Customer Reviews

John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars Bilingual [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(44)

 

 

Did any of you pay attention to the movie that you were watching? Or were you doing something while this was playing in the background? I am just trying to address some of the problems that people seem to have with this movie that I think are not real problems. First, one reviewer wrote that is unbelievable that the characters would be able to walk around without helmets on the surface of Mars. NEWSFLASH, the characters themselves explain how this is possible, and within the first 20 minutes no less. Second, another reviewer said the aliens don't even look like aliens. That is because they are not aliens. The Ghosts that the title refer to posses the humans that are colonizing the planet. That is why they look human, cause they ARE. Third, the dialogue has been commented on in more than a few reviews and while it is cheesy it is not like this is Shakesphere. It is about a group of police officers who are going to place that none of them want to be. Of course they are going to sound irritated, wouldn't you?

I would just like to say before i finish that the next time you review a movie please watch it and at least try to pay attention.

It's John Carpenter, so what does everyone expect? I know what I expected, and "Ghosts of Mars" pretty much delivered. Thudding sound track, B-movie dialogue, heads on stakes, "Road Warrior" like zanies with metal sticking out of their faces stalking the "good" guys. Bring on the popcorn. Then there's a humorous twist. The "guys" in this future world live in a Matriarchy. Guys make the coffee, defer to the women, but also are told to deal with mechanical problems when they arise. (Well, at least the "breeder" - Jason Statham as Jericho - does.) Carpenter works all kinds of little jokes into the script on this wrinkle alone. Natasha Henstridge as the tough cop hero, and Ice Cube, as the con hero, are serviceable - and they know when to shoot, kick, and punch. And that's all that's needed here. I don't know who the main Martian is (he looks like Marilyn Manson in Kabuki), but he's perfect! Four stars for operating well within genre.

Yeah, everyone's whining about Ghosts Of Mars. Everyone's pretty much given up on John Carpenter. I admire Carpenter for making the films he wants to and not succumbing to whatever trendiness is expected of horror directors. Wes may be hip wit da teens, but John does what he wants to, even if you think it's lame. Ghosts Of Mars isn't his finest hour, it's not even all that great, but it's Carpenter. This is the kind of film Carpenter has always made. He's never admitted to being more than a B film director and he chooses to be such. After Starman, he coulda been in the big time, but chose his own independent Prince Of Darkness over the Hollywood machine. Ghosts Of Mars would have had more critical and fan praise if it were released in the mid eighties. It wouldn't have seemed so cliched. Personally I admire him for making such a film, passe as it may seem. If I were you I'd check it out. Just don't be expecting some sci-fi extravaganza(which I think everyone was expecting), expect cheesy B movie thrills.

j'ai recu le produit en quelques jours et j'en suis satisfait le film etait en excellent etat tout etait ok

Ghosts of Mars(released Aug.01)stars Natashia Henstridge,Ice Cube,Pam Grier,Joanna Cassidy and Jason Statham.It is a good cast wasted on a poor script and the actors just sleep walk their way through this been-there,done-that yawner from John Carpenter.Maybe because it was filmed mostly at night it would explain the yawn part.
The story opens on Mars which is almost fully terraformed.There has been on going exploration of the planet for some time.A remarkable discovery is made when a blasting site reveals an opening in the side of a cliff;obviously artificial.Joanna Cassidy is the person who first explores the tunnel and inadvertently opens up the door at the end of it.This unleashes a reddish cloud which contains the souls of thousands of dead Martians from ages past and they aren't up for garden parties.It is more of a possess now and kill later kind of thing.
Henstridge,Grier and Statham are three out of five cops sent to retrieve a dangerous killer in the form of Ice Cube.When they reach the settlement by train they come upon one grisly discovery after another.This leads to the ultimate discovery of hundreds of miners that have been possessed by the Martian souls and are bent on killing the "invaders"(that's us).The spirits can possess either the living or the dead so the crew has to be careful at all times.
In the end most of the original cops have gone and in fact Henstridge and Cube are alone fleeing on the train.Cube manages to get away from Henstridge who wanted to return him for trial.When she arrives back at HQ,she is interrogated by a disbelieving panel of superiors.As she sits alone in her room she suddenly hears alot of raucous outside.Who should show up but Ice Cube as the possessed beings have reached HQ and Cube and Henstridge are ready to fight but are taking no prisoners.
This movie must have certainly looked better on paper,because it doesn't look good on film.It is almost as if Carpenter had an obligation for one last film to someone,and came up with this lame duck of an idea.The cast goes through their paces barely awake;there is very little excitement or suspenseful build ups at any time.The SFX are really pedestrian at best and do not help anyone or anything about Ghosts of Mars.
Technically speaking the film is in its w/s a/r of 2:35:1 and looks clear and crisp.Extras include the making of GOM,commentary,a vid diary,featurettes on the making of GOM,the S/FX and the scoring and the trailer.
All in all a very mediocre Carpenter film;a real disappointment.The plot is hum drum and the lack of excitement and drama exuded by the actors on screen really shows,because of it.2 1/2 stars.Pass on it.

