Top Ten Alien Invasion Movies
With War of the Worlds opening this week, we decided to take a look back at some of the best films in which extraterrestrials decide to pay a visit to our planet—with the intent to do us harm.
By Mark Moring | posted 6/28/2005
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Tom Cruise has been invading our living rooms and supermarket tabloids for weeks, what with his crazy I'm-in-love jumping-up-and-down antics on Oprah's couch and his ever-increasing talk about the virtues of Scientology. Indeed, there are apparently aliens living among us already …
But here comes Cruise again, the star of a new movie about … more aliens among us. War of the Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg, opens this week in theaters nationwide.
In honor of the occasion, we decided to look back at ten of the best movies that feature alien invasions. The word "invasions" is critical, because you won't find E.T. in this list. The precious little walking prune clearly had no hostile intent when he was only visiting this planet. Our list only features aliens who are out to get us here on Earth, which is why we omitted such films as Alien and Aliens—great movies, but they didn't come here. (At least not until the awful AVP movie last year.)
Finally, our alien list doesn't include all monsters that terrify the earth. Godzilla and King Kong were fearsome creatures, to be sure, but they were not aliens.
And so, without further ado, we present a list that's just out of this world—that is, until they enter our atmosphere and land somewhere in a cornfield near you. Lock your doors, board up your windows, and say your prayers, because they are coming …
10. Mars Attacks! (1996)
directed by Tim Burton
OK, so it's a stupid movie. A really stupid movie. But this Tim Burton spoof of 1950s low-budget sci-fi movies did make me laugh. I mean, the Martians are just so silly looking, with those huge heads and bug eyes, how can you not laugh? And the things they do—bowling with the statues on Easter Island, posing for photos in front of temples while they blow up in the background—are just a hoot. Apparently much of Hollywood thought so too, because it seems like everybody wanted a piece of the action. The all-star cast includes Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones (as himself!), and a 15-year-old Natalie Portman, who would go on to star in a few more movies that included various and sundry alien life forms.
9. Men in Black (1997)
directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
All right, so it's another stupid movie, but not as stupid as Mars Attacks! And it is funny. And the Will Smith-Tommy Lee Jones pairing is absolutely brilliant. Without them, this movie sinks into oblivion. But with them, and their wisecracking, butt-kicking, wink-at-the-audience banter, it's quite a hoot. I love the scene where Smith's character, Agent J, learns that aliens have always lived among us, appearing as humans—including Sam Donaldson, Tony Robbins, and Michael Jackson. Now that he knows the truth, J says that he always thought his third grade teacher "was from, like, Venus or something." Jones' character, Agent K, replies with a straight face: "Mrs. Edelson." Smith looks stunned. Jones, deadpan, goes on: "Jupiter, actually. Well, one of the moons." What a hoot.
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