Rating: 
Summary: Wasted Story
Review: After seeing "Ghosts of Mars" I can say without a doubt that John Carpenter is the master of cinematic gratuitous violence. It seems the only purpose of this movie is to create a plot that results in the most bullets fired, limbs severed, and people killed in any movie ever."Ghosts of Mars" takes place on Mars several hundred years in the future. Humans have been established on the planet for some time and are primarily engaged in mining it for resources to send back to Earth. Like with any mining boomtown though there is a serious criminal element on Mars and it has a Wild West sense of justice. A five-person police detail has been sent to a remote outpost to transport the notorious criminal John "Desolation" Williams (Ice Cube) back to headquarters for trial. Williams has been accused of robbing and murdering six people at a mining camp. When the police arrive at the outpost the only people they find alive are the prisoners in the jail and a scientist who has taken up refuge there. Up to this point "Ghosts of Mars" is a suspenseful movie that promises many things. What comes after though breaks every promise the movie made. The way the story is told is more an annoyance than interesting. The events of the movie are described by Lt Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) while she is being de-briefed by her superiors. They're interested to find out what happened to her team after she is the only one to return on the train they went out on. She's handcuffed to a bed no less and unconscious. This technique of telling the story after the events have transpired has been used well in other movies but mostly just gets in the way here. It works better when you have multiple points of view to relate but here, all we get is Lt Ballard's view. What has happened is that humans have unleashed some unspeakable evil that has been resident on Mars for many years. This evil, the ghosts of mars, is defending its planet from the human invaders. It invades human bodies and makes them do horrible things to themselves and each other. I'm sure there is some interesting moral that can be made out of this subject but Carpenter has chosen to go the easy route with this movie and make it a megadeath extravaganza. It's as if the movie's participant's also realized how unimportant their roles really were as every actor except Henstridge just seems to be going through the motions. I was particularly disappointed with Ice Cube's performance since he is one of the few musicians who have made a successful jump to acting. He seems to recognize more than anyone else how wasted a good performance would be on this movie. If you're a fan of first-person shooter games like "Doom", then you'll probably like this film. For everyone else though I'd skip it.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting premise strangely executed
Review: Part music video, part wrestling match (complete with makeup)...Ghosts of Mars has a lot to offer but goes about telling the story in a rather strange way. Henstridge plays an officer who is found to be the only survivor on a train that came back from Mars and she begins to tell her story through flashbacks. Through the retelling though even her character go back and forth with flashbacks, got to pay attention here. Seems ghosts have been let loose in the mining camp and have inhabited everyone and Henstridge and her officers who went to pick up big, bad Ice Cube (playing prisoner "Desolation") are trapped and need to get out. Doesn't sound so bad, but the movie goes about the telling like I said with flashbacks and flashforwards and music video styling, then the weird casting of Pam Grier and Joanna Cassidy to add to the mix. Overall it's not so awful. Just good fun on a Saturday night with a bowl of popcorn....a bit cheesy, a bit corny, a bit gory, and a bit of fun, hey it's John Carpenter! ENJOY!!
Rating: 
Summary: WOW was that an awful movie
Review: Carpenter should hang his head in shame... B movie? I'd call it a P or S (make that P OF S) movie... The cardboard train was the best part... Pathetic - simply pathetic. The acting (if can call it that) had me sneering in agony. Did he just say "hey - I want you to do something over there and make up the dialog as you go along!"?? To those of you who call yourselves carpenter fans, and who actually stood up for this movie, how can you look yourselves in the mirror? Must not take much to entertain you anymore.... Sheesh....
Rating:
Summary: Just Not . . . Good. At All.
Review: John Carpenter did Halloween, yes? He did! And he also created The Thing and The Fog. All three of those were creative horror movies full of spirit (Well, the spirit of horror). Let's take John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars and compare this to those movies. Oops, we can't. Because Ghosts of Mars [stunk] beyond total belief. I believe that is the harshest words I've ever used for a movie. But I believe it's true. The acting was terrible (Except that given by Jason Statham as Jericho). I expected so much more from Pam Grier and Clea Duvall, but got nothing. The concept was a very good one, but it was executed without any interest. And there were so many characters that at one point, I wondered where one of them came from. The only good stuff about Ghosts of Mars is: The makeup. The makeup effects were extremely awesome. That being of the mauled faces of the "ghosts." There were a lot of ammo wasting / battle scenes, and those were good and tightly paced. The scenes just seemed to not matter much when you don't care for the characters much (And there's really no use anyway as . . . allow me not to spoil this even though I despised it). The DVD has some features that I really didn't care for so I didn't watch them. Sorry if I seem so bitter about this movie. I can't even believe I sat throughout the entire thing. Or wait, I did wait to see if Clea Duvall brought anything to the movie. She didn't. A shame. I still love her as an actress though.
