Tim Burton’s the mind behind some of the most visually interesting films of our time and is synonymous with eccentric abstract designs. His take on the popular Martian trading card game to pay homage to the cheesy B-Sci-fi films that he grew up on. Does his satire stand the test of time?

Film

Mars Attacks! Is a unique movie to say the least and definitely a movie only Tim Burton could have directed.  Based on trading cards Tim Burton collected as a child, the movie centers on the basic idea that Martians have come to invade our planet. Featuring a large ensemble cast including Jack Nicholson (in two roles!), Glenn Close, Michael J. Fox and Pierce Brosnan, the film is basically a set up for 90 minutes of Martian chaos and a chance to watch some big stars get killed in bizarre and inventive ways like one of those disaster movies from the seventies directed by Irwin Allen, but meant to look like Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Some criticized this movie when it first came out as not being on the level of some of Burton’s earlier efforts like Batman and Beetlejuice, but I always thought this movie was a bit underrated. Although by no means an amazing movie, the film definitely has its moments. The film has a dark sense of humor and it’s a lot of fun once you get into it. It’s definitely aged better in regards to comparing it to other Tim Burton movies.  I was more disappointed with some of his latter efforts like Planet of the Apes and Alice in Wonderland than I ever was with this one.

It’s also fun to see things like Jack Black in an early role as a hillbilly soldier and Christina Applegate as his ditzy girlfriend. As well as Sarah Jessica Parker and Pierce Brosnan’s severed heads making out on the floor of the master control room of a UFO as it crashes into the ocean.  If that sounds  good to you, this movie is probably right up your alley. Plus, it’s got Tom Jones!

Video

Mars Attacks’s video is displayed using the VC-1 in the 2.40:1 aspect-ratio. Unfortunately the video is pretty crumby. With a very soft image with almost no details at times; it looked like upconverted SD footage especially on my projector. Obvious stock footage is sporadically used at times and the grain and film stock don’t match and it becomes very obvious when you see it.

Although some shots looked average, there are some that are almost unwatchable. I’m not sure if the transfer screwed up one some parts but there are a lot of grainy and distorted footage that are really ugly. The CGI hasn’t aged well either, with very choppy animation it also stuck out like a sore thumb and even with crappy video quality you can still pick out green screen shots, matte paintings and poor compositing.

Audio

Mars Attack’s audio comes at us using the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 codec and unfortunately is just as disappointing as the video quality. The dialogue is noisy and has this noticeable buzz which can be heard during gaps in conversation; the noise fades in and out as the actors speak.

Foley is unbalanced and at times can be unusually louder than other elements in the mix. For example at the end Lucas Haas’s character is giving a speech while holding a piece of paper and the paper crinkling is louder than his voice over a P.A.

The mix is one of the most front heavy mixes I’ve heard, I walked around the room listing to each speaker and the back and side speakers (in 7.1) weren’t producing any sound.

Some explosions are way too bassy and loud, especially during an undynamic mix where everything is coming through the front speakers to have these over-the-top sound effects try and make up for the fact the audio is crappy only worsened its case. I had to jog the volume back and forth.

Special Features

Unfortunately there are no special features.

Final Thoughts

Although the film was a bomb and even Tim Burton himself had said that the film felt like a Mad magazine version of Independence Day (which came out around the same time), it still maintains its charm and has aged well. Unfortunately the effects haven’t and the A/V presentation is very sloppy so I’d say rent the DVD to see the flick.