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I Think This Is Tim Burton’s Most Underrated Movie
ComicBook.comStory by Brad Curran
scrn logline
Tim Burton's 1996 'Mars Attacks!' is the director's most underrated gem - a dark, violent, and hilarious B-movie throwback that takes audiences by surprise with its shocking ensemble carnage.
beat sheet
- Despite its campy, farcical alien invasion premise, 'Mars Attacks!' is shockingly blunt and graphic in depicting the Martians' ruthless destruction of the human population, with iconic moments like General Casey's disintegration into a neon-red skeleton.
- 'Mars Attacks!' boasts a massive ensemble cast of big and future stars like Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, and Michael J. Fox - only to have Burton systematically kill off most of them in darkly comedic and disturbing ways, echoing Hitchcock's 'Psycho' trick of dispatching the lead actor.
call sheet
Tim Burton, Paul Winfield, Rod Steiger, Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Tom Jones, Martin Short, Danny DeVito, Jack Black, Natalie Portman, ComicBook.com, Mars Attacks!, Batman, Batman Returns, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow, Independence Day, Goldfinger