Rating: 
Summary: This classic is way over the hater's heads
Review: ... Carpenter is king, and this movie is a sly, cool homage, send-up to his own style, his influences, and so forth. In a way it has just about every Carpenter motif there is, especially the nods to THE THING and RIO BRAVO. Cube and Syl make a great team, and the red and black color scheme is relaxing and sexy. Just understand that Carpenter has his tongue too deeply in his cheek for any normal man to see. So stop asking why and start asking why not? .... One day, John's name will be among them in the ranks of great filmmakers inspired by Hollywood. ....
Rating:
Summary: Hated it!
Review: I see many elements of Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing in this movie. In one scene where the possessed miners break into the building with the battering ram, they began swarming inside. The way they were getting in and trying to get at the humans reminded me of that one scene in Assault on Precinct 13. When the cops arrive at the beginnning of the movie, it has that "What the hell happened?" feel just like in The Thing. The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13 are way better. Another thing about this movie: THE FLASHBACKS!!!! It would have been better if they found Natasha and she told the story in one flashback. But there are flashbacks within a flashback. Plus they keep going back into the interrogation room and Natasha explains more about the story. Here's something else I don't like: Natasha and Ice Cube seem indestructible throughout the movie while everyone else dies. One of the Martian spirits try to possess Natasha at one point but somehow she drives it out! Then she tries to go back inside. When they finally let her in, they point guns at her. Another element from The Thing. The ending [wasn't good] too. I don't have to explain it. Just stick to John's classics.
Rating:
Summary: WHY? Because...
Review: Mr. Bruce Rux asked 'Why?' about "Ghosts of Mars". I thought he deserved some specific answers to his many questions. Mars is ruled by a matriarchy. WHY?
- And why not? Men don't have the exclusive in power. Nobody's asking why our society is a 'patriarchy'. Mrs. Hilary Clinton will probably be the next president of the United States and nobody'll be asking why. Margaret Thatcher's been for a long time the first person in Great Britain and nobody asked why. Don't be another macho one! A man cuts off his own thumb. WHY?
- Because he's a strong drug addict. Just before he does it, he filled his brains with nitrous mix through a black market breather, a Laugher. And as Jericho explains, that nitrous stuff turns your brains into cheese. In two words, it makes you dummy, totally unsensitive and unconscious. That's why he cuts off his thumb without even noticing right away. The entire movie is told in multiple flashbacks. WHY?
- You mustn't go to movies very often, pal. "Ghosts of Mars" isn't the only movie told this way. There are plenty of them. Remember "Titanic". Lately there was "The Hole". Or Brian de Palma's "Casualties of War". Or Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness". Or "D.O.A.". Or... There are flashbacks within flashbacks...WITHIN FLASHBACKS! WHY?
- That's a way of storytelling, like any other one. The main character of the movie is the only survivor of a massacre. Like in "The Hole" and many other films. In front of her superiors, she tells everything about what happened to her and the others. The thing is, Melanie Ballard isn't the only one to tell about the events; some other people - inside flashbacks -, especially Dr. Arlene Whitlock, Jericho and Uno, also tell about what happened to them, about what they saw and what's going on around them. They have to, to make things clear for the others - and for us. There's no problem about that. Many people find this way of storytelling complicated and confusing; I'm still wondering how they do it. Natasha Henstridge stars - and DOESN'T STRIP! WHY?
- Because it's not in her contract - she's not supposed to show her beautiful body every time she makes a movie. Besides the role wasn't written for her, but for Courtney Love, who's far from being as sexy as Natasha. And remember this: in a Carpenter movie, women DON'T strip. They're treated as real human characters, not like simple ... toys, like in Hollywood. Henstridge is a lawman - er, "person" - who allies herself with a notorious criminal...even AFTER the mutual threat they're fighting is over! WHY?
- Pardon me. The mutual threat Melanie and Williams are fighting is NOT over! In the end the ghosts invade the city of Chryse, where Melanie is. Williams comes to rescue her and they keep fighting together. Simple! ICE CUBE! ON MARS!! WHY?
- Hey guy, it's just a film! Don't mix everything! In "Total Recall", Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone end up on Mars and nobody asked why. Jailbreakers get themselves locked in the same cell as the guy they're trying to bust out! WHY??
- They don't get themselves locked. They come to rescue Desolation Williams, but Uno, who was keeping an eye on the cops, has a moment of joy and unwariness when he sees his brother again. Melanie uses it and locks them in the cell. Logical. Joanna Cassidy in a hot-air balloon - ON MARS!! WHY???
