Ghosts of Mars

Ghost of Mars is a B-movie that takes itself way too seriously, thinking it’s super cool, while viewers just shake their heads in disbelief. It is artificial and has no charm as it woodenly strives for bold genre anarchy (“action metal sci-fi horror with Ice Cube on Mars”!!!). Ghosts of Mars is the kind of film that everyone involved in it – the ranks of whom include a lot of rising stars as well as cult actors – wants to delete from their filmography. (08/09/2011)

To say the least, a very mediocre B-movie from horror staple John Carpenter, who seems to have exhausted his creative potential in the first half of the 1990s. The open ending suggests that they were counting on a sequel, which I don't really believe and hope won't happen. I'm sorry that this obscure affair stars the charismatic Ice Cube, he deserves to be in better movies. (01/09/2002)

If I didn't know that it was filmed by the same director who also made my favorite movie, The Thing (1982), I wouldn't believe it. I still find it hard to believe. This film had a considerable number of flaws, and some moments startled me. No, it wasn't fear; it was just that there were some poorly executed scenes with weird action or messed-up logic. The logic was being disregarded throughout the whole time. Plus, many action scenes looked very poorly done, and some of the performances weren't exactly up to par. Yet, I'm giving it four out of five stars. Why? Because it was a typical action B-movie without any unnecessary message, which is often supposed to compensate for the lack of a plot in movies today. Nobody was trying to guide me ideologically, and no matter what objections I had, the story itself wasn't bad at all, so despite all the negatives, I had a good time. / Lesson learned: An angry group of miners is dangerous enough; doping is redundant. (22/01/2023)

Undoubtedly the weakest of John Carpenter's films that I've had the chance to see. Frankly, I don't understand how the director of The Thing or In the Mouth of Madness could have been involved in this creation at all... That one star is basically for his previous merits. The acting performances are, to put it diplomatically, uneven, the direction uninspired, but the crown jewel of it all is the screenplay, for which the author should probably roast in hell. Similar botched films are occasionally saved by grand production design, but that's not the case here either. So, all in all: a complete waste of time. Overall impression: 20%. (05/01/2007)

Terrible actors, crappy script, catastrophic sets, idiotic action, incredibly goofy editing... it's everything I expect from a Carpenter action movie. And from a director who made a name for himself partly by making action movies, despite never knowing how to shoot an action movie. In a way, Ghosts of Mars is a bit of a retread of both his Escape franchise (it was also originally intended to be the third installment of The Tales of Snake Plisskin, which was rewritten after the disastrous Escape from L.A.) and Assault on Precinct 13 taken to the extreme. I mean, B-grade like all get-out, a label everyone proudly swears by today, but back then you’d be very dignified and affronted. (24/10/2020)