Mars Attacks! From Space!

Updated
 
9.3 (13)
4037 0 1 0 2

User reviews

13 reviews
 
77%
 
23%
5-7 stars
 
0%
3-5 stars
 
0%
1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.7(13)
Audio Editing
 
9.2(13)
Visual Editing
 
9.4(13)
Narrative
 
9.1(13)
Enjoyment
 
9.3(13)
Back to Listing
13 results - showing 1 - 5
1 2 3
Ordering
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I remember seeing Mars Attacks in the the theatre. Twice. The first time I saw it, I loved it. I thought it was brilliant. I liked it so much that I went back a week later to see it again. The second time I found myself wondering what I had been thinking. It stunk. I was really disappointed.

Over the years, I've revisted Mars Attacks in the hopes that something will click and I'd rediscover my initial experience of the film. It's never happened, until I watched Mars Attacks! From Space!

It's just a terrific edit of the film, highly enjoyable. Cutting all the fat, turning bloated sequences with extraneous celebs into perfect little cameos. This is Mars Attacks the way it should have been. And that ending nearly made me choke on my drink. A perfect sting.

Well done, this will be my definitive version of Mars Attacks from now on.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I enjoy the original for what it is. This is a nicely trimmed version and I appreciate the majority of the cast now reduced to cameo appearances. I might have moved Grandma's line "They blew up Congress!" to before the Army opens fire on the saucer, but otherwise I really had a lot of fun with this one. Thanks, reave.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
(Updated: December 25, 2012)
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
I remember when the original commercials played promoting MARS ATTACKS back in 1996, coming on the heels of Independence Day -- it looked like a wild ride and I soooooo wanted to like this movie. But when I finally saw it in the theatre, I left very disappointed. The original is a bloated mess of lunacy with no one at the rudder. There are moments of brilliant satire and humor, but often it is lost with Tim Burton going too far over the top, almost showing off without any regard to the audience's intelligence.

Reave's fan edit is a definite improvement over the original. The story is much more focused and better paced, and the humor plays stronger. It is still a lunatic of a movie. You definitely need to be in the right frame of mind to thoroughly enjoy it. I have often wondered if the madness ( and 1950s homages) would play better if the movie had been Black and White?

Technically, the fan edit is perfect. Perfect audio and video. Excellent cuts. In terms of entertainment, as remarkable as this edit is, some of the material still does not work for me. It a very uneven fare for me. But humor is very subjective. I still whole heartedly recommend this fan edit, especially for the hard core Tim Burton fans and lovers of campy schlock.

Thumbs up.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I like Mars attacks, but for such a short film, on repeated viewings it feels far longer than it actually is.

Reave gives us a no nonsense (well mostly nonsense free) version that I enjoyed throughly. Exposition for characters who mostly die anyway are minimalised bringing the Martians and main characters to the foreground. I would nitpick about the sudden appearance of two boys who start shooting, but why would being an Expert in some arcade game make you proficient with real weaponry? so I don't mind that scene not being there. Also there was no Tom Jones as far as I could see but his name was in the credits, otherwise I am still nitpicking as he definitely wasn't missed, unless he had a brief scene in which I didn't notice him, which is to suggest he may have literally been missed by me.

The film is a little short now, but I think it feels like the right length and it feels more like a homage to old 50's sci fi than Burtons original version.

9/10 from me.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I'm afraid I can't be quite as eloquent as Neglify, but anyway. I was never that big of a fan of Mars Attacks! because, despite great visual designs and some funny moments, I found it to be all over the place. I, however, loved every minute of this version. It's much more to the point, much more centered on satire, and much more fun and funny. Technical aspects are perfect. 10/10 in all cathegories.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
13 results - showing 1 - 5
1 2 3