Mars Attacks!

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Mars Attacks!

PG-13

1996

1h 43m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

57%

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95 Reviews

53%

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250,000+ Ratings

A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale (Jack Nicholson) receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler (Pierce Brosnan) that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.

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Critics Consensus

Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! faithfully recreates the wooden characters and schlocky story of cheesy '50s sci-fi and Ed Wood movies -- perhaps a little too faithfully for audiences.

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Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

Aug 14

Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! is an unabashed throwback to Atomic Age sci-fi, as well as a comic rejoinder to the same year’s Independence Day.

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Marc Lee

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Jul 16

Too often we are served silliness rather than wit.

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Bernard Zuel

Sydney Morning Herald

Apr 29

You watch this understanding that the ready irony and lampooning of American mores here is exactly what the makers of Independence Day forgot.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

21h

2/4

This one-note, one-joke dud ranks as a major disappointment from director Tim Burton.

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Jeff Beck

The Blu Spot

Aug 12

3.5/5

Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! is a loving homage to cheesy sci-fi B-movies of the '50s that remains a rather entertaining romp even after 30 years thanks to its ability to relish in its ridiculousness.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Aug 12

4/5

Mars Attacks! doesn’t feel like it lives in one period or another just because of how they mixed up so many styles.

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P O

@Old-school Aug 13

20 years later now and it's a classic that Hollywood could never create today. Laughing so much as they say today LMAO. We need Martians to drain the swamp.

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Priya C

@Sci-FiTrekkie Aug 11

I kept hearing about this film among science fiction enthusiasts and finally got to give it a try. I felt the film was a very bland mess. There’s some humor (not a lot) that was somewhat funny but overall I didn’t feel anything while watching this. I know that it’s supposed to be satire, but it just felt badly done. There’s a lot of A-list actors here who sadly aren’t given much to work with. The only elements of the film I enjoyed the most were the design of the Martians, their language, machines, and the ending (which was creative).

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Saya T

@Hand-Banana Aug 10

An absolute classic.

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Bucky R

@Bucky3085 Aug 3

Still funny after all these year. Ridiculous start to finish!

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Mila V

@RT49866762 Jul 18

Absolutely ridiculous and wonderful. Excellent cast.

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Justin L

@leejustin268 Jun 26

Yeah what they think of films and movies out then and the ones to come. Moooortal kooombat Oh forgot . Have fun with movies like this The giant klaw.

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Tim Burton

Director

Jack Nicholson

President James Dale

Glenn Close

First Lady Marsha Dale

Annette Bening

Barbara Land

Pierce Brosnan

Professor Donald Kessler

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Synopsis

A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale (Jack Nicholson) receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler (Pierce Brosnan) that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.

Director: Tim Burton
Producer: Tim Burton, Larry J. Franco, Laurie Parker
Screenwriter: Woody Gelman, Bob Powell, Norman Saunders
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $37.8M
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: Surround

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