Mars Attacks! is the film that Independence Day wanted to be but never could be.
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!
As light entertainment, Mars Attacks! gave me more pleasure than most other recent movies I've seen.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There is plenty of imagination in Mars Attack!, but the ideas prickle rather than tickle.
A throwaway piece of pop ephemera, like a '90s Casino Royale, momentarily arresting and soon forgotten.
Like a well-constructed bad painting, there is much to admire in the film, but the net effect leaves you dispassionate.
Galactic hoards of fun, but slightly disappointing bubble-gum sci-fi flick.
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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