- You're dealing with a science-fiction film. It takes place in 2176, at a time when men have made the air breathable on Mars. Not as well as it is on the Earth, but breathable anyway. And don't forget the winds. Another thing you forgot: in the film, Joanna Cassidy is a scientist, and on Mars, the gravity is much lower than on the Earth. So flying in a hot-air balloon is much easier on Mars than on the Earth. Aeons-old Martian gas makes men into ooga-chaka zombies, who grunt to "I Can't Stop This Feeling, Deep Inside of Me"!! WHY?!?
- Some possessed men are aware of what happening to them, and in one scene, one of them deals with a human, and he tries to warn her (Melanie), that's all. He cuts his throat because he knows he's already dead, and in order to try to tell the human what's going on. The Martian zombies dress for a Kiss video - ON MARS!! WHY!?!
- They dress as anything they want, not for what you call a Kiss video. They're not like us, they make a savage, early tribe. And you're right, they're Martian, on Mars. They're here to break any invasion of their planet, and they have to look like determined, pitiless warriors. And they don't care about the Kiss band - they don't even know what it is. Again, don't confuse fiction for reality! The good guys escape, only to rush back into the jaws of certain doom - FOR NO GOOD REASON!!! WHY!!!
- For no good reason?? I'm gonna give you one good reason: DOMINION!! "Ghosts of Mars" isn't only a science-fiction film with elements of western and horror, it's also a reflection about colonialism and the human condition. The purpose of the film is the conquest of Mars. And to make this conquest possible, the so-called 'good guys' have to destroy, completely erase the enemy while it's still only in Shining Canyon, before it gets to Chryse and spreads all over the planet. As Melanie explains: 'It's not their planet any more'. The thing is, the enemy is a gang of ghosts. We can't kill what's already dead, but with an atomic bomb, maybe you'll do it. That's why they take the risk, and unfortunately many human people die. The bomb explodes but doesn't kill the enemy, and in the end Melanie and Desolation have to face it again... and the film finishes. This is an opened ending, like in "Halloween". Things will be more complicated on Mars than they were on the Earth, with the Indians. You can't kill what's not alive! Maybe they'll be making a sequel... You said that nothing in the film makes sense - you're totally wrong. Everything in "Ghosts of Mars" makes sense. John Carpenter is not a primary filmmaker, he's one of the best ones still working. Maybe the best one. Like many other people in the U.S., you didn't understand much about this movie - if you didn't try to. Now I hope you will! You said that you love it, so why don't you try to understand it? And when you say that it's as bad as "Battlefield Earth", I don't agree, not at all. "Battlefield Earth" is another Hollywood complete disaster, and "Ghosts of Mars", a great independent work. Both films can't be compared, and you can't compare Carpenter to... Roger Christian.
Rating: 
Summary: What do you expect from Carpenter
Review: I remember seeing a couple of previews for this on other movies
one night so I decided to rent it. It turned out to be a really good movie. I don't think I've really been disappointed by a John Carpenter flic, I would at least rent it so you can judge for yourself. It has a great soundtrack by Anthrax which fits it perfectly. I just wish the movie had a little more to it, I believe he could have pulled off making it another hour longer.
Rating:
Summary: Some of Carpenter's best work
Review: I love Carpenter's classics like Halloween, The Fog, Vampires, Christine, and The Thing! Ghost Of Mars was a diferent experience! The special features were good especially the scoring of ghost of mars! The scoring was awesome because, Anthrax and Buckethead did the music! The movie itself was great because, of the plot, acting, and of course the gore! This had limbs flying all over the place! This is some of Carpenter's best work since Halloween! Check it out and while your at it check out some of Anthrax and Buckethead's albums!
Rating:
Summary: Ice Cube - the worst case of miscasting I've ever known....!
Review: I'll plead myself guilty: I enjoyed this movie. I watched it knowing fully well that Carpenter's best days were well behind him, that the reviews were not good. SO, I was aware of what waited me... THi history is full of holes, the main question being: What made the ghost spirits choose what body tehy would invade or not? The movie clearly shows that proximity was not the rule. So, what was? But the worst part wasy the casting of Ice Cube as the "anti-hero". While NAtasha did a good job, Ice Cube was a joke, burying even further down any "credibility" this movie could aspire to have. Got nothing against him, I'm only complaining about his acting in this particular movie. It was beyond hope. Other than this, Pam Grier's brief appearance was a shock, but I guess that actress at this age can not lose opportunities to work, and she must thanks Carpenter for giving her the role of a determined, altough brief, commander. The end was a joke, a classic signature to remind all of us that this is indeed a trash feast. Bottom Line here: Only for die-hard fans of Class B and trash movies.
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