John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001)

Ghosts of Mars (2001)
Dir: John Carpenter
Cast: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea Duvall, Joanna Cassidy, Liam Waite, Richard Cetrone, Robert Carradine
Rated R, Approx: 98 minutes
Columbia Tri-Star/Screen Gems Video and DVD

Matt's Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

Reviewed by Matt Serafini 03/02/02

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         John Carpenter has gotten loads of unnecessary flak of late. Harsh criticisms have plagued his recent efforts including the grossly underrated Escape From L.A. and more seriously flawed Vampires. Some folks claim that the great director has lost his touch and just seems tired. Most recently, Carpenter has returned to his roots so to speak with his recent Ghosts of Mars, a pseudo-remake of sorts of his own Assault on Precinct 13 which itself was a remake of Howard Hawks classic 1959 Western Rio Bravo. Here we have a somewhat old-fashioned action film, a bona fide western set on the red planet, perhaps Carpenter's toughest and most enjoyable film in recent years.

          Set on matriarchal colony on Mars in 2025, a police squad is sent to the mining colony of Shining Canyon to retrieve violent criminal James "Desolation" Williams (Ice Cube) and escort him to trial. When the troops arrive they discover a desolate colony devoid of any activity or life. Almost immediately, members of the squad begin to disappear and the remaining members discover exactly what is wrong with the colony of Shining Canyon. An ancient Martian race has been awakened and these 'ghosts' (of the title) have possessed the colonists, transforming them into gruesome savages. As the natives become increasingly hostile, the survivors reluctantly team with Desolation and other criminals in a desperate attempt to escape from the gruesome hellhole.

          Carpenter's latest obviously isn't the most original film, nor does it have any illusions of being such. The premise may remind viewers of such recent genre efforts such as Pitch Black or even From Dusk Till Dawn, but Carpenter's film perfectly nails the figurative bulls eye at which it was aimed. Striving for that 'western' feel which has always been in influence in the director's career, it's achieved in nearly all respects. Its most obvious source of inspiration comes from the classic Hawks western (as stated above). In Rio Bravo, the heroes are holed up within the town's jail battling off a band of cowboys seeking to free an outlaw being held behind bars. Here, our heroes are also holed up within the colony's jail fending off savages, the only difference being that our characters eventually team with the prisoners to battle their way out. Giving the film even more of that western feel is the look of the Shining Canyon colony itself. A small settlement (as most of the western towns were also newly established western settlements back in the early days) with one main street, all that's really missing from here is the tumbleweeds. Replace the cowboys of Hawks' film with the natives of Carpenter's and it's quite clear that the villains here are nothing more than a warped version of the native American Indians. These natives really seek nothing more than to rid their land of invaders using custom tactics which appear savage and sick to us here as native American battle customs were to the early settlers of the new world.

          As with most of his films, Carpenter scores Ghosts of Mars (certain pieces are collaborative efforts between Carpenter and members of the band Anthrax) and this particular one emerges has one of his most memorable-especially the main theme that opens the film. The music complements the action rather well so by the time our characters find themselves in the thick of battle; the score is so driving and heavy that it effectively places the viewer right smack in the middle of the fight lending the film additional energy.

          Another very strong aspect of here is the fine casting choices. Heading up the cast is Natasha Henstridge as Lieutenant Melanie Ballard. Henstridge often gets crap for being nothing more than a pretty face (and a body to kill for) and while she's undeniably one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, she's perfect as Ballard. A part originally intended for Courtney Love, Natasha took over once Love didn't "work out" (as Carpenter puts it on the DVD commentary) and comes off probably better than Love would've in the same role. Ballard is the typical 'tough guy' Carpenter hero; Henstridge gives the part her all, emerging as believably tough and strong willed while always being sexy. Playing off Henstridge's Ballard is Ice Cube as 'Desolation' Williams. Williams and Ballard are similar characters and Williams fits Carpenter's much treasured 'anti-hero' archetype to a tee. He's a guy whose reputation is far more sadistic than the actual man (another classic western element often found in the outlaw character) yet is still more interested in saving his own skin than helping a bunch of cops out of a very sticky situation. Playing the role with the right amount of 'badass' attitude, Ice Cube also lends a large amount of likeability to Williams. This character is not the obvious generic and insulting 'black man' stereotype that Hollywood favors so much. As a result it's refreshing to see Ice Cube take on the role ground in some degree of reality-much to the credit of both he and Carpenter. Rounding out the largely impressive cast is relative newcomer Jason Statham (from Guy Ritchie's hilarious Snatch, he was originally intended to play Desolation until the studio decided they wanted a bigger name) as a lusty cop who spends a lot of the film trying to get into Natasha's pants. Pam Grier (always a pleasure in a brief but memorable part), Clea Duvall, Joanna Cassidy, Robert Carradine (a long way from Revenge of the Nerds), Liam Waite (Natasha Henstridge's husband-lucky, lucky bastard) and Richard Cetrone as the main villain dubbed Big Daddy Mars round out the supporting cast.

          John Carpenter pays tribute to several things that influenced him here, but more than that, it's an incredibly enjoyable, gory and violent, kickass action/western/horror film set on Mars. The third (and only good) film of recent years made about the red planet (the other two horrible films being Brian DePalma's shockingly unwatchable 2001 knock off Mission to Mars and the strangely pointless Red Planet), this is popcorn-crunching fun at its best. It's also nice to see an action film made without all of those tiresome 'bullet-time' Matrix-style effects tossed in for no good reason. This is action stripped down to its most primitive state and works beautifully. Genre fans should really find much to savor with this latest offering from a director who shows know sings of slowing down (even as he passes 60 years of age). Ghosts of Mars is not Halloween nor does it try to be. This probably won't terrify many people, but the intent is to take you on a ride, and that it certainly does.