30 years later, 'Independence Day' is still the movie to watch every July 4 — and you can stream it for free

'Independence Day' turns 30 this year and — (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

It feels like for as long as there's been summer, there's been the summer blockbuster — those larger-than-life, action-packed flicks that heat up the box office and the pop-culture zeitgeist over the hottest weeks of the year. From "Jaws" to "Jurassic Park," "The Dark Knight" to "Top Gun: Maverick," those big-budget spectacles are just as much tentpoles of the warm-weather season as baseball games, beaches opening and the ice cream man.

And this summer marks the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters ever: "Independence Day," the 1996 sci-fi juggernaut that starred Will Smith, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum and went on to become the highest-grossing film of that year, grossing over $817 million worldwide against a $75 million production budget.

In the four decades since the Roland Emmerich-directed movie crash-landed into theaters in July 1996, an "Independence Day" rewatch has become an annual summertime tradition. And you can revisit the crowd-pleasing film for completely, totally free on Tubi.

What is 'Independence Day' about?

The regularly scheduled summertime antics of the human race are brutally interrupted when an extraterrestrial mothership decides to invade Earth and annihilate all of humanity. (In the middle of barbecue season?!)

To ensure human survival and guarantee that our species will have many more summers to come, a group of military personnel and some unlikely heroes — including Marine pilot Captain Steve Hiller (Will Smith), satellite engineer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) and President of the United States Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) — must unite in a desperate global counterattack scheduled for, you guessed it, the Fourth of July.

And if you need a dose of patriotism leading into the titular holiday, Pullman's POTUS delivers what may be the most famous presidential speech since the Gettysburg Address.

This is the perfect time to stream 'Independence Day' for free

The White House in "Independence Day" — (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

"Independence Day" laid the groundwork for all summer blockbusters to come, including fellow disaster-focused contemporaries like "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon." Along with being a massive commercial success, the quintessential popcorn movie was also praised for its then-groundbreaking special effects (it took home the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and earned a nomination for Best Sound) and Smith's star-making performance, which helped propel the actor to the top of the A-list.

Both of those entertaining elements helped critics overlook the film's weaker qualities: "The plot is thin and so is character development, but as a thrilling, spectacle-filled summer movie, 'Independence Day' delivers," per the critical consensus over on Rotten Tomatoes, where the film has a 69% approval rating.

Sure, "Citizen Kane" it's certainly not, but "Independence Day" has endured for four decades because it's an all-American good time, with a great ensemble cast (Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Robert Loggia, Vivica A. Fox and Harvey Fierstein also star, among others), the highest of stakes and plenty of explosions. What more could you want from a summer blockbuster?

Stream "Independence Day" on Tubi now

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Christina Izzo is a writer-editor covering culture, food and drink, travel and general lifestyle in New York City. She was previously the Deputy Editor at My Imperfect Life, the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York.