[AerostarMonk]

I believe something must be said for Mars Attacks! Because nothing is ever said for Mars Attacks! It is neither ridiculed or applauded it seems. It seems to only pop up every so often in the media. The last time I heard anyone speak of this movie in the media was Chris Rock. Entertainment Weekly was reviewing him just before he hosted the Oscars a couple of years ago. He said his favorite movie that no one else likes is Mars Attacks! He always tries to talk to Burton about it but Burton always thinks he's being a wiseass and just ignores him.

Now, this movie is far from perfect, but it's just as far from horrible. There's quite a bit of charm to be seen in this film. For one thing, the fact that it was even made was a miracle. I don't know how many people have seen the grimly hilarious cards, but they really aren't easy source material to adapt. A true faithful adaptation in live-action would've been a hard R at best. But somehow Burton was able to capture the spirit of the whole idea and make it a mild PG-13. What's more is that many exact scenes from the bubblegum cards are still there. He planned to go on and adapt yet more bubblegum cards with the equally gruesome Dinosaurs Attacks! However due to the bad box-office returns with this film it never happened. I think this may have been due to the fact that the audience wasn't quite clear. It was obviously aimed at kids who would've loved the cards had they been released in the 90s rather than the 60s, but many of B-movie and sometimes Kubrickian overtones of the film seemed to be aimed at adults. I don't think those two things meshed too well with many who did see the film.

The all-star cast of the film was wonderful. Basically a who's who of has-beens, were-nows, and will-bes. From Pam Grier and Jim Brown to Natalie Portman and Jack Black, and everyone in between. The great thing about having a huge all-star cast is that you were actually surprised by how much screentime many of them actually had. I remembered thinking Michael J Fox would live through a great amount of the film only to be killed one-third into the story. Jack Nicholson pull double duty as the President and greedy land developer Art Land. Jack was ecstatic about working with Tim again and actually wanted to play every role.

One also must give credit to the Martians and their weapons. Actually straddling the fine line between comic and meancing, the Martians were a formidable adversary throughout the film. Trick robot hands, colorful lasers, shrink rays, giant mechs, and faulty translators made up their terrible arsenal. One of the funny things about the death rays colors is that they were only chosen because the movie was being released during Christmas season. Another equally funny thing is the Martian language was originally just a temp track, but because so many thought it was funny it was ultimately kept in the film. A very fine line was also walked with giving the entire outer space invasion a realistic feel mixed with the 50s Bs the movie was aiming for. If one pays attention they'll notice that the Martian saucers are actually updated versions of the same design used in Earth Vs Flying Saucers.

Overall, I could go on about this film all day. And over time I'll start to sound like an old man talking about the good old days. But that won't get you any closer to giving this movie another chance, because this movie gets no respect!