jesscampbell-88742 This star studded dark comedy is a good film although it often drags and sometimes becomes too heavily burdened by the star power. The premise is simple: Earth is invaded by Martians but unlike what HG Wells envisioned, these sinister aliens have a different agenda. Looking at other reviews it is not easily to classify this film as good or bad- some love it others cannot stand it and then some consider it a guilty pleasure. See and decide yourself.

Leofwine_draca Tim Burton's sci-fi spoof was a massive flop on first release; this was because audiences were expecting a straight science fiction film, when what they got in fact was a comedy. People either love or hate this film, there is no in between, and thankfully I'm in the former camp in this case. As a comedy, Burton's film is wonderful. A star-studded cast of famous faces send themselves up shamelessly, all of those tacky alien invasion pictures of the 1950s are referenced and paid homage too, and on top of all this, we have loads of excellent CGI effects to contend with. The comic book feel of the film comes from the rich, bright colours, everything looks fake and tacky, and it's meant to.Along the way we get take-offs of WAR OF THE WORLDS, EARTH VERSUS THE FLYING SAUCERS, and INDEPENDENCE DAY. The Martians themselves are a delightfully mischievous little bunch who enjoy mass destruction and sadism. Comedy highlights include a scene where one such Martian runs through the burning streets with a tape playing "Do not run. We are your friends!"! The bulging brain and eyeballs of these creatures make them very distinctive and difficult to forget, and as a bonus they're excellently animated too. The UFOs are also wonderful.As with any comedy, things are hit and miss, but as a whole this film is a success. It's difficult to believe the ensemble cast assembled here. Jack Nicholson overacts in not one but two roles as the president and an entrepreneur. Glenn Close appears briefly as his wife before being crushed by a falling chandelier. Annette Bening is an annoying New Ager who sadly doesn't get incinerated by the aliens. Pierce Brosnan plays a clichéd British scientist who ends up minus his body in one of the film's many odd and unique moments. Sarah Jessica Parker is the braindead chat show host who gets her head attached to the body of her dog. Danny DeVito is an obsessive gambler who fails to impress an alien enemy and gets fried. Michael J. Fox loses his hand. Martin Short mistakes an alien in disguise for his newest girlfriend and has his finger chewed off for his troubles. Rod Steiger goes way, way over the top as an antagonistic general ("Annihilate! Destroy! Kill! Kill!) and gets shrunken and then stepped upon. Lukas Haas (all grown up from WITNESS) is a dumb teenage hero. Natalie Portman is the president's daughter. Tom Jones cameos as himself. Jim Brown and Pam Grier come back from the '70s. The list goes on.Everybody sends themselves up and acts appallingly. They seem to be having a really good time and this feeling rubs off. Burton also doesn't skimp on the violence, revelling in burning cattle, destruction (the stone heads on Easter Island turned skittles is a good one), people being ray-gunned and turning into multicoloured skeletons, amputations, and various other gory highlights, all in the spirit of the original sadistic Topps trading cards of the '60s. Ever wished that dog in INDEPENDENCE DAY had bought it? Here's your chance to see a canine fry. As a satire, MARS ATTACKS! has a winning formula and should be seen by any good-natured science fiction addict.

FilmBuff1994 Mars Attacks is a mediocre movie with a poorly developed story, despite a top notch cast. For a film with a premise as bizarre as a group of aliens based on trading cards attacking Earth, parodying Science Fiction from the 1950's and featuring a gigantic slew of cameos, it is surprisingly bland. It does not deliver it's promise nearly as much as it could have, the cameos feel very much like they were done for the paycheck and its satire of cheesy disaster films was something we have already seen done, to a much more effective degree, by the Zucker brothers. The lead cast members do a good job, Jack Nicholson is great as the president and throws himself in to this universe effectively, Pierce Brosnan is also very funny in his professor role, proving comedic talent. It surprised me with a set up like this, directed by the versatile imagination of Tim Burton, that Mars Attacks bored me, it is not as bad as it could have been, but it was certainly was not as good either, might be worth the watch if you see it on television and want to form your own opinion, but I would not recommend it. The Government must act fast when the Earth is attacked by powerful aliens. Best Performance: Jack Nicholson/ Worst Performance: Tom Jones

sddavis63 My first impression of this film from director Tim Burton is that it was pretty slow to get started. Indeed, it takes quite a while before Mars attacks anything or anyone. But once things get started (about 30 minutes or so in) this turns into a decent comedy-action movie that's fun to watch. Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but fun and witty, including some decent political commentary that seemed to skewer conservative and liberal alike, as the general (Rod Steiger) takes a "nuke 'em" position before there's even contact, while the professor (Pierce Brosnan) is convinced that it's all just a misunderstanding that can just be talked out, even as the Martians are busily incinerating the entire human race! And no one seemed especially upset when the entire Congress was wiped out!This has a truly stellar cast. Aside from Steiger and Brosnan, there's Jack Nicholson as the President, Glenn Close as the First Lady, Martin Short as the press secretary. There's Annette Bening, Michael J. Fox, Danny DeVito, Tom Jones, a young Natalie Portman, Sarah Jessica Parker. There's more. The credits that open the movie go on and on and you know all the names. And they all take this just seriously enough, while also clearly understanding that it's all tongue in cheek stuff.I liked the Martians. They're cartoonish - in a creepy kind of way - which fits Tim Burton perfectly. I also thought that the action (once it got going after that slow start) was pretty well done and the special effects weren't bad either. It's ending is a clear and well done spoof of "War of the Worlds," as the Martians fall before a power they couldn't cope with. (You'll have to watch this to find out what that power is.)It's not great, but there are worse ways to kill a couple of hours on a lazy Saturday afternoon. (6/10)