I would rate this movie 5 stars.If you like strange,scary movies you would like this movie.It takes place in the future on planet mars.It is about a mining corporation who gets taken over by ghosts.They become possessed and pchycotic.They make their own weapons and cut themselves for decoration.This is a very scary movie.I suggest that you see this movie.In my opinion I think John Carpenter should make a second one.

In the year 2176, Natasha Henstridge (Species, Species 2) is lieutenant Melanie Ballard, a tough-as-iron cop on a colonized Mars. She is sent to a small mining town to take custody of the infamous James "Desolation" Williams (Ice Cube). Once there, Ballard and her team (including the beautiful Pam "Jackie Brown" Grier) encounter a desolate ghost town that should be thriving with night-life. A defiant, uncooperative Williams is found in his jail cell. Aside from a handful of other prisoners, the rest of the town seems to have been slaughtered. Ballard's group soon discovers that an army of self-mutilating crazies have wiped out everyone. This ghoulish bunch were once normal humans, but were possessed by the spirits of ancient martian inhabitants. Now controlled by these ghosts, they are a sadistic tribe of killers, bent on the total annihilation of all who oppose them. Ballard and Williams must join forces and unite their two factions (cops and criminals) into one fighting force in order to survive. This movie combines the better elements of Carpenter's "Assault On Precinct 13" with Wes Craven's "The Hills Have Eyes" and Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead". The result is a last-stand / Alamo scenario that is convincingly creepy and entertaining. I really enjoyed GOM, and recommend it to all horror fanatics...

Unfairly dismissed by both critics and fans at the time of its release, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars is the cult director at his most b-movie retro. What Ghosts does it take the narrative of Assault on Precinct 13 (cops and criminals in an isolated police station find themselves teaming up to fight a hostile army) and sprinkles it with elements from Prince of Darkness and Escape from New York. The results might fall short of Carpenter at his best, but there is no denying the movie has enough energy (in the good, old fashioned rough and tumble sense - no wire-fu or bullet time digital hijinks found here, thank goodness) and humor to hold a forgiving fans interest. The only major flaw is a ludicrous about face attack at the 1:17 mark, other than that it delivers a fun little b-movie thrill.

Though John Carpenter had more "misses" than "hits" in the 1980's through the 1990's, this movie stands out. It features great direction, almost 3 dimensional characters, an orignal futuristic plot, and great music. In sum, it's pure Carpenter.

Good DVD extras.

Highly recommended.

Oh John where have you gone? HALLOWEEN...THE FOG...THE THING...These were your truly good movies. Since then, we've had to go from THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW to VAMPIRES to this uproariously bad movie! If you intended it to be high camp, well then I would give you three or four stars, but it seems as though you weren't aiming for camp, or it would have been campier! Awful special effects; there's one scene when they're on the train that it looks like a cardboard box. Awful acting...except for Jason Statham, who appared to be enjoying himself. Ice Cube was as cold as his name; Natasha Hensridge should play non-speaking parts, although in this one she isn't even that attractive; shame on Pam Grier for joining the crew. It's like Carpenter cast the real zombies from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. And the music, oh John, how awful. It was so distracting from the movie!!! What made HALLOWEEN so effective was it's "ordinariness"--one could actually feel it's reality; THE THING was likewise ominous in its wondering who was possessing who? This face should definitely join the list of the worst sci-fi films made. Yuck!