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MARS ATTACKS!
The endlessly imaginative directorial eye of Tim Burton, superb production values, and an impressive all-star cast make the 1996 satire Mars Attacks! solid comic entertainment and one of Burton's most underrated films.
In this affectionate salute to 1950's film classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the United States finds itself under attack from Martians who insist that they come in peace, but are just yanking earth's chain and end up destroying anything in their path.
The story is told through the eyes of a disparate group of characters and how they are affected by the attacks: Of course, we meet the President (Jack Nicholson), the First Lady (Glenn Close), and the First Daughter (Natalie Portman), who all have different views on the attack, not to mention the mixed messages the Prez is getting on handling the situation from the smarmy White House Press Secretary (Martin Short) and a gung-ho Army General (Rod Steiger). We also meet a former boxer (Jim Brown) working as a side show attraction in Vegas trying to get back to his ex (Pam Grier) and his sons; a greedy millionaire (also Nicholson) and his ditzy wife (Annette Bening), who is initially thrilled by the aliens' arrival, a noted scientist (Pierce Brosnan) and a talk show hostess (Sarah Jessica Parker); a pair of trailer trash brothers (Jack Black, Lukas Haas), oh, and Tom Jones.
Burton really knocked it out of the park with this expensive and expertly mounted satire that tells a hysterically funny story that manifests itself on one very clever comic bit, the fact that the aliens keep saying that they're coming in peace and that they are totally lying. Burton manages to take this very premise and present it with the proper respect to the long gone films that he's saluting here. And I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but I was also impressed by the special effects employed here, which are partially state of the art and partially semi-cheesy looking, giving the film an authentic 1950's feel that was pretty hard to resist.
With all the attention Burton gives to the production values, he still manages to get some solid performances from his cast, especially Nicholson, who beautifully underplays as the President, and Brown, who seems to be doing a lampoon of the films he did early in his career, but his stone-faced delivery was perfect for this kind of satire. Bening and Steiger also make the most of their screentime and a huge bouquet to the gifted Danny Elfman for his brilliant music. For fans of the director and of the genre being saluted here, this is a must.
The endlessly imaginative directorial eye of Tim Burton, superb production values, and an impressive all-star cast make the 1996 satire Mars Attacks! solid comic entertainment and one of Burton's most underrated films.
In this affectionate salute to 1950's film classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the United States finds itself under attack from Martians who insist that they come in peace, but are just yanking earth's chain and end up destroying anything in their path.
The story is told through the eyes of a disparate group of characters and how they are affected by the attacks: Of course, we meet the President (Jack Nicholson), the First Lady (Glenn Close), and the First Daughter (Natalie Portman), who all have different views on the attack, not to mention the mixed messages the Prez is getting on handling the situation from the smarmy White House Press Secretary (Martin Short) and a gung-ho Army General (Rod Steiger). We also meet a former boxer (Jim Brown) working as a side show attraction in Vegas trying to get back to his ex (Pam Grier) and his sons; a greedy millionaire (also Nicholson) and his ditzy wife (Annette Bening), who is initially thrilled by the aliens' arrival, a noted scientist (Pierce Brosnan) and a talk show hostess (Sarah Jessica Parker); a pair of trailer trash brothers (Jack Black, Lukas Haas), oh, and Tom Jones.
Burton really knocked it out of the park with this expensive and expertly mounted satire that tells a hysterically funny story that manifests itself on one very clever comic bit, the fact that the aliens keep saying that they're coming in peace and that they are totally lying. Burton manages to take this very premise and present it with the proper respect to the long gone films that he's saluting here. And I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but I was also impressed by the special effects employed here, which are partially state of the art and partially semi-cheesy looking, giving the film an authentic 1950's feel that was pretty hard to resist.
With all the attention Burton gives to the production values, he still manages to get some solid performances from his cast, especially Nicholson, who beautifully underplays as the President, and Brown, who seems to be doing a lampoon of the films he did early in his career, but his stone-faced delivery was perfect for this kind of satire. Bening and Steiger also make the most of their screentime and a huge bouquet to the gifted Danny Elfman for his brilliant music. For fans of the director and of the genre being saluted here, this is a must.