Mars Attacks (1996)

[Watching an alien on TV]
First Lady: [after seeing the Martians for the first time] I'm not allowing that thing in my house.
President Dale: Sweetie, we may have to. The people expect me to meet with them.
First Lady: Well they're not going to eat off the Van Buren china.

The 50’s gave us the real introduction to sci-fi films containing aliens and space travel and being a new genre they were granted B status and therefore (just like film noir) had low budgets and often poor visual effects but some of them grew to cult status and have a high rating even today.  Films such as It came from Outer Space (1953), Invaders from Mars (1953), The War of the Worlds (1953), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956) all deal with alien invasion of some sort and Mars Attacks! is a spoof and homage of them all, perhaps Earth vs the Flying Saucers in particular.

Tim Burton, who directed the film, initially wanted stop animation for the aliens but was eventually convinced on CGI courtesy of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic).  The aliens in the film look like a modernised version of those from Invasion of the Saucermen (1957) and the saucers look and act like the ones from Earth vs the Flying Saucers.  

The film has a host of big names being Jack Nicholson (playing two roles, the President James Dale and Art Land), Glenn Close (First Lady Marsha Dale), Annette Bening, Pierce Bronson, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Natalie Portman and Jack Black.  

Without ruining the experience for anyone, the movie is basically about aliens coming to earth with the intention to take possession.  They like what they see and they want it!  The United States welcomes them, thinking that because of their big brains, they must be peaceful but it becomes clear that it is not their intention.  The movies from the 50’s were quite serious in nature but I assure you this is NOT the case with Mars Attacks! as can be seen by…well almost everything in and about the movie.  How the aliens talk, the machinery used by the military (uniforms and vehicles are 50’s style), what the character’s say, how they say it etc just screams an odd yet memorable comedy.  The opening scene in the movie will have you laughing and the way the humans defeat the aliens is downright funny as well.  Sadly, all this does not guarantee a great movie but it is entertaining and you will likely never watch a 50’s sci-fi again without having a flashback of this film with a giggle.  It has its ups and downs but if you go in with no expectation and just laze back to enjoy the show, you will enjoy it.  

The Bluray reviewed was imported from the UK and has a great image in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio with quite a powerful DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 sound.  You can get the DVD from Australia (there is no Bluray in Australia) but it would have cost me about the same price but with a drop in image quality.  There are no extras on the Bluray.  This really begs to have a special edition with a great doco on 50’s sci-fi and how they made this film as a homage and spoof.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie as a 50’s sci-fi spoof and alien invasion comedy.  There are some really funny scenes that just shows the film makers just wanted to have a blast making it.  As long as you don’t expect a deep quality story, it will give you more than a few laughs.   Personally, I’m glad I bought it because it just goes along with the 50’s sci-fi that I enjoy but with a comic angle.  But I would recommend hiring it out first to see if you like before spending the $$.

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