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IMDbPro

Mars Attacks!

  • 19961996
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
233K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,540
803
Pierce Brosnan, Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, and Annette Bening in Mars Attacks! (1996)
Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan
Play trailer2:16
2 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedySci-Fi
Earth is invaded by Martians with unbeatable weapons and a cruel sense of humor.Earth is invaded by Martians with unbeatable weapons and a cruel sense of humor.Earth is invaded by Martians with unbeatable weapons and a cruel sense of humor.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
233K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,540
803
  • Director
    • Tim Burton
  • Writers
    • Len Brown(trading card series)
    • Woody Gelman(trading card series)
    • Wally Wood(trading card series)
  • Stars
    • Jack Nicholson
    • Pierce Brosnan
    • Sarah Jessica Parker
  • Director
    • Tim Burton
  • Writers
    • Len Brown(trading card series)
    • Woody Gelman(trading card series)
    • Wally Wood(trading card series)
  • Stars
    • Jack Nicholson
    • Pierce Brosnan
    • Sarah Jessica Parker
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 524User reviews
    • 139Critic reviews
    • 52Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 19 nominations

    Videos2

    Mars Attacks! (1996) Official Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:16
    Watch Mars Attacks! (1996) Official Trailer #1
    A Guide to the Films of Tim Burton
    Clip 2:11
    Watch A Guide to the Films of Tim Burton

    Photos152

    Jack Nicholson and Glenn Close in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Pierce Brosnan in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Pierce Brosnan, Jack Nicholson, and Rod Steiger in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    The Martian Ambassador greets Congress unexpectedly.
    Pierce Brosnan, Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, and Annette Bening in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Pierce Brosnan, Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, and Annette Bening in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Christina Applegate and Kevin Mangan in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Jim Brown and Janice Rivera in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Lisa Marie in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Michael J. Fox and Sarah Jessica Parker in Mars Attacks! (1996)
    Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks! (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jack Nicholson
    Jack Nicholson
    • President James Dale…
    Pierce Brosnan
    Pierce Brosnan
    • Professor Donald Kessler
    Sarah Jessica Parker
    Sarah Jessica Parker
    • Nathalie Lake
    Annette Bening
    Annette Bening
    • Barbara Land
    Glenn Close
    Glenn Close
    • First Lady Marsha Dale
    Danny DeVito
    Danny DeVito
    • Rude Gambler
    Martin Short
    Martin Short
    • Press Secretary Jerry Ross
    Michael J. Fox
    Michael J. Fox
    • Jason Stone
    Rod Steiger
    Rod Steiger
    • Gen. Decker
    Tom Jones
    Tom Jones
    • Tom Jones
    Lukas Haas
    Lukas Haas
    • Richie Norris
    Natalie Portman
    Natalie Portman
    • Taffy Dale
    Jim Brown
    Jim Brown
    • Byron Williams
    Lisa Marie
    Lisa Marie
    • Martian Girl
    Sylvia Sidney
    Sylvia Sidney
    • Grandma Florence Norris
    Paul Winfield
    Paul Winfield
    • Gen. Casey
    Pam Grier
    Pam Grier
    • Louise Williams
    Jack Black
    Jack Black
    • Billy Glenn Norris
    • Director
      • Tim Burton
    • Writers
      • Len Brown(trading card series)
      • Woody Gelman(trading card series)
      • Wally Wood(trading card series)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To make the Martian Girl costume as smooth as possible, it had no zipper or buttons on it. Lisa Marie had to be sewn into it every day before filming of her scenes in it could even began.
    • Goofs
      The shape of the President's tie changes several times during his "Little people... why can't we all just... get along?" speech to the Martian Leader. This is an in-joke reference to a similar continuity error with Jack Nicholson in the film A Few Good Men (1992).
    • Quotes

      Grandma Florence Norris: They blew up Congress! Ha ha ha ha!

    • Crazy credits
      A Martian spaceship flies around the opening Warner Brothers logo.
    • Alternate versions
      A television ad for the film had Marsha Dale saying (over the decision of what to do about the Martians): "Kick the crud out of 'em!" which was an edit to what she said in its theatrical version: "Kick the crap out of 'em!"
    • Connections
      Edited from Ghostbusters II (1989)
    • Soundtracks
      Escape (The Piña Colada Song)
      Written by Rupert Holmes

      Performed by Rupert Holmes

      Courtesy of MCA Records

      By Arrangement with MCA Special Markets and Products

    User reviews524

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Very enjoyable sci-fi spoof
    When Martians make contact with earth opinion is split into two camps between seeking peace or preparing for defence. When the inital meeting is turned into a massacre by a misunderstanding surrounding the dove of peace, the camp seeking war seem to have the stronger case. However the Martian Ambassator apologises and is allowed to meet before the joint houses in the US. However when the Martians use this as an way to wipe out America's leaders in one move. Security is stepped up and the world is put on a war footing, however the martians seem only interesting in destruction and death and deliver both with a wickedly cruel sense of humour.

    We all know that Tim Burton and sci-fi blockbuster movies don't always deliver the goods (planet of the apes anyone?). This was released in the same summer as Independence Day and ID came off much, much better. That was mainly because ID gave the people what they wanted - they wanted a little comedy, lots of fancy FX and explosions, nothing different that would cause them to think in any way, and the good guys (the Americans) must win and save the earth! Burton gave them most of that, but it was just too different!

    What we have here is a ID style story but it is infused with Burton's manic vision. This takes away from the blockbuster appeal of the average ID, but it makes it a much funnier, wierder experience. Some of it doesn't work, Nicholson's multirole performance is nowhere near the standard of Peter Sellers in Dr Strangelove (which he clearly aspires to) and some of the cameos are forced and silly. However all the stuff with the aliens works really well because it is so OTT and it knows it - Burton just lets his vision run wild. In place of ID destruction of the white house, we have the aliens knocking down the Easter Island statues like 10 pin bowling etc. Where ID took itself very seriously, Mars Attacks plays like a spoof of the 1950's sci-fi and comes off much better for it.

    As for the ending - of course it's absurd! Yes it's a bit of a leap to imagine that the aliens would be defeated in this way, but it doesn't matter because it's all tongue in cheek. It is no more stupid than ID which sees the aliens destroyed by Goldblum and Smith flying a spaceship (Smith flies it because he's seen one before - the scientists who have been studying it aren't allowed, even though they know how it works), into the core of the mothership, downloading a computer virus from Windows 98 onto the alien system and clearing off! Both endings are dumb, but at least Mars Attacks doesn't try to cover it up.

    There are so many actors here that to try and say who does well and who doesn't would take ages. So here we good. Good -Nicholson (as the president), Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, MJ Fox, Steiger, Pam Grier, Lukas Haas, Jim Brown and Lisa Marie. Bad - Glenn Close, De Vito, Short and a pointless "oh look it's...." cameo from Tom Jones. The actors given screen time are good but stars wheeled out for novelty value are a bit wasted generally.

    Overall this may not be to everyone's tastes. When it come out everyone seemed to expect another ID style film. However Burton's mad vision and comic touches make this a very enjoyable spoof.
    helpful•89
    35
    • bob the moo
    • Feb 22, 2002

    FAQ4

    • What is "Mars Attacks" about?
    • Is "Mars Attacks" based on a book?
    • What happens to the characters?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 13, 1996 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Warner Bros.
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Марс атакує!
    • Filming locations
      • Red Lake, Arizona, USA
    • Production companies
      • Tim Burton Productions
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $70,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $37,781,197
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $9,384,272
      • Dec 15, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $101,381,197
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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