Ghosts of Mars (2001)

Stars	User	Rating
4	Kojiless	10 _11th
I'm guessing the studio didn't think the audience could comprehend such alien concepts as a female squad-commander, a female scientist, a female committee-chair, or a female police officer, so they put a disclaimer at the beginning saying that Martian society, for some reason, became matriarchal. And then for good measure, they made 2 out of every 3 characters lesbians and gave them dialogue like A: 'I need you straight, lieutenant.' B: 'I'm as straight as they come, sir.' A: 'That's too bad.'
4	juntakinte99	66 _30th
Carpenter's again influenced by Forbidden Planet and The Thing as he shows a world of mysterious monsters. Like some of the era's sci-fi the silly slang creates shaky world-building. And executive meddling is everywhere--including an opening Star Wars scroll backstory. But he's a master craftsman who can dramatize a relationship between cops and prisoners while also showing loud, mindless action. But Ice Cube & Natasha should be an interracial buddy duo in more movies. Marginal recommendation.
3	djross	45 _34th
Some weaknesses, no doubt, but the non-linear, story-within-a-story structure (including four layers of flashback) was kind of interesting, and the gusto with which it combined elements from other films was kind of amusing. Somewhat unusual in taking the side of the colonists against the colonised, and in portraying illegal drugs as beneficial. If the budget had extended to a few space-travel sequences and a greater variety of sets, I suspect audiences may have been a little more forgiving.
3	Carpetgiant	76 _12th
You know how there are those really impressive and ground-breaking movies that John Carpenter made? And then there are some that aren't so great, but have some redeeming qualities? "Ghosts of Mars" does not fit into either of those categories.
3	BillyShears	50 _21st
Everytime Ice Cube is on screen it could've been Snake >:( Carpenter's weakest film - none of the characters are memorable outside of "hey that's Jason statham" hot observations and the music is atrocious. Gonna sit down and rescore the entire movie with tracks from Lost Themes and no I'm not.
3	overrated	8 _3rd
Ice Cube, Statham and the naked woman from Species fight an army of rabid Marilyn Manson fans on Mars. Somehow this is anything but an endorsement.
2	ServantDagon	40 _5th
Ice Cube don't belee at! Poor John Carpenter, he used to scare me once.
2	andagh	75 _45th
They missed a scene between the ghosts taking over the bodies of the martians and then attacking: the ghost martians going to a KISS concert, because how else does one explain the ridiculous attire?
2	ewp805	30 _12th
What the hell? Why are Ice Cube and Jason Statham in space? And why is John Carpenter directing it? Definitely a flick for the hardcore b-movie fans.
2	yawkcorb	10 _3rd
The characters are supposed to be cops, but they show a surprising unfamiliarity with their weapons and police tactics. One cop repeatedly uses the 'halt' hand signal but everyone keeps walking anyway, including that cop herself. They do everything wrong. Cops should know better, especially when the comment is made that they "have the best training." Also, the story is... well, terrible. Alien ghosts. That's a new one for me. It plays out to be as dumb as it sounds.
2	TimeCapsule	48 _37th
John Carpenter presents a brainless sci-fi/action studio mutation of the potential third "Snake Plissken" film, "Escape From Mars", in this weird Martian version of "The Happening"(2008). Although some of the movie is admittedly fun at times, its cheesy sci-fi/action charms aren't enough to cover up the lazy convoluted mess of a story. Try to imagine Ice Cube cosplaying "Snake Plissken" fighting deadites, and you get the picture. Tolerable watch, but nothing to seek out.
1	TheDiceman	30 _9th
Poor.
1	Ayavaron	40 _26th
Surprisingly watchable with just enough for you to be unable to call it a bad movie.
1	Grit	4 _3rd
Ice Cube's enthusiasm for his part in Ghosts of Mars is plain to see, but it really says something about the quality of a movie when he shines above the rest of the cast. The main problem with Ghosts of Mars is that it is so far up its own ass that it never seems to realise quite how terrible it actually is. With the totally useless Natasha Henstridge as a lead, some mediocre special effects, stupid enemies and badly choreographed action scenes it's very hard to bear for the entire running time.
1	MonsterGear	18 _3rd
Oh, John, whyyyyyy
1	Tripwyre	33 _15th
Assault on Precinct Apollo 13. There are a handful of enjoyable parts of this movie (Ice Cube chief among them) and while it's never actively boring, it's not exactly interesting either. I watched it after a few beers in the lead up to Halloween, which I assume is precisely how it's meant to be watched, and it still wasn't very good.
1	juice	40 _17th
Ice Cube in space. Do I need to say anything else?
1	caffe	50 _35th
Just big, dumb fun. An idiotic, somewhat problematic movie that I smiled through every minute of. People will tell you things like "the CG sucks" or "it's Carpenter's worst score", but for me the music made me laugh every time and the CG actually didn't bother me.
1	Vandelay1	33 _25th
not so good
1	Jeb	15 _12th
Cheesy fun!
1	WWallce4prez	23 _2nd
Best way to kill a zombie martian that resembles a glam-rocker? A spinning kick to the chest from Natasha Henstridge. Cue the rock soundtrack and Ice Cube bringing Compton to Mars and you have GoM. John Carpenter is a whore.
1	dunbar	50 _13th
Ridiculously awful. Mostly ridiculous. Mostly. But awful. Also awful.
1	Matthew Parkinson (CineMarter)	50 _47th
Ghosts of Mars isn't really a good film, but it's consistently interesting and entertaining and contains some things that you won't often see in the movies. If you have a fondness for the color red, or B-movies set on Mars in which soldiers fight against miners infected by ghosts, turning them into savages in the process -- assuming one can be "fond" of this exact setting -- then you'll have a good time.
1	ribcage	5 _2nd
carpenters turn from b-movie king to "old and tired." might have been the right style of 80s kitsch to make it cult if it was made right after escape from new york, but this came 20 years too late for that. nothing the characters do makes sense, it's essentially an hour of run 'n gun. don't kill the monsters because then the ghosts get loose? and next scene ice cube says fuck it and opens up with uzis in what should have been a suicidal strafing run. love carpenter--shouldn't have watched this.
1	Paxton	43 _13th
Carpenter has begun the free fall.
1	Dakota99	2 _9th
This film gets 60 points for featuring Jason Statham and Ice Cube in a film where they're capable of walking on Mars for no intellectual reason while they fend off the hordes of...possessed miners? Oh wait...you mean there are more people full of useless exposition and flashbacks no one asked for? You know I'll have to deduct 20 points for it not being that way better sounding idea and a extra 5 for whatever crap show this was my dad tried to convince me was good.
1	Yiannos	58 _41st
Cheap sets that resemble Total Recall rejects and bad casting prove damaging to G.O.M, the last Carpenter that plays like an auteurist's piece.It's essentially a summation of his entire career, merging his favourite themes and genre tropes with his latter day formal traits (e.g. dissolves) and shift away from minimalist narratives. The overuse of flashbacks stalls any sense of momentum, but the almost Bava-esque lighting combined with the groove metal soundtrack kicks the action into high gear.

Average Percentile 21.79% from 1525 Ratings