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6
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9 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
Human
colonists on Mars find themselves under attack when the ghosts
of a dead civilization start possessing the living...
In essence a futuristic remake of Assault
On Precinct 13 — itself an urban update of Rio
Bravo — Ghosts Of Mars finds
director John Carpenter revisiting themes and images from his
earlier works, albeit in a somewhat flat-footed manner. Though
not a bad film (and certainly nowhere near as disgraceful as
it is sometimes reputed to be on 'net message boards), it does
nevertheless give the impression that its talented director
wasn't entirely into the project.
Part of the problem is the scope of the film.
A low budget movie, Ghosts Of Mars
offers some nice photography and Panavision framing one might
expect from its director, but it's too ambitious for its own
good. The spare settings are eerily impressive in spots, but
sometimes the production looks threadbare, giving it a distinct
B movie flavor. Carpenter also tries to emphasize action over
mood, which is all well and good, save for one thing — the action
scenes lack the necessary punch. Though competently staged,
the fight scenes never quite catch fire. One is left with the
feeling that Carpenter would have done better to have taken
a more intimate, claustrophobic approach — a la The
Thing and Prince Of Darkness
— in favor of trying to pump the movie up to action movie standards.
More
detrimental is the script, co-written by Carpenter himself.
The director has often referred to himself as a lousy writer
in interviews, indicating that he much prefers to work from
other people's scripts, fine tuning them to his own needs as
shooting progresses. Nevertheless, Carpenter has penned some
very good screenplays in his time —
his scripts for Halloween and Prince
Of Darkness, for example, are finely tuned spook show
material, while They Live and Escape
From New York show a flair for the imaginative that is worthy
of praise. This time, however, it seems that Carpenter's inspiration
was running on empty. The basic story, as already noted, is
very much a redux of Assault On Precinct
13. This isn't a major problem, in and of itself, but
it does put the film very much in competition with the earlier
film —
and it comes up short. Apart from a nicely subversive "drugs
can be good for you" subtext, much of the plotting in Ghosts
of Mars is functional and none too imaginative.
The casting is also
off. Ex-rapper Ice Cube (Friday,
Three Kings) is a fairly likable
performer, but in playing the criminal anti-hero "Desolation"
Williams, he's joining the ranks of Carpenter's classic anti-hero
protagonist figures, from Darwin Jostin's Napoleon Wilson in
Assault to James Woods as Jack
Crowe in the underrated Vampires.
Cube does a decent job, but he simply doesn't compare well with
those earlier performers. Far less satisfactory is Natasha Henstridge
(Species, TV's She Spies)
as the latest in Carpenter's line of tough and resilient female
leads. The role has potential which the vacant Henstridge completely
misses out on. Unlikely as it may seem, Courtney Love was actually
set to play the role, but an ankle injury put her out of it.
More than likely, Love would have brought a bit more to the
role than the pretty but utterly bland and uninvolving Henstridge.
The supporting cast includes some Carpenter favorites, including
Pam Grier, Robert Carradine and Peter Jason, but they are all
wasted in underdeveloped roles.
All of this shouldn't
suggest that Ghosts Of Mars is
without merit. It's a reasonably entertaining romp that actually
succeeds on the drive-in/grindhouse level that Carpenter was
apparently aiming for. The director stages a few effective scenes
and again makes good use of judicious framing and cutting (although
he overdoes the dissolve-within-the-same-shot routine), and
a few of the gory highlights are reasonably effective. The director
also contributes an excellent metal-flavored soundtrack, performed
with the collaboration of members of Anthrax among others, which
helps keep things afloat. Ultimately, however, one is left expecting
more from a director who, while erratic, has produced some very
inspired work in the past.
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| Columbia/TriStar's
release of Ghosts Of Mars is first
rate. The 2.35/16x9 image is sharp and colorful. The transfer
looks attractive throughout; this being a new film, there are
no issues with print damage. The 5.1 soundtrack has a lot of punch
— Carpenter's driving music score sounds particularly good, and
the many explosions and foley effects are served very well indeed.
Extras include a commentary track with Carpenter and Henstridge,
a "video diary" (behind the scenes camcorder footage), featurettes
on the score and special effects, and filmographies. The commentary
track is, of course, the standout. Carpenter usually does a fine
job on commentary tracks — the unfortunate In the Mouth of Madness
track to one side — and this is no exception. He and Henstridge
have fun talking about the movie, with the director jokily alluding
to his own fondness for pot when Henstridge points out the drug
subtext, and there are plenty of good anecdotes throughout.
7/25/05 |
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