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Ghosts of Mars    review by Drusilla Blakey

Ghost of mars.jpg

Throughout his career John Carpenter has taken on horror and sci-fi in ways others hadn’t and often time merging the two. In 2001he brought together Ice Cube, Jason Statham and Natasha Henstridge for the sci-fi horror flick Ghosts of Mars. Now Mill Creek Entertainment is bringing the cult hit home on Blu-ray.

Ghosts of Mars follows 200 years in the future where a Martian police unit is dispatched to transport a dangerous prisoner from a mining outpost back to justice. But when the team arrives they find the town deserted and some of the inhabitants possessed by the former inhabitants of the planet.

When the movie Ghosts of Mars first came out I was so excited and thrilled to see something with Ice Cube as an actor. He had already made a name for himself, but was always interesting seeing him grow as he took on different kinds of roles. It also started then relatively unknown Jason Statham and it was a fun movie that incorporated a lot of things I like:  sci-fi, thriller, action-adventure, zombies, some gun fights and great action scenes.

 

So now with this new release, I wanted to go back and see if I would still be as excited and happy to watch this film. Because for the past 18 years, it had lived in my mind as a great movie that was always fun to watch.  Well time isn’t always kind, and instead of this film being ‘great’ like I remembered, it was merely good. The performances are still good and the story well crafted. But the effects of the time don’t hold up as well as I would have hoped. 

 

When the actual ‘Ghosts are Mars’ are moving around it’s a bit unclear what is actually happening and the movement of their shadowy figures aren’t very good. It’s a bit fuzzy and hard to see. But in reality, I’m watching for the fight and action sequences and those are still fine. 

 

If you’re a fan of Ice Cube or Jason Statham then this should be on your list!  

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