12 Sci-Fis With Bafflingly Low Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Tim Burton's gothic-fantasy aesthetic in cinema is so identifiable it can be spotted on sight; so when he makes a film that has more than four grey colours it can be a rare treat to see him play with variety.

Burton's 1996 alien invasion film Mars Attacks!, weirdly enough doesn't sit with a high percentage on the Tomatometer and I for one want to know why.

Was it because that very year, a more serious alien invasion movie was released? Independence Day felt wholesomely patriotic, and displayed the competent success of the US and world military united, while Mars Attacks! made anyone in any position of authority a useless liability, and it was zany music and video-game obsessed kids who actually saved the day.

Perhaps because movie watches haven't given this film a second viewing in over twenty years? And the new generation of cinema goers were gifted a second Independence Day movie that (literally) no-one asked for. But Mars Attacks! isn't as fundamentally bad as critics suggested.

Understanding a movie maker's comedic style suddenly shines a new light on their previous work, and while Mars Attacks may not have been top-shelf Tim Burton, it certainly warrants more than barely passing 50%.