Mars Attacks
Nice planet. We'll take it!
Based on a series of Trading Cards, Mars Attacks! is a deliriously anarchic tribute to the B-Movies of the 1950’s. Befitting its trading card origins, it’s a chaotic movie in which style (the bright primary colours, the superbly tacky Danny Elfman score, the bug-eyed monsters themselves) take precedence over substance (actually having a plot) in no uncertain terms.
Apart from the opening scene, it is surprisingly slow to get started. Although, given the large number and diversity of the characters, taking a bit of time to set-up the jokes is well worth it for the huge number of pay-offs throughout.
Wisely, the acting is rather broad throughout and the film is populated by caricatures rather than characters. This makes it a lot easier to sit back and enjoy the cartoon-like violence that ensues once the film gets going.
Jack Nicholson puts in a great performance as the US president who allows himself to be led by his rather sleazy press secretary, Jerry Ross (Martin Short). Pierce Bronson also turns in the wonderfully stereotyped English Scientist, Professor Donald Kessler, who convinces the president of the Martians’ peaceful intentions.
Boy was he in for a shock.
Even after the first landing, and the first mini-rampage, Kessler clings to his belief in the Martians’ essentially peaceful intentions. His argument that a clearly advanced alien race would also be civilised, enlightened and benevolent is an appealing one and intelligently sends up the assumption prevalent in so many science fiction films, including Independence Day which was released in the same year, of the inherently aggressive nature of aliens. For once, the war-mongering general is proven to be right.
The attack on Congress - although inevitable had me laughing out loud, as did the invasion of Las Vegas with it’s flipping between the self and money obsessed residents and visitors and the rampaging Martians.
There are a couple of highlights in Las Vegas; Art Land (Jack Nicholson again) trying to pitch his hotel/casino to investors (”If the Martians land, they’re gonna need a place to stay! Just like everybody else!”) as the rampaging aliens destroy it, literally around him.
The other wonderfully memorable gag involves the Martian with the translator (”Don’t run, we are your friends”) keeping pace with his trigger happy comrades.
Mt Rushmore, The Taj Mahal and Easter Island are all subjected to the Martians’ hysterically cruel sense of humour.
Danny DeVito’s appearance in the film is quite late, but typically hyperactive and he delivers yet another of the film’s memorable lines (”You want to conquer the world? You’re going to need lawyers”).
As for the weapon that finally wipes out the invaders… funny fails to begin to describe it.
Before embarking on the final paragraph of this review, I took a quick scoot around Rotten Tomatoes to remind myself of the reactions to Mars Attacks! when it first came out. It got quite a savaging, on the basis of plot, characterisation, pace and any other stick that various reviewers could find to beat it with.
But none of these things really matter in this case. It reminded me a lot of the old Road-Runner cartoons; the gags are both cheap and obvious, but consistently laugh-out-loud funny. So forget about seeing a great film, just sit back and enjoy the mayhem.
Tuesday 11 Feb 2003 | Paul Pritchard | Comedy, Science Fiction
