Mars Attacks!
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A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.
What critics thought
Critics landed squarely in the middle on Burton's alien-invasion pastiche, with most agreeing the concept is sharper than the execution. The central argument was whether lovingly recreating the badness of 1950s B-movies is itself funny or simply bad — and most felt Burton kept the audience at an ironic arm's length rather than letting the absurdity breathe. The ensemble spectacle impresses on paper but leaves little lasting impression in practice.
“Ed Wood himself could have told us what's wrong with this movie: the makers felt superior to the material. To be funny, even schlock has to believe in itself.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Mars Attacks! is all 1990s cynicism and disbelief, mocking the conventions that Independence Day takes seriously. This all sounds clever enough but in truth, Mars Attacks! is not as much fun as it should be. Few of its numerous actors make a lasting impression and Burton's heart and soul is not in the humor”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“You have to admire everyone's chutzpah: the breadth of Burton's (and writer Jonathan Gems') movie references, which range from Kurosawa to Kubrick; and above all their refusal to offer us a single likable character. Perhaps they don't create quite enough deeply funny earthlings to go around, but a thoroughly mean-spirited big-budget movie is always a treasurable rarity.”
Richard Schickel·Time
“a cult sci-fi comedy miscast as an elaborate, all-star studio extravaganza”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“Mars Attacks! evokes plenty of sci-fi classics, from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) to Dr. Strangelove (1964), but it doesn't do much beyond that superficial exercise. Except for Burton's jolting sight gags (I may never recover from the vision of Sarah Jessica Parker's head grafted onto the body of a chihuahua), the comedy is half-developed, pedestrian material.”
Desson Thomson·The Washington Post
Genres
Comedy, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Cast & Crew
Tim BurtonDirector
Jack NicholsonPresident Dale / Art Land
Glenn CloseMarsha Dale
Annette BeningBarbara Land
Pierce BrosnanDonald Kessler
Danny DeVitoRude Gambler
Martin ShortJerry Ross
Sarah Jessica ParkerNathalie Lake
Michael J. FoxJason Stone
Rod SteigerGeneral Decker
Lukas HaasRichie Norris
Natalie PortmanTaffy Dale
Danny ElfmanComposer
Peter SuschitzkyCinematographyMars Attacks!
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.
What critics thought
Critics landed squarely in the middle on Burton's alien-invasion pastiche, with most agreeing the concept is sharper than the execution. The central argument was whether lovingly recreating the badness of 1950s B-movies is itself funny or simply bad — and most felt Burton kept the audience at an ironic arm's length rather than letting the absurdity breathe. The ensemble spectacle impresses on paper but leaves little lasting impression in practice.
“Ed Wood himself could have told us what's wrong with this movie: the makers felt superior to the material. To be funny, even schlock has to believe in itself.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Mars Attacks! is all 1990s cynicism and disbelief, mocking the conventions that Independence Day takes seriously. This all sounds clever enough but in truth, Mars Attacks! is not as much fun as it should be. Few of its numerous actors make a lasting impression and Burton's heart and soul is not in the humor”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“You have to admire everyone's chutzpah: the breadth of Burton's (and writer Jonathan Gems') movie references, which range from Kurosawa to Kubrick; and above all their refusal to offer us a single likable character. Perhaps they don't create quite enough deeply funny earthlings to go around, but a thoroughly mean-spirited big-budget movie is always a treasurable rarity.”
Richard Schickel·Time
“a cult sci-fi comedy miscast as an elaborate, all-star studio extravaganza”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“Mars Attacks! evokes plenty of sci-fi classics, from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) to Dr. Strangelove (1964), but it doesn't do much beyond that superficial exercise. Except for Burton's jolting sight gags (I may never recover from the vision of Sarah Jessica Parker's head grafted onto the body of a chihuahua), the comedy is half-developed, pedestrian material.”
Desson Thomson·The Washington Post
Genres
Comedy, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Cast & Crew
Tim BurtonDirectorJack NicholsonPresident Dale / Art LandGlenn CloseMarsha DaleAnnette BeningBarbara LandPierce BrosnanDonald KesslerDanny DeVitoRude GamblerMartin ShortJerry RossSarah Jessica ParkerNathalie LakeMichael J. FoxJason StoneRod SteigerGeneral DeckerLukas HaasRichie NorrisNatalie PortmanTaffy DaleDanny ElfmanComposerPeter SuschitzkyCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy