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Movies / On DVD / Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks!

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Mars Attacks! (1996)

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49 %
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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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Mars Attacks!

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41 - 57 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Mars Attacks! is the film that Independence Day wanted to be but never could be.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
John Paul Powell
John Paul Powell
Jam! Movies

As light entertainment, Mars Attacks! gave me more pleasure than most other recent movies I've seen.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

With Mars Attacks, director Tim Burton has created not only an instant cult hit, but a very offbeat black comedy that parodies martian invasion films, disaster films, and many aspects of our popular culture.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Each step is away from the imagination that made the cards exciting to adolescents and towards a sort of smirking patronization of the spirit of the source material.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Mars Attacks! is not so much a spoof of 'B' science fiction films as it is an homage to them. But those 'B' films were usually bad, and this homage to them suffers for the same reasons.

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

A knowing and loving tribute to those cheesy B-movies.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

Flaming white hot death to anyone involved in this crappy film!

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Oz
Oz
eFilmCritic.com

Sadly empty exercise.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post

As sci-fi spoofs go, Mars Attacks! may never be topped.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

First he made Ed Wood, a tribute to the man fondly recalled as the worst movie director of all time. Now Tim Burton seems to have made a tribute to Wood's work.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is plenty of imagination in Mars Attack!, but the ideas prickle rather than tickle.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw
rec.arts.movies.reviews

A throwaway piece of pop ephemera, like a '90s Casino Royale, momentarily arresting and soon forgotten.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Rosenberg
Scott Rosenberg
Salon.com

A skewed marriage of mainstream pop and Burton's own eccentricity

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Shane Burridge
Shane Burridge
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Like a well-constructed bad painting, there is much to admire in the film, but the net effect leaves you dispassionate.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

Probably the biggest let-down since the second season of Twin Peaks.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ted Prigge
Ted Prigge
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Galactic hoards of fun, but slightly disappointing bubble-gum sci-fi flick.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

John Waters will weep with envy.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Walter V. Addiego
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Examiner
 
 
41 - 57 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3
all

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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