I you're a sci-fi fan you might like this film, you might not. If you're a Tim Burton fan you might like this film, or you might not. I you're a fan of mixed genre films you might like this film, you might not. Personally, I really liked this wacky little flick. Mars Attacks! is a spoof of 1950's sci-fi movies, poking fun at all their cheese and cliché. It centers around a variety of characters spread out amongst the USA and how they all react and cope with a martian invasion. There's nothing in this film to take seriously and, for what it's worth, I found it to be hilarious and a ridiculous amount of fun, no matter how stupid it can be.
Mars Attacks! is, in a way, genius. It is the kind of movie that is designed in such a way that you can't critique it. You can dislike it, or even hate it, but you can't necessarily critique it on any specific element. The reason being is that it spoofs a genre and a time period for that genre, so anything that is cheesy, silly, or stupid can be accredited to the film's spoofing. If a character does something irrational and idiotic, it is spoofing the way characters were in so many of those cheesy 50's flicks. If something totally bizarre and unbelievable happens in the plot, blame it on the genre the film is spoofing. This kind of manipulations practically falls under the category of film treachery, but I have to give the film credit for finding a loophole around any and all imperfections.
And as far as imperfections go, Mars Attacks! has a lot of them. It is a ridiculous, absurd, unrealistic, and plot hole ridden film. Half of it makes no sense and the other half we just sort of have to go with. But the brilliant thing is, that's all part of the fun. This film isn't made to take seriously, and neither is it made to be criticized and scrutinized. It is meant to be enjoyed and only aims to be silly and entertaining. Some will see it as an uncreative way to force us to enjoy this movie, I see it as an opportunity to have a great time and numerous laughs.
Another thing I have to give Mars Attacks! plenty of props for is production value. The film rounds up an all star cast of characters with everyone from Danny DeVito to Jack Black. It is also just a large scale flick with lots of great actions sequences with plenty of explosions and giant collapsing buildings. The martians themselves are completely CGI. They look cool to me but I'm unsure if the CGI would be considered good or bad for 1996. I would have to go back and compare it to other special effects of the 90's. The film may looks cheesy but, once again, that just goes back to the fact that everything about this film is cheesy because that is what it is spoofing. But when you think about it, a good amount of money and construction went into making this film as exciting and big budget cheesy as possible, and for that I have to commend it.
Mars Attacks! isn't what you would call a high quality film, but that doesn't stop it from being pretty damn fun. I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the cheesiness, the irony, and the satire that is littered throughout this film. I see this is a great use of satire, and it is a spoof film that I can actually stand to watch, and that's saying a lot considering my alternatives would be Epic Movie or Vampires Suck. Mars Attacks! accomplishes what it sets out to do, and so I had a really great time with it.
Mars Attacks! is, in a way, genius. It is the kind of movie that is designed in such a way that you can't critique it. You can dislike it, or even hate it, but you can't necessarily critique it on any specific element. The reason being is that it spoofs a genre and a time period for that genre, so anything that is cheesy, silly, or stupid can be accredited to the film's spoofing. If a character does something irrational and idiotic, it is spoofing the way characters were in so many of those cheesy 50's flicks. If something totally bizarre and unbelievable happens in the plot, blame it on the genre the film is spoofing. This kind of manipulations practically falls under the category of film treachery, but I have to give the film credit for finding a loophole around any and all imperfections.
And as far as imperfections go, Mars Attacks! has a lot of them. It is a ridiculous, absurd, unrealistic, and plot hole ridden film. Half of it makes no sense and the other half we just sort of have to go with. But the brilliant thing is, that's all part of the fun. This film isn't made to take seriously, and neither is it made to be criticized and scrutinized. It is meant to be enjoyed and only aims to be silly and entertaining. Some will see it as an uncreative way to force us to enjoy this movie, I see it as an opportunity to have a great time and numerous laughs.
Another thing I have to give Mars Attacks! plenty of props for is production value. The film rounds up an all star cast of characters with everyone from Danny DeVito to Jack Black. It is also just a large scale flick with lots of great actions sequences with plenty of explosions and giant collapsing buildings. The martians themselves are completely CGI. They look cool to me but I'm unsure if the CGI would be considered good or bad for 1996. I would have to go back and compare it to other special effects of the 90's. The film may looks cheesy but, once again, that just goes back to the fact that everything about this film is cheesy because that is what it is spoofing. But when you think about it, a good amount of money and construction went into making this film as exciting and big budget cheesy as possible, and for that I have to commend it.
Mars Attacks! isn't what you would call a high quality film, but that doesn't stop it from being pretty damn fun. I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the cheesiness, the irony, and the satire that is littered throughout this film. I see this is a great use of satire, and it is a spoof film that I can actually stand to watch, and that's saying a lot considering my alternatives would be Epic Movie or Vampires Suck. Mars Attacks! accomplishes what it sets out to do, and so I had a really great time with it.