Mars Attacks! (1996) – re:Visit – RedLetterMedia
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I loved Jack in this as President Dale. Snuck into this movie as a kid. Parents thought I was watching something else. Got caught at the end coming out of the theater, my parents were waiting there. Totally worth it.
This movie was the **Ack ack ACK ACK** back in the day.
I’ve always said that if you took the plot of Independence Day (which is 100% textbook in how to structure a movie like this, but kinda lacks character) with the tone of Mars Attacks (which has fun wacky moments but is a mess) you’d have a basically perfect movie.
Though I actually love Nicholson as the president in this. He’s the only character who seems aware of how stupid all of this is, and is just so exasperated. Hell just put *him* in Independence Day as the president, it would be hilarious.
It’s weird how I never liked that movie either. I thought it should be right up my alley, because I’m one of the guys who finds 1941 hysterically funny.
I saw this movie as a kid and had literal nightmares about their laser guns haha
Everything they love about Gremlins 2, I love about Mars Attacks. Definitely Tim Burton’s most underrated in my opinion
I have always had a certain fondness for this movie. It’s just pure chaos, like watching someone buy an expensive train set and crash it (or in this case, murder a bunch of A-list actors in creative ways).
I’m sure nostalgia plays a huge part in my love for this movie, but even with it’s paper-thin plot I adore it for what it is: a modern take on shitty 50’s/60’s sci-fi b-movies
I’m surprised they were so critical. I get some of what they’re saying, but I think it’s pretty superficial. The movie for me really succeeded at what it set out to be. It feels like they wanted more prestige out of the casting of great actors, but I always thought the point was to get a bunch of recognizable people together to make a fun movie about the stupidity of humanity.
And they seem to ignore the character arcs, even as they literally talk about them. They specifically call out how it’s an underdog story with Lukas Haas and Jack Black.
This is one of my favorite movies for sure, and I can understand it’s not going to be a Citizen Kane or even an Independence Day, but that’s because it’s a “Gremlin movie” as they put it, and it really succeeds at what it set out to do. It’s using outright silliness to amplify what is a terrifying, morbid and highly cynical story.
One of the films I literally will change to Black and White and adjust the contrast to make it look like a 1950s film.
Always wanted to do an audio edit to make it sound like a 50s film as well.
I do wish though we would get more accurate adaption of the original cards though, which [are legitimately terrifying](https://vintagecardprices.com/pics/3265/1_189947.jpg). Done more in the tone of something like Come and See or Brest Fortress would be utterly amazing.
And maybe instead of houses, we can live in teepees
I watched this movie on LSD in a hotel room. Truly a memorable experience all around.
I remember being so hyped about the movie back when it was announced that the aliens would be done mostly though stop-motion, only for the finished film to have tons of ugly CGI.
To my mind, Mars Attacks is the moment when Tim Burton started to fall apart.
This is one of the few RLM videos I had to tap out before the end, they totally missed the point of the movie which is a parody of shitty 50s and 60s alien invasion films.
Mike wanted the relationship between Michael J Fox and Sarah Jessica Parker to be explored? Did he understand the characters at all? Why get to know them when they were supposed to be shallow and immature caricatures of media people at the time?
He also wanted a 1996 film to be more “political” like a modern film? Does he even remember what the 90s were like? Pre 9/11 was the last time many of us felt optimistic about the future and politics were mostly an afterthought. We didn’t need to check the news every hour like we do today.
They didn’t like the “editing” where congress gets vaporized? That was one of the best scenes in the film, no one has ever complained about Mars Attacks editing unless they outright disliked the film
This is probably their worst review since the “Lady Ghostbusters ruined my childhood” fiasco that made them unwatchable for a while, they should have either not put this review out or made it shorter, I’m not watching 52 minutes of bad takes.
Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack!
Seeing Jack Black in this movie is so surreal
Not my absolute favorite Tim Burton film (Nightmare before Christmas and Beetlejuice are tied), but still an enjoyable romp.
My families Christmas movie. Now my kids Christmas movie. It sums up our holidays together.
Loved this movie the first time I saw it, fuck the haters…
That being said, Jack Nicholson had to have owed somebody a favor when he made this movie. Cheesy comedy/sci fi just doesn’t seem like his forte in the 90’s
**ACK ACK ACK ACK**
The cult following for this movie baffles me. It didn’t at the time and it doesn’t now come across as any kind of homage to shoddy 50’s b movies, nor does it work as a satire of big blockbusters. It’s just a crappy modern movie that looks genuinely bad most of the time.
I love the cards and if you told me there is a Mars Attacks! movie based on the cards, this is exactly how I’d imagine it. Utterly devoid of plot, characters, or consequence.
Like, was this just used by Burton as an excuse to cameo friends and get an easy payday out of it?
As someone who grew up not far from one of the filming locations (Burns, KS), this movie has a special place in my heart. They actually blew up the donut shop on location. It was awesome. I recently went and stood where Jack Blacks character waited for the bus. Kinda silly, but fun to think this HIT of a movie was partially filmed a stones throw away.
Going off of everything they said Mike Judge seems like he would’ve been a better pick for this movie than Tim Burton
OH HELL YES
The scene where Richies grandma had her headphones unplugged and she turns around and says “Richie I think these guys are sick” always kills me lmaoo
I had stirrings inside when that blonde with the beehive hair and thousand yard stare started waving her arms while gliding around.
Probably better to learn that about an aggressive gum chewing kink sooner than later?
A fun film that low-key creeped me out. Coneheads had the same effect on me.