Mars Attacks! (1996)

Too much of everything

So much average

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

One movie I love because it's very funny and well filmed, but parts of the story are dumb (especially the ending. It just stops) is Mars Attacks! A lot of fun and my second favorite Burton behind Ed Wood.

Okay, so what do you get when you take War of the Worlds, Earth vs the Flying Saucers, Independence Day, and combine that with the mind of the director of Ed Wood, Beetlejuice, and Edward Scissorhands who grew up watching those types of movies? The result is Mars Attacks!, a sci- fi parody with an all-star cast; Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Danny DeVito, Jack Black, Paul Winfield, Annette Bening, Rod Steiger, Natalie Portman, Lisa Marie, Glenn Close, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, and Jack Nicholson!!Oh yes, this movie has stars a-plenty! This movie has more stars on Earth than you see in space!This movie is one that you either love or hate. I love it! Though there are reasons why I rated it 9 stars rather than 10. One reason is because a lot of the characters I wanted to see live don't survive. Hell, one of my favourite characters dies very early on.If this was another movie, the dated CG would've made me dock another star. But for the type of movie it is and for the genre it's spoofing, the now-poor CG works. In the '50s and '60s alien invader films that this makes fun of, the effects were dated in 1996 (strings visible that hold up the saucers, aliens obviously people in suits, etc). As a result, the effects in here being dated now unintentionally harks back to the dated effects of the '50s and '60s.One very interesting scene is when one of the buildings in Vegas is destroyed. In real life, that building was actually scheduled to be demolished! Tim Burton got permission to film the demolition of the Landmark Hotel and Casino from multiple angles and it's demolition was used in the film so when you it destroyed in the movie, it was actually destroyed (though no one was actually inside.).My mom told me that she saw this in the theatre and that it was the most terrifying movie she'd ever seen. Goes to show that Mars Attacks! isn't for everyone.So if you like Tim Burton, alien invader films, sci-fi comedies or even all three, definitely give this film a watch.Also, keep an eye out for the meat packing tycoon from Ed Wood, one of Burton's earlier films. He plays an investor in this film too.

I saw this when it first came out and remember thinking it made for such a refreshing contrast to the awful Independence Day which had come out slightly earlier that same year. Where I found that latter film to be an exercise in sustained annoyance, Mars Attacks was a genuine, interesting oddity. On the surface it was another sci-fi comedy but in reality this was a very weird film to be given big budget treatment by a major Hollywood studio. It was pretty commendable that such a risk was taken in throwing all this money at something which was such a personal vision of its director Tim Burton.On one level this is a parody of earnest 50's sci-fi movies but it's equally ram packed to the gunnels with black comedy. It's also an ensemble film with a huge cast of star actors and actresses but I don't think I can remember any other film which so wilfully enjoys killing off its A-Listers. Burton also seems to relish destroying Las Vegas and having the aliens run riot in Washington D.C. Its anarchic nature is unusual for this type of high budget movie that's for sure. In general, while certainly uneven, this is a comedy with a way higher than average laugh ratio, with many very funny moments sprinkled throughout. Many of this humour revolves around the Martians themselves who not only look hilarious with their huge brained heads but they also elicit laughs as soon as they open their mouths and bark 'Ark!...Ark!...Ark-Ark!'. Their general behaviour, too, was side-splittingly nihilistic – shooting the dove of peace, laser-blasting human beings whenever possible (usually after pretending they were being nice) and having the audacity to tell running crowds 'don't run we're your friends' while firing their guns at them! Too funny.This one has unsurprisingly developed a very Marmite reputation. Some love it, many hate it and there is very little opinion that falls in between. But its very individuality and the fact it was so markedly different in tone and attitude to the monumentally irritating Independence Day are reasons to treasure it as far as I'm concerned. Burton himself is a very hit and miss director but I reckon this has to go down as one of his most bold, original and enjoyable efforts.

Mars Attacks (1996): Dir: Tim Burton / Cast: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Natalie Portman, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox: Satire of alien invasion films where little green people invade earth. They have ray guns that can fry people into skeletons. The title is a satire onto itself presenting a media frenzy. Great idea with a clever solution that bares resemblance to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. The structure is such a mess that one must wonder if director Tim Burton allowed everything to run amuck while the cameras run. Burton is a visual genius with such films as Beetlejuice and Batman but here the visuals are plainly the only element of function. The gigantic cast is a waste including Jack Nicholson as the President and Vegas hotel owner. Glenn Close plays the First Lady. Natalie Portman plays their ignored daughter. Pierce Brosnan plays the President's chief of staff who is abducted with Sarah Jessica Parker where the aliens remove their heads and place them on the bodies of dogs. Michael J. Fox plays a reporter or media personality who doesn't last long in the celebrity wasteland that this film becomes. And the list goes on but many of them are nuked before we care. The film seems to be a parody take on old alien invasion films and the spirit is there but the payoff seems to be off target. The visual effects and production are a payoff but the story turns to guck. Score: 5 / 10