Mars Attacks! (1996)

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers (WGA):

Len Brown (trading card series) &
Woody Gelman (trading card series) ...

Release Date:

13 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Nice planet. We'll take it!

Plot:

The Earth is invaded by Martians with irresistible weapons and a cruel sense of humor.

Plot Keywords:

Martian | Alien | Las Vegas | Weapon | Scientist

Awards:

2 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jack Nicholson	...	President James Dale / Art Land
Glenn Close	...	First Lady Marsha Dale
Annette Bening	...	Barbara Land
Pierce Brosnan	...	Professor Donald Kessler
Danny DeVito	...	Rude Gambler
Martin Short	...	Press Secretary Jerry Ross
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Nathalie Lake
Michael J. Fox	...	Jason Stone
Rod Steiger	...	General Decker
Tom Jones	...	Himself
Jim Brown	...	Byron Williams
Lukas Haas	...	Richie Norris
Natalie Portman	...	Taffy Dale
Pam Grier	...	Louise Williams
Lisa Marie	...	Martian Girl

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi fantasy violence and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Israel:PG | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Tim Burton Productions

Trivia:

A flying saucer is shown flying through the clouds during the normal Warner Brothers logo title sequence showing the company's trademark shield with the cloudy sky background.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the aliens break into the president's compound, you can see where the door is going to split before it is blown open.

Quotes:

Art Land: I'm not a crook, I'm ambitious. There's a difference.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs This Island Earth (1955)

Soundtrack:

Humming

Outstanding Entertainment; Burton's Most Underrated Film

What a wild movie! I've begun to appreciate this more and more with multiple viewings. I think it's Tim Burton's most underrated film. Unlike many of his previous films, this seems pretty impartial when it comes to the satire: everyone gets it here, not just the usual Christians. Here, New Ange devotees and Liberal advisers and generals are also made to look stupid. This is probably one reason the national critics - who are overwhelming Left Wing - didn't like this movie. They weren't used to the same abuse some of us put up with all the time.

Politics aside, this is one funny movie. It's a combination of science fiction, drama and comedy. It's a parody of the 1950s flying saucer films except it has 1990s color and good special-effects. Burton was a fan of those corny '50s sci-fi films so he made his own!

The story quickly moves from one character to another, from the low-key President of the U.S. played by an unusually-reserved Jack Nicholson to the wacky New Ager Annette Benning to Martin Short with his goofy smile....well, there are so many characters here - most of them completely whacked - it's too many to mention. The diversity of these people and the subtle humor in which they are all presented is just as much fun to watch as the special-effects. The Martians are a real hoot. They have to be seen to be believed.

I didn't like all the characters but, most people won't either. For me, showing elderly people as senile (Sylvia Sidney's role) is mean-spirited; Rod Steiger has the stereotypical war-mongering General is getting tiresome and the obvious politically-correct role for Jim Brown also went overboard.

All in all, however, this is about as entertaining a film as I have ever found, nd one that gets more enjoyable with each viewing.....which is why I rate it so high.