Mars Attacks! (1996)

Genre

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Director

Tim Burton

Country

USA

Cast

Jack Nicholson, Glenn close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Lisa Marie Smith, Sylvia Sidney, Tom Jones, Christina Applegate, Pam Grier, Jack Black

Storyline

After discovering that an army of Martian UFOs are hovering around the Earth, the President of the United States (Jack Nicholson) prepares to meet the supposedly friendly aliens. But when the Martians come to Earth, it's more than clear that they have other plans for the Earth and humans.

Opinion

I've seen a lot of Tim Burton's movies but I would have never expected something like this from him. I mean, "Mars Attacks!" is such a silly and over-the-top sci-fi comedy. But that was the intention and the film is actually quite entertaining. 

When it comes to stupidity,  the story wins the first prize. It is ridiculous, bizarre and doesn't make a lot of sense - I wonder how they did come up with the idea of Martians killing people just for fun - but I'd say it's so bad it's awesome.

The characters are also quite bad. They are flat and each of them represent a cliché. We have the pacifist, the warmonger, the intellectual, and so one, but that's one of the things that makes the film entertaining. In fact, I believe there's nothing better than watching Martians killing all those stereotypical characters, and since they are having so much fun, you'll probably have a good time as well.

Other than being dumb and unrealistic, some of the characters are also quite funny mostly because of the actors portraying them. Like Jack Nicholson and Pierce Brosnan, just to name a few. Or Sylvia Sidney who plays the funniest character, grandma Florence. I would have loved seeing Jack Black a little longer though, his character is one of the best.

The humour will not please everybody. But if you have a dark (and sadistic) sense of humour, you're going to like it. I guess. And at last the special effects: they are tacky, cheesy and have aged terribly, but they suit the film to perfection.