Bullet Points: Ghosts of Mars
John Carpenter hasn’t directed a feature film since 2010 but it’s been even longer since he made a good feature film. Some might look at 2001’s Ghosts of Mars and cringe at what might have been, while others simply enjoy it for what it gets right. It’s hard to think too negatively when the man has built up so much good will over the years with film lovers.
Synopsis: In 2176, a Martian police unit is sent to pick up a highly dangerous criminal at a remote mining post. Upon arrival, the cops find that the post has become a charnel house.
- That Cast: Whatever your thoughts are about Ghosts of Mars based on its plot, you have to be a little intrigued by the cast of characters assembled. Pam Grier is the commander of the Martian Police Force sent to pick up high-profile prisoner Ice Cube. A badass Lt. played by Natasha Henstridge is the second in command and Jason Statham, Clea Duvall, and a bunch of minor characters who are recognizable mean that the cast doesn’t need to spend too much time introducing themselves. It’s something that Carpenter has gotten very good at by this time.
- Real World Mars: This is no reality show but you would think you were watching the MTV version of one by the amount of times characters try to hook up. Especially Jason Statham. I know that Natasha Henstridge is hot and all but his character is extremely horny no matter the situation. Even Pam Grier makes a pass at her underling very early in the film.
- Flashback city: So much of the movie is told by way of flashback that it got to be a bit annoying. Hell, I knew most of what was about to happen just based on what she was telling the council in the present time. There are ways to use flashbacks that build tension and raise questions but Ghosts of Mars doesn’t do itself any favors by having most of the movie spoiled by its main character.
- No need for an introduction: Shit hits the fan pretty quickly when the police force make it to the Martian city. They eventually run into Ice Cube, who they are supposed to be escorting out but it’s clear that the situation is dire and they pull every resource possible to survive. That means arming and deputizing anyone and everyone they can find. I think that by the time the movie hit its stride there were an additional six or seven people carrying guns and stupidly killing the bad guys.
- Big Daddy Mars: You have to love a movie that lists its main villain as “Big Daddy Mars” in its credits. The crazed killers in this movie are just regular miners and city dwellers who were possessed by some ancient curse. Now they are attempting to kill anyone who isn’t one of them. For some reason they enjoy piercings, cutting themselves, and decapitating unsuspecting victims. Talk about one hell of a Tinder profile. The tough thing about defending yourself against this horde of weirdos is that every time you kill one of them the possession just leaves their body and looks for a new host. Be careful what you shoot….
- Just keep shooting: Oh, to hell with it. That must have been what the MPF decided when they found out about the possessions and still decided to keep killing the creatures. I guess the alternative is to get mauled and decapitated so shooting them isn’t the worst idea but there has to be another way.
- Action: Most of the film is our survivors trying not to be killed by the evildoers. John Carpenter all but remade Assault on Precinct 13 but with a sci-fi/horror edge to it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as the movie was kickass but this one creates a great many questions that the former didn’t. There’s plenty to not like about Ghosts of Mars but the action parts are mostly on the fun end of the spectrum.
- A simple plan: I mentioned that most of the movie is told as a flashback because we already know that Henstridge is the only one still on the train when it makes its way back to civilization. That probably means right away that most of the folks don’t make it. I doubt that Jason Statham’s character, with all that lust he’s feeling, is just gonna up and walk away from Natasha. It killed any bit of suspense from me. I know that we can all normally guess who is going to survive to the end of movies like this but I didn’t even get a chance to guess. It was just thrown into my face.
The Verdict: I enjoyed this despite the fact that the film had loads of flaws and inconsistencies. Part of it was that the writing was better than your average B movie and the cast was enjoyable. The other part was that the movie didn’t feel like it took itself too seriously. If this had been a 3 million dollar movie it might have been a masterpiece. It’s too bad that so much was put into it without seeing much in the way of box office success. It’s not as bad as the title or some reviewers might think. The ‘What might have been’ that I can’t get over, though, is the idea that this was originally meant to be another Snake Plissken adventure. Now that could have been good….maybe.
