Unlike Burton's tribute to B-movie director Ed Wood or Mel Brooks' parody Young Frankenstein, this movie's self-awareness doesn't work.
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
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Reviews for Mars Attacks!
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.
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.
A bizarre combination of eye candy, warped humor, social satire and comedic ultraviolence.
This messy masterpiece is the year's funniest comedy and a weird, winking affirmation of the power of the people.
As light entertainment, Mars Attacks! gave me more pleasure than most other recent movies I've seen.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If movies have pop cult I.Q.s, Mars Attacks scores somewhere beyond 200.
Burton is at his funniest when the Martians are zapping away like brats playing a video game.
Nothing much is funny in Mars Attacks!, whose mildly amusing War of the Worlds story can best be described as... Mars attacks.
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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