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Movies / On DVD / Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks!

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Mars Attacks! (1996)

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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]

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Release:

Sep 6, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Mars Attacks!
  • tim burton returns to the studio where he enjoyed his greatest successes, with "beetlejuice" and the first two "batman" movies
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Mars Attacks!

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    The pinko commie Independence Day, Burton's film orders an invasion of little green men not to reinvigorate our all-American bloodlust, but to make us look like complete and utter boobs.

    Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul | comment Comment
    09/01/09
    Rob Nelson
    Rob Nelson
    City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Susan Stark
    Susan Stark
    Detroit News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Perhaps they don't create quite enough deeply funny earthlings to go around, but a thoroughly meanspirited big-budget movie is always a treasurable rarity.

    Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
    08/25/08
    Richard Schickel
    Richard Schickel
    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    08/25/08
    TV Guide's Movie Guide
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    oaded with wit, nifty little ideas and an extraordinary sense of design, but its allure is of quite a particular nature, much closer to that of Ed Wood than of Burton's earlier, and far more commercially successful, works.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    08/25/08
    Todd McCarthy
    Todd McCarthy
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Burton's only failure.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    08/25/08
    Channel 4 Film
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Burton is at his funniest when the Martians are zapping away like brats playing a video game.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    09/27/07
    Rob Gonsalves
    Rob Gonsalves
    eFilmCritic.com

    It has a silly juvenile appeal in its unrelenting and subversive camp satire of the pop culture scene.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    01/06/07
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Unfortunately, it's not very good.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    02/09/06
    Derek Adams
    Derek Adams
    Time Out

    This may not be the best or funniest effort by Burton. It is his biggest, and a lot of fun, too.

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    04/09/05
    Robin Clifford
    Robin Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    A most unpleasant surprise to all those who based their expectations on Burton's previous work.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
    05/22/03
    Dragan Antulov
    Dragan Antulov
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    Just a parade of scattershot gags, more often weird than funny and most often just flat.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    05/20/03
    Janet Maslin
    Janet Maslin
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
    05/14/03
    Jeanne Aufmuth
    Jeanne Aufmuth
    Palo Alto Weekly

    A very disappointing effort by director Tim Burton.

    Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
    03/16/03
    Robert Roten
    Robert Roten
    Laramie Movie Scope

    A frantic, funny love letter to an era of entertainment gone by, but also a top-notch example of modern comedy.

    Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
    11/07/02
    James Rocchi
    James Rocchi
    Netflix

    Only moderately amusing.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    10/29/02
    Desson Thomson
    Desson Thomson
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's got attitude, goodness knows; it has stars by the fistful; and it certainly was made with technical skill. What it doesn't have is enough of a story to fill an hour and 46 minutes.

    Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
    10/15/02
    Margaret A. McGurk
    Margaret A. McGurk
    Cincinnati Enquirer

    Mars Attacks! is packed with memorable sights and hilariously ridiculous ideas.

    Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
    09/10/02
    Kevin N. Laforest
    Kevin N. Laforest
    Montreal Film Journal
     
     
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