| Ghosts of Mars |
 |
 |
|
| Rating: Fair Distributor: Columbia Pictures MPAA Rating: R Release Date: August 24th, 2001 (wide) Running Length: 1 hour, 45 minutes Genre: Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi Director: John Carpenter Cast: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, and Pam Grier. |
| picture above from www.movieweb.com/movie/ghostsofmars/co6.jpg |
 |
| Plot: The story takes place in the 22nd century, in Mars. Hundreds of thousands of colonists now occupy the red planet. On the planet, a group of police officers are on a routine mission to transport a famous convict, Desolation Williams (Ice Cube). However, the police force soon realizes that the colony Williams is located in has been overrun by ghost like monsters who take over human bodies. The source of the ghosts was the colony's mine, where workers accidentally uncovered a very old Martian life form. The life form wants to kill all the colonists from Eart, who they feel are invaders. |
| Critique: Ghosts of Mars is a sloppy, unconvincing, science fiction film. John Carpenter tries without end, to worsen his picture. It could have been a mildly enjoyable film. Its premise is interesting enough, and the conflicts have a wealth of possibilities. Nonetheless, Carpenter seems insistent on making his picture unwatchable through poor filmmaking. The film's low budget look is acceptable, but there is no need for Carpenter to increase that low budget feeling with low quality execution. Also, the plot dissipates as the film reaches its important plot turns. The screenplay is awful, and the dialogue it contains is weak and unintelligent. Still, Carpenter had a few good ideas. He employs a string a flashbacks, and then flashbacks within flashbacks, all which turn out to be effective plot tools. That manner of storytelling feel fresh and original, even if the material that surrounds that method becomes increasingly uninspiring. The acting is like the film itself, weak and unconvincing. Natasha Henstridge and Ice Cube have terrible lines, and to make matters worse they put out lazy performances. The supporting cast is usually cliched and tired. The plot failure coincides with the failing of the actors. The peformances are tolerable at the begining of the film, and than land somewhere deep in mediocrity as the picture reaches its climax. Indeed, it's hard to find anything special in Ghosts of Mars, which is a hopeless, cheesy, motion picture. Ghosts of Mars could have been an amusing popcorn flick, but through lackluster execution by director John Carpenter it is tedious. I do not recommend Ghosts of Mars, as even its promising setup cannot overcome a decisive lack of creativity. review by supernothingman |