Mars Attacks (1996)
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Mars Attacks (1996)
JACK NICHOLSON as the Prez GLENN CLOSE as the First Lady
PIERCE BROSNAN ANNETTE BENING DANNY DeVITO
MARTIN SHORT SARAH JESSICA PARKER MICHAEL J. FOX NATALIE PORTMAN ROD STEIGER
JIM BROWN PAM GRIER LUKAS HAAS SYLVIA SIDNEY TOM JONES JOE DON BAKER PAUL WINFIELD & JACK BLACK
Directed by TIM BURTON
Glenn Close isn't able to be anything more than bitchy in her part. Brosnan, just starting as the new James Bond a year earlier, plays the stiff heroic scientist who isn't able to be heroic; he smokes a pipe well. Bening is wasted in the role of a new age beatnik. DeVito has a throwaway 5-minute cameo; I dunno why he's credited so high. Jim Brown & Pam Grier play it straight, as if in another kind of film.
There are some amusing bits: Short is amusing, as usual, as the White House press secretary and Steiger manages to be a hoot as the warmongering general (and as a counterpoint to the peacetime general played by Winfield, also amusing). Tom Jones plays himself in the last act and also manages to be funny. Jack Black's role is brief but this was the earliest sign of his comedic talent.
Overall, though, I get the impression that director Burton wasn't sure of what he was doing. This shows in the different styles of acting from all above. The sci-fi card set from '62 on which this film is based was fairly horrific and graphic for its time. Burton chose to temper the horrific aspects (grisly death) with moments of hammy humor, but there's no consistency. The film begins, for example, with the eerie scene of the cattle on fire, an ominous beginning, but in the next moment, the tone becomes goofy. I was never really sure whether to laugh or be shocked during most of the film. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10
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