Burton's only failure.
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:55
Fresh:27
Rotten:28
Average Rating:5.7/10
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Director Tim Burton unleashes MARS ATTACKS!, a vicious, affectionate, brightly-colored homage to 1950s alien invasion movies. When a shiny silver flying saucer lands in the Nevada desert, a group... Director Tim Burton unleashes MARS ATTACKS!, a vicious, affectionate, brightly-colored homage to 1950s alien invasion movies. When a shiny silver flying saucer lands in the Nevada desert, a group of skull-faced Martians exit the gleaming craft. Although they claim to be peaceful, they promptly "vaporize" a gathering of unfortunate Earthlings, kicking off a bizarre high-tech war with wild special effects. This studiously campy sci-fi spoof, based on a series of Topps bubble-gum cards, gleefully parodies not only schlock B-horror movies, but also overblown blockbusters such as INDEPENDENCE DAY. This subversive film is helped along by an all-star cast including Jack Nicholson in dual roles as both a clueless U.S. President (with First Lady Glenn Close) and a Las Vegas sleazebag. The film follows the wacky WAR OF THE WORLDS-like proceedings from the points of view of numerous colorful characters, from the inane U.S. Press Secretary (Martin Short) to a trailer-park family (Lukas Haas and Sylvia Sidney), to singer Tom Jones (as himself). [More]
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Michael J. Fox, Joe Don Baker, Sarah Jessica Parker, Martin Short, Lisa Marie, Tom Jones, Natalie Portman, Lukas Haas, Christina Applegate
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Composer: Danny Elfman
Story: Len Brown, Woody Gelman, Wally Wood, Bob Powell, Norm Saunders
Screenwriter: Jonathan Gems
Producer: Larry J. Franco, Tim Burton
Reviews for Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks! wants to be the Dr Strangelove of alien B-movies, but isn't up to the challenge. Instead it's a paceless, overlong, and campy film partly redeemed by a number of hilarious and gruesome alien invasion skits.
If movies have pop cult I.Q.s, Mars Attacks scores somewhere beyond 200.
Since the movie is obviously designed to be a larky romp through low-culture cheese, it may seem mean-spirited to complain that in the end Burton's spectacle is a bit hollow.
A holiday film with no conscience whatsoever, Mars Attacks! will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it definitely will make you wonder about Earth's ability to defend itself in the face of higher life forms.
Just when you're about to give up hope, suddenly the aliens land, the gags start flying faster and faster, and the movie gets great in a hurry.
This messy masterpiece is the year's funniest comedy and a weird, winking affirmation of the power of the people.
A bizarre combination of eye candy, warped humor, social satire and comedic ultraviolence.
It has a silly juvenile appeal in its unrelenting and subversive camp satire of the pop culture scene.
While Mars Attacks! may not have been as good as it could have been, it is definitely one of the better sci-fi flicks to have headed our way in quite a while.
A frantic, funny love letter to an era of entertainment gone by, but also a top-notch example of modern comedy.
When the film's energy kicks in, though, so does Burton's flair for black comedy.
The film's penchant for repetition is faithful to its '50s source material and is the very quality that turns Mars Attacks! into such a marvelously unstable comedy.
Mars Attacks! is the film that Independence Day wanted to be but never could be.
As light entertainment, Mars Attacks! gave me more pleasure than most other recent movies I've seen.
Mars Attacks! is packed with memorable sights and hilariously ridiculous ideas.
Latest News for Mars Attacks!
September 22, 2005:
Critical Consensus: A Beautiful "Bride," A Bumpy "Flight," And a Bouncy "Bounce"
This week at the movies brings a twisted tale of love from beyond the grave ("Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"), a paranoid thriller at 40,000 feet ("Flightplan")... More...
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