Mars Attacks! 4K UHD Review
Tim Burton drops the ball with “Mars Attacks!”
Based on the Topps trading cards, 1996’s “Mars Attacks!” is a feature film adaptation. The Jonathan Gems scripted story begins with Martian spaceships heading towards Earth. Humanity braces for a peaceful first-contact meeting, but the Martians are anything but friendly. They have their sights set on invading Earth and wiping out everyone and everything. They even try to assassinate the U.S. President Dale with a Martian resembling a woman. Earth’s weapons seem to have no effect either, but humanity just might discover a weapon that will drive the Martians off world.
On the surface “Mars Attacks!” has everything going for it. You have auteur director Tim Burton at the helm, nifty looking aliens, a send-up of 50’s sci-fi movies and one of the greatest casts ever assembled. Unfortunately, you’re left wanting so much more from this film than what you get.
The core problem with “Mars Attacks!” is that it feels like a glorified cameo fest. The basic alien invasion story jumps around from the numerous characters and locations (from Washington D.C. to Las Vegas), but there’s very little to grab on to here. Burton and Gems stuff in all sorts of sight gags, murderous Martian antics, and some oddball Martian experimentations, but the humor falls flat at virtually every moment. Yes, the Ack! spouting Martians are visually memorable CGI alien creations, but they deserved a better movie than this. At the very least the creations deserved something on the level of the imaginative trading card art.
Aside from the Martian characters, the cast also deserved better. In a film with Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Natalie Portman, Annete Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tom Jones, Jack Black, Joe Don Baker, Jim Brown, Lisa Marie, Pam Grier, Lukas Haas and Rod Steiger, it’s mind boggling how much of the cast is entirely wasted in their parts. Jack Nicholson definitely fares the best here in dual roles as the President and a Casino owner is having the time of his life here. Lisa Marie also impresses as the Martian disguised as a human woman.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 2160p. How does it look? Fans of this cult classic will be pleased by this glossy new transfer. Even the dated visual effects look better here.
Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? Arguably the best part of this new 4K release is this dynamic Atmos track. From the Danny Elfman score to the ray gun sounds, the track delivers in every respect.
Extras include a Digital copy, “Looking Back On Mars Attacks!” (new crew interviews about the making of the project mixed with film clips and set footage), and “Ack! Ack! Aesthetic” (more new interviews about the visual effects)
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