Review of Mars Attacks! (1996) by Spangle — 14 Dec 2016

Known for his gothic films, Tim Burton embraces his weird side in Mars Attacks! Okay, he embraces his weird side in every film he has ever made, but I mean, his really weird side. Light, stupid, and incredibly funny, Mars Attacks! is an riotously funny science fiction comedy that is more than in on the joke and knows actions on screen are absurd. With its tongue placed firmly in its cheek, Tim Burton's film offers more laughs than it knows what to do with, while also giving a humorous look at people's reactions to the attacks. From weirdos in Vegas to a pair of kids who were clearly prepared for the attack, the President, the military, and rednecks in Kansas, Mars Attacks! offers some political insight, but more or less settles for being tongue-in-cheek science fiction film and I was more than okay with this approach.

Spoofing 1950s science fiction films, Mars Attacks! features an ensemble cast led by Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Natalie Portman, Jack Black, Pam Grier, Christina Applegate, and Ray J before his Kim Kardashian sex tape. This cast hams it up a ton in their various roles with each of them engaging in hysterical encounters with the attacking alien forces. As for standouts among this cast, Nicholson is a big highlight in a duel role as the President and, in Vegas, as real estate developer Art Land. Offering two very different performances between the serious President and the outlandish and crazy Art Land, Nicholson is both a calming presence and a great source of dry humor in the film. Natalie Portman is also hysterical here as the President's daughter. Though incredibly young, her deadpan delivery and comedic timing make every word that leaves her mouth comedic gold. Pierce Brosnan as a cocky professor, Sarah Jessica Parker as a fashion talk show host, and Martin Short as the White House press secretary, are also highlights here.

Plot-wise, Mars Attacks! is pretty typical with a lot of the film focusing on determining whether or not the aliens are hostile or not. However, once they get their answer ("spoiler": they are going to attack), all hell breaks loose. Burton steps on the gas, pours fire on it, and laughs maniacally as the film spirals into control. With entertaining deaths, great one-liners and gags along the way ("they killed Congress!"), and fun action set pieces, Mars Attacks! embraces the absurdity and has a ton of fun with it. In particular, an encounter between Martin Short and an "attractive" alien is hysterical. Additionally, the running dialogue between Pierce Brosnan's severed head and Sarah Jessica Parker's head attached to a dog's body is both absurd and even more comical when considered in the context of the situation they find themselves in during the film.

With purposely cheap-looking aliens, the film reaches great heights as a spoof with oddly comical aliens that openly mock the science fiction genre and dedication put into making realistic looking aliens. Yet, in terms of spoofing the genre, its depiction of the United States is great. Dignified, advanced, and self-assured, the generals and President are quickly bamboozled by the aliens who use their own inventions as comedic tools (the translator running gag is great). Even better, the use of nuclear weapons being quickly embraced by the aliens is tremendous, as is the full-scale invasion of Washington DC, the use of the Washington monument, and the mayhem in the White House. All are uproariously absurd and keep making you wonder, "Did that really happen?", but the answer to this question is also, unequivocally, "Yes and it was glorious." By mocking the death of a useless Congress, the ineffectiveness of the nuclear bomb, the gung-ho general, and peace-loving President and Professor, Mars Attacks! really satirizes many elements of politics and it is hard to say what side the film comes down on. At the end of the day, both the pacifists and war advocates wound up dying. If anything, Mars Attacks! seems to say, "F*** it we all die anyways.".

With gloriously terrible computer animation, hilarious dialogue, purposely awful music (that Grandma deserves the Congressional Medal of Honor for listening to that stuff), and a lively cast who deliver their lines with the right amount of cheese, Mars Attacks! is a great comedy film. Spoofing B-movies and 1950s paranoia-laced science fiction horror, Mars Attacks! demands that its audience be willing to go along with it throughout. This does not mean shutting off your brain or anything stupid like that. Rather, its brand of humor is all its own and requires that the audience just accept this oddity that will unfold and tries to enjoy the ride. As a result, Mars Attacks! is wildly divisive, but I found myself to be firmly residing in the "Yay" section.