Tim Burton rewatch! After all his box office and critical successes, it seemed Burton could do no wrong. But then audiences and critics were somewhat baffled by Mars Attacks.

Here’s what happens: Martians have come out of hiding on Mars and arrived on Earth. No one is quite sure what the Martians want, even after they lay waste to dozens (hundreds?) of humans. This is because the humans are morons. Earth’s salvation may come from an unlikely place.

Origin story: The 1962 Mars Attacks trading cards caused controversy at the time, due to images of extreme violence. (It wasn’t that extreme.) The cards’ cult popularity over the years led to eventual talk of a movie. Allegedly, the film was going to be a big-budget action film, but Burton and screenwriter Jonathan Gems re-envisioned it as a comedy. After watching a bunch of ‘50s alien invasion movies and ‘70s ensemble disaster movies, they saw many opportunities for parody.   

Outsider theory: Obviously, the joke is that the aliens aren’t really the bad guys, but the humans are such buffoons that they have it coming. The awkward teenage boy and his loving yet clueless grandma are the ones who save the Earth, not the leaders, scientists, soldiers, or even celebrities.

Reality breaks through: The whole movie takes place in such a heightened reality, that I’m not sure this one has a “reality breaks through” moment. If anything, the Martians themselves are reality breaking through, in that they shake up the fantasy world the humans have made for themselves. For example, Martin Short’s character is so self-absorbed in his own fantasy of being a ladies’ man, he can’t see that there’s something obviously odd about the silent woman he meets.

Best bits: Grandma: “Richie, I think these guys are very sick.”

Thoughts on this viewing: I’m still not sure what to make of Mars Attacks. The movie would have us believe that the humans’ foolishness is their own undoing, yet the humans are played by this cast of beloved actors that we don’t want to see get killed. Yes, there’s a lot of big laughs, crazy violence, and wonderful weirdness, but at the end of it all, you’re left ask what it was all about.

Next: Back to the beginning.

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