Mars Attacks!

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Mars Attacks!

PG-13

1996

1h 43m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

57%

Tomatometer

90 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

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.

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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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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Mark Salisbury

Empire Magazine

12/07/2018

4/5

A giddily madcap, surreal, sardonic satire that sets out to be deliberately cheesy.

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

12/07/2018

3/4

Oh, those Martians! They are funny, mean little buggers, and they're worthing checking out.

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Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

Apr 10

B-

It's a novelty, an outlandish succession of scenes, some funny, a few memorable and as the movie drags on, more than a few, tiresome.

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John Beifuss

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Feb 9

3.5/4

Mars Attacks is a candy-colored comic book come to life.

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Justin Brown

Medium Popcorn

Jul 2

3/5

This was a wild movie with enough fun moments to keep me surprisingly entertained throughout.

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Canned T.

@RT40847707 May 16

It's funny, ironic, yet thrilling all at the same time, its definitely not one of the best alien/Si Fi movies out there, but a fun watch nonetheless.

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Steve G.

@dcssteve May 14

I really don’t know what to think of this movie. I am amazed they actually made it and it had all those stars in it. I can’t decide if I’m glad I watched it or not, but it was interesting to say the least. Some scenes reminded me of War of the Worlds, the original not the horrible version that Tom Cruise was in, pretty wacky.

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Davetheman

Mar 23

That is not good as the other Tim Burton movies but its still good to watch

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shane O

@Shanes_DVD_Shack Mar 21

It’s a good movie , good characters a good 90s feel .its a dark comedy I think people didn’t understand it at the time , It’s an underrated movie.

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Dominic Emmanuel S

@dominic726 Jan 19

this honestly Burton's most underrated film yet i can see why some people ranked it pretty low in their Tim Burton rankings

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Don S

@Bossgolf Jan 17

Ha.ACK ACK ACK. Pretty bad but WAY BETTER than "One Battle After Another" 2026

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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