...this film sounds a lot like Mad Max Heads for the Angry Red Planet on a Pitch Black Night of the Living Dead.
Now for some questions: Why do none of the principal characters behave at all realistically or naturally in this film, as normal human beings would act? Understandably, Ice Cube can´t be said to have acted in any of his films, but I mean why do all the characters in the movie do stupid things, like walk into a room alone or turn their backs on an obvious monster? Haven´t they ever seen a horror flick before? And why are the spirits so evil? I can understand why they might be ticked off at newcomers settling on their planet, but these spirits are plain-out repulsive in their meanness. Were they always that way, even in life, or does being dead just get under your skin? And why do radio communications always break up exactly when the heroes desperately need to contact someone? And why if it´s supposed to be set 175 years in the future do people still use mid-twentieth century handguns, shotguns, and bullets? These weapons don´t even have laser sights, let alone shoot lasers! And why do the characters still speak through old-fashioned microphones and operate old-fashioned switchboards? And why does everyone in the film dress like a survivor of "The Road Warrior"? And why do the spirit zombies use only spears and blades when they could have any of the automatic weapons their victims possessed? And why does it appear to be perpetual night on this planet? Pretend I didn´t ask.
Video:
Columbia TriStar continues its practice of providing full-screen and widescreen versions of their films on the same disc, this time on the same side. The widescreen aspect ratio measures pretty close to what it probably did in theaters, in this case about 2.13:1 anamorphic Panavision. The full-screen format chops it down by about fifty percent and blows it up to fill a normal 1.33:1 ratio television screen, a process most often called pan-and-scan. I always tell people if they don´t like the smaller images in widescreen editions, sit closer to the TV; but here you have a choice. The picture quality is hard to judge because it´s mostly filmed in dark, dreary earth tones, browns, reds, and oranges. The transfer is reasonably clear of digital artifacts, but the delineation is not as clean or sharp as it might be, looking just slightly soft and blurred. Maybe that was intentional, too; I don´t know.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound does a good job reproducing noises in the rear channels, both subtle and obvious. There are a lot of nice aural touches, like the sounds of doors opening, wind blowing, crowds yelling, bullets flying, fireballs, groans, moans, roars, ticks, clicks, screams, explosions, and ambient music. But, oddly, there is little deep bass and a relatively restricted dynamic range.
Extras:
Among the bonus items are the usual suspects. There´s an audio commentary with director John Carpenter and star Natasha Henstridge. I stayed away from it, but one might be better off listening to Carpenter talk about the film than having to watch it. That´s followed by a seventeen-minute "Video Diary"; it contains no narration, just behind-the-scenes scenes. Then, there are two featurettes. The first is called "Special Effects Deconstruction," self-explanatory, seven minutes long; the second is called "Scoring Ghosts of Mars," also self-explanatory, six minutes. Finally, there are a few filmographies and twenty-eight scene selections. English is the only spoken language provided, and, another oddity for Columbia, only English and French are offered for subtitles, not their usual extensive lineup of international favorites. No theatrical trailer this time out, either.
Parting Shots:
"Ghosts of Mars" is understandably rated R for its profanity and bloody fervor. It might just as well have been rated R for "regrettable," since it´s a shame John Carpenter can´t seem to come up with an effective sci-fi or horror film anymore. And he must take the blame, as he both cowrote and directed the picture. This one is mostly dull, formulaic gore.
Video:
Columbia TriStar continues its practice of providing full-screen and widescreen versions of their films on the same disc, this time on the same side. The widescreen aspect ratio measures pretty close to what it probably did in theaters, in this case about 2.13:1 anamorphic Panavision. The full-screen format chops it down by about fifty percent and blows it up to fill a normal 1.33:1 ratio television screen, a process most often called pan-and-scan. I always tell people if they don´t like the smaller images in widescreen editions, sit closer to the TV; but here you have a choice. The picture quality is hard to judge because it´s mostly filmed in dark, dreary earth tones, browns, reds, and oranges. The transfer is reasonably clear of digital artifacts, but the delineation is not as clean or sharp as it might be, looking just slightly soft and blurred. Maybe that was intentional, too; I don´t know.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound does a good job reproducing noises in the rear channels, both subtle and obvious. There are a lot of nice aural touches, like the sounds of doors opening, wind blowing, crowds yelling, bullets flying, fireballs, groans, moans, roars, ticks, clicks, screams, explosions, and ambient music. But, oddly, there is little deep bass and a relatively restricted dynamic range.
Extras:
Among the bonus items are the usual suspects. There´s an audio commentary with director John Carpenter and star Natasha Henstridge. I stayed away from it, but one might be better off listening to Carpenter talk about the film than having to watch it. That´s followed by a seventeen-minute "Video Diary"; it contains no narration, just behind-the-scenes scenes. Then, there are two featurettes. The first is called "Special Effects Deconstruction," self-explanatory, seven minutes long; the second is called "Scoring Ghosts of Mars," also self-explanatory, six minutes. Finally, there are a few filmographies and twenty-eight scene selections. English is the only spoken language provided, and, another oddity for Columbia, only English and French are offered for subtitles, not their usual extensive lineup of international favorites. No theatrical trailer this time out, either.
Parting Shots:
"Ghosts of Mars" is understandably rated R for its profanity and bloody fervor. It might just as well have been rated R for "regrettable," since it´s a shame John Carpenter can´t seem to come up with an effective sci-fi or horror film anymore. And he must take the blame, as he both cowrote and directed the picture. This one is mostly dull, formulaic gore.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]8448[/release]