1997 · Barry Sonnenfeld · 98 min · Sci-Fi, Comedy
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have such perfect odd-couple chemistry that they make this breezy, inventive sci-fi comedy feel effortless, even when the plot is mostly an excuse for them to bounce off each other.
1996 · Roland Emmerich · 145 min · Sci-Fi / Action
Independence Day is the summer blockbuster in its purest 1990s form, a movie that blows up the White House in its trailer and spends two and a half hours earning the fireworks. Will Smith punches an alien into movie stardom, Jeff Goldblum stammers his way through saving the world, and Bill Pullman delivers a presidential speech that still gets quoted every July. The science is nonsense, the plot resolves via a laptop, and the cheese is applied by the shovel. Absolutely none of that has ever mattered to the millions who rewatch it annually on purpose.
1990 · 6 Seasons · NBC · Comedy
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air made Will Smith a star through a fish-out-of-water comedy that was funnier, more culturally significant, and more emotionally complex than its premise suggested. The class and cultural dynamics between Will and the Banks family provide comedy with genuine social observation, and the dramatic episodes, particularly the famous father scene, achieve an emotional power that transcends the sitcom form. The later seasons lose creative energy as the show became more of a vehicle for Smith's stardom than a comedy about culture clash.