This 4K UHD elevates a ’90s cult classic into a show piece for your home theater ‣ Diverse Daily

In recent years, there has been plenty of buzz in the media about extra-terrestrials and the possibility of UAP events swirling around military bases and metropolises across the world. All this talk is a fancy way of stirring up the old “are we alone in the universe?” question once again at a public level. Aliens from outer space is a subject that has long been probed by Hollywood with countless colorful, sinister, and explosive iterations of the concept available in cinematic format. Independence Day sees Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith lead the charge against a ruthless species known as harvesters coming to Earth to sap up our resources and eliminate humankind. John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) depicts an alien specimen that can mimic other life forms and puts a crew of scientists, researchers, and workers in Antartica on edge. War of the Worlds has been adapted multiple times on screen depicting H.G. Wells’ classic story of alien invaders looking to seize Earth for themselves.

In 1996, famed director Tim Burton (Batman, Beetlejuice) created his own cheeky alien invasion scenario in the form of Mars Attacks! At the time, the critics were largely mixed in their feelings toward Burton’s big-brained green Martian throwback to Hollywood’s alien treatments of the 50s and 60s. The film also bombed at the U.S. box office. However, Mars Attacks! has garnered a cult classic status in the years that followed, with many fans enjoying Burton’s dark humor and silly Martian invasion premise.

Despite Mars Attacks! being 30 years old, it never looked this good

The 4K treatment goes a long way

For those of us alive when this movie was released, it’s hard to believe that Mars Attacks! turns 30-years-old this December. To celebrate, Warner Bros. has given fans a 4K treatment of the colorful sci-fi film. And what an excellent treatment it is. Fans of the movie may remember how colorful Mars Attacks! was with neon green and red to highlight the ray guns used by the hostile Martians. There were deep blues, greens, yellows, and glittery gold for the capes and suits. Mars Attacks! is a film that is rich in color and the HDR remaster here is superb. These colors are vivid and pop on the screen, which helps make the movie feel more comical and vibrant than it ever has before. That’s, perhaps, the most exciting element of this 4K release. There’s an intentional artifical aesthetic that went into crafting the setting, characters, and atmosphere of Mars Attacks! The 2160p restoration and rich HDR presentation elevate it exponentially.

One thing fans will often acknowledge is that there is one element of filmmaking from the 90s that never seems to age well: CGI. That might hold true with Mars Attacks! However, you’d be mistaken if you assume that a 4K restoration would make the CGI look worse. In fact, the restoration really bridges the gap between practical and digital effects extraordinarily well. The sharp contrast and edges even give the movie a more comic book style that suits the Mars Attacks! themes. That’s not to say that Mars Attacks! never shows its age. But that 90s appeal adds to the movie’s charm rather than its flaws.

Mars Attacks! is a timeless cult classic

They don’t make them like this anymore

Visual fidelity aside, the film boasts an incredible all-star lineup including Jack Nicholson (The Shining, The Departed), Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye, Mamma Mia!), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction), Annette Bening (American Beauty, Dutton Ranch), Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building), Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future), Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and many more. It even features Jack Black at the young and spry age of his mid-20s. It’s an ensemble you can’t beat with truly great, satirical performances.

The premise is simple. Martians land on Earth with the intention of annihilating the human race. What the film does expertly well is present this premise from several different angles. We see how the President of the United States is coping with the incursion. Then there are the starlets and media personalities with their reactions and strange experiences. The film also treats us to the perspective of the average American with central characters simply trying to eke out an everyday living working blue-collar jobs. Mars Attacks! is also a film that never takes itself too seriously, much like the other big cinematic alien invasion title from the same year: Independence Day. Mars Attacks! is meant to be a satire of humankind at large and how we might handle such an explosive and gnarly conflict with space aliens. Much of the humor is still relatable today as the core of society isn’t all that different despite technological advances. So, if you’re a 4K connoisseur, be sure to check out Mars Attacks! It’s a solid package all around.