Mars Attacks! (1996)
Directed by Tim Burton

Film Review

After his affectionate biopic Ed Wood (1994), which celebrated the life and work of one of the less well regarded purveyors of B-movie fantasy, director Tim Burton was keen to offer up his own homage to those schlock 1950s sci-fi movies which, once reviled, have now acquired a cult following.  He took as his inspiration a set of children's trading cards issued in the early 1960s entitled Mars Attacks!, which were noted for their grisly images of torture and carnage.  In his film, Burton sets out to evoke the visceral nastiness of the trading cards whilst simultaneously respecting the conventions of the B-movie science-fiction movie.  He certainly succeeds in the former, but he somewhat misses the point when it comes to recreating the undefinable magic of the B-movie sci-fi romp.

Mars Attacks! is one of Tim Burton's most ambitious films - it cost around 80 million dollars to make - but it was also one of his least successful.  Having garnered mixed reviews, it made less than 40 million dollars on its original American release, although it fared somewhat better on its international release, grossing around 100 million dollars overall.  The film suffered by comparison with Independence Day (1996), another sci-fi blockbuster (in a more serious vein) which had been released a few months previously.  Whilst the computer generated effects in Mars Attacks! are striking, they are far less convincing than those offered by Independence Day, and the film is also let down by a dearth of plot and character depth.  Despite the panoply A-listers, we basically don't care who gets zapped - none of the characters manages to be more than a dull one-dimensional caricature.  From the moment the Martians show up and start death-blasting everything in sight, we are pretty well on their side.

Mars Attacks! lacks both the visual impact of Burton's earlier blockbuster Batman films and the wild eccentricity of his first fantasy romp Beetlejuice (1988).  It also struggles to be funny, although some of the humour does hit home on repeated viewings.  Presumably, we are supposed to be impressed by the all-star cast - which includes Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito and, most improbably, Tom Jones (why, why, why...?) - but impressed we are not, as most of the A-listers are only put up so they can be fried in front of our eyes by the trigger-happy Martians.  The nasty little aliens are much more fun and provide the few twisted laughs that just about make watching the film worthwhile.  Mars Attacks! is impressive in parts but overall it fails to make much of an impact.  From a director who clearly loves and knows his sci-fi B-movies, it is surprising that his tribute to the genre should fall so wide of the mark.

Film Synopsis

With the Earth surrounded by an armada of Martian flying saucers, American President James Dale spots an immediate opportunity to boost his popularity rating.  Despite warnings from his military adviser General Casey that the Martians might be hostile, President Dale insists on arranging a welcoming committee, certain that he can broker a peace with the aliens.  When the Martian Ambassador lands, it first looks as if Dale's optimism may be well-placed, until the Martians open fire on the mass of assembled humans.  Professor Donald Kessler advises the President that there may have been a cultural misunderstanding and presses him to continue peaceful negotiations with the Martians.  A second encounter in the United States Congress ends with the bulb-headed aliens massacring every human in sight, by which point their intent is more than evident.  They have come to claim planet Earth as their own!