirk.
If the source material doesn't end with you saving the world, just change the ending
Further spoiler alerts: Both Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend and the 2007 Francis Lawrence film it inspired end with main character Robert Neville dying and thus becoming "legend." (A similarly inevitable end comes to the Legend-based protagonists of The Last Man On Earth and The Omega Man.) But Matheson's Neville and the one played by Smith in the film are legends for different reasons: In a brilliant twist, the novel explains that as the "infected" rebuild civilization, the non-infected Neville will be viewed as "a new terror born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever" (the bogeyman of the new civilization, essentially). Never one to send audiences away on a down note, Smith's Neville sacrifices himself to save his fellow survivors, but not before handing off the cure to the apocalyptic vampire infection, because Will Smith doesn't go out without the promise of a sequel (an I Am Legend prequel is in the works, by the way) unless he's going out while saving the world.
