Annette Bening, Glenn Close, Jack Nicholson

Amid speculation that a meteorite crashed to Earth from Mars some 15,000 years ago and contains indications of simple life forms, Mars Attacks! offers definitive proof of life on the Angry Red Planet....( read more  read more... ) No single-celled organisms, these alien invaders are the big-brained variety with a flair for ray guns and planetwide pandemonium. Citizens of Earth face their doom with gung-ho valor and brainless abandon as little green men from outer space gleefully terrorize the planet in an all-star, cross-country sci-fi comedy.

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49% liked it

361,234 ratings

Critics

49% liked it

55 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Tim Burton

Release Date: December 13, 1996

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DVD Release Date: June 24, 1997

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Stats: 15,653 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (15,653)


  • November 13, 2009
    I wasn?t expecting too much from this film, but I at least thought that the Star line up would mean something, for me it seemed a little unworthy of it?s cast, particularly Jack Nicholson and Glenn Close and found myself bored throughout.
  • September 9, 2009
    A loving parody of the classic 1950's 'Flying saucer' B-Movie. With a cast most directors would cut their right leg off to have, sending themselves up in the name of good clean fun! A welcome relief from the serge of awful big budget Alien films of the time.
  • May 9, 2009
    A weak film for Tim here despite a big budget. Dont get me wrong the effects are brilliant and the little green men are evil and hilarious in places but the plot is obviously crap and the fact its based on little more than trading cards much like 'The Garbage Pail Kids' series, y...( read more)ou cant expect a great film stretched out over almost two hours.
    The cast is awesome but I think a smaller lesser cast would have worked better, too big for its own good, although seeing some die is a nice touch hehe

    The fact is Burton cant seem to make a 'real' film cos he cant put his quirky, kooky, oddball looking style into it, unlike his dark near black and white personal projects. If it aint goth and spooky then Burton cant really get to grips with it....Mars Attacks falls down on this, its sci-fi, Burton cant do sci-fi, shame but true.

    Still an ok film in certain scenes but thats all, good for afew cgi effects really.
  • January 5, 2009
    This should have been really, really good but it just isn't.
  • December 21, 2008
    #10 Mars Attacks!
    It is said that only in a crisis can one judge a leader. Well, it's hard to imagine a greater crisis than flying saucers full of Martians invading Earth. President Dale (Nicholson) is persuaded by soft-hearted advisors to attempt friendly diplomatic relations wi...( read more)th the bug-eyed, huge-brained aliens. Sadly the plan fails and the aliens begin gleefully vaporizing every human and national landmark they can find, including the POTUS...
    President Speak: "Can't we all just... get along?"
  • November 15, 2009
    Absolutely ridiculous. In a good way. My goodness this movie is crazy! Mars Attacks is a very different view of aliens on Earth, and with an all-star cast showing their comedic chops, this is a really hilarious and classic Burton movie. Really great fun.
  • November 7, 2009
    This is a satire. Many people hated this cos they thought it was a serious film. It was MEANT to have cheap effects and cheesy acting. A great film.
  • October 30, 2009
    An enjoyable sci-fi comedy with a good cast.
  • October 25, 2009
    Suprised that I actually enjoyed this movie
  • October 19, 2009
    I watch this movie every year as a kid. I though it was funny.

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

First he made Ed Wood, a tribute to the man fondly recalled as the worst movie director of all time. Now Tim Burton seems to have made a tribute to Wood's work. full review

View more Mars Attacks! reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • ALSx
    June 28, 2008
    I LOVE This Film :)
  • Karez2much
    May 15, 2008
    Thank you to the previous commenter. This movie is Tim Burton's tribute to B-movies therefore it's not supposed to be high tech special effects or anything. That's also part of what makes it such a great movie and it's sad so many people don't realize how incredible it really is.
  • Rossjm
    May 8, 2008
    Stop going on about the graphics and whether it's because the budget was really low! They deliberatly made the graphics terrible. To mirror B-movies. That should be common knowledge by now.
  • bratzchick2
    April 3, 2008
    I think that this is a cool movie I only got to see it once with my dad and sister. :)
  • Issyy
    April 9, 2007
    I love this film. Me and my Brother used to watch it all the time =]

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Mars Attacks! Trivia


  • In the production of Mars Attacks, Tim Burton has said many times that he was told repeatedly he could not kill off Jack Nicholson's character in a movie. This led to his decision to cast Nicholson in 2 roles, both of which are killed off.   Answer »
  • What is the connection between Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Jones and Michael J Fox?  Answer »
  • Who was the presidents daughter in Mars Attacks?  Answer »
  • Who directed the following movies? - Sleepy Hollow - Corpse Bride - Big Fish - Batman - Mars Attacks!  Answer »

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