Who's In It?

Ice Cube is Desolation (James) Williams, Natasha Henstridge as Melanie Ballard, with Pam Grier and Joanna Cassidy.  

Who Made It?

John Carpenter

Where's The Web site?
Ghosts Of Mars

What's It About?

We've reached the future where science fiction has become reality.  Mars has been colonized.  There are cops (Henstridge) and bad guys (Ice Cube) living on the same planet as they do on Earth.  But there is something else that is living within Mars, something that is not known by human science.  Humans have unleashed this terror and now it will use those same humans to prosper and grow.  The only question is what and who is next.

Melanie Ballard (Henstridge) and her crew are of to the remote areas of Mars.  Their mission is to bring back the prisoner Desolation Williams (Ice Cube).  Only it is not a simple prisoner transfer.  Desolation is one of the most notorious criminals on Mars as he allegedly killed a number of individuals and stole a large amount of money.  Will the crew bring back Desolation?  Will Desolation make it back at all?  Will the crew get back at all?  The Ghosts of Mars hold the answers to these and many more questions.

Common Guy's Thoughts

Ghosts of Mars comes at you from the get go with a hard driving soundtrack, some real mean monsters, and some real tough women and men.  Carpenter brings us a good old fashion sci-fi / horror flick and it plays quite well.

This film features many of the things that we like to see in this type of film.  The bad guy says little or nothing...a mere grunt and howl gets his point across to the world.  The battles between the good guys and the bad guys feature wild all out donnybrooks with every weapon imaginable and blood and guts flying everywhere.  This is good old fashioned (some might call it "B" rated) horror.  And it is a fun ride.  Some of the lines are almost a bit tongue in cheek and they fit perfectly making things lighten up.

Henstridge is a great action star.  She is good at pulling off the role as the tough, hard-nosed Ballard and she isn't going to take any guff from anyone.  I'd love to see more of her in these types of roles as there is a real dearth of talent in the female action world.  Ice Cube has always been good at being the tough guy, and this film is no different for him.  He is able to be tough one minute and sensible the next. 

No this isn't an Oscar winning film, but it does provide a thrill ride for a little over an hour and a half.  This is the type of film that will be a cult classic many years from now.  This is a "B" movie with a large budget that gives it a tighter feel.  Don't think this will make you reevaluate the horror genre or scream for awards, but you will have fun.  Watch closely, but don't get caught by the Ghosts of Mars.

Grade

C+

Parents Guide

Rated R for strong violence/gore, language and some drug content.  This is NOT a film for young kids.  It is rated R for a reason as the violence/gore level is enormous.  There are mutilated faces and bodies, severed heads, blood and guts, and killings everywhere in this film.  Sure it is handled in a lot of ways with typical "B" movie standards but it is still there.  The language is coarse at times and the drug content follows a major plot point. Overall this is an adult film and not for viewing by most kids.
 

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