|
|
|
A DVD Review of...
  
Images (C) Screen Gems |
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Cast: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Pam Grier, Jason Statham, CleaDuVall
Synopsis: From the famed director of "Escape From New York" & "The Thing". A harrowing tale of rescue and escape from a colonized Mars in the year 2025. Long inhabited by human settlers, the Red Planet has become the manifest destiny of an over-populated Earth. Nearly 640,000 people now live and work all over Mars, mining the planet for its abundant natural resources. But one of those mining operations has uncovered a deadly mother lode: a long-dormant Martian civilization whose warriors are systematically taking over the bodies of human intruders. Lt. Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) of the Martian Police Force is on transport assignment to bring James 'Desolation' Williams (Ice Cube), the planet's most notorious criminal, to justice. Williams has no plans to make Ballard's job easy, and what begins as a battle of force and wits between cop and criminal soon turns into something more fundamental: a battle for human survival in the realm of the Martian warriors. It's civilization against civilization as Ballard and Williams join forces in mortal combat with the Ghosts of Mars..
Film Review: The late 70's and 80's was a time when John Carpenter was king of cult cinema, a man who came up with some of the most creative and immensly entertaining flicks of the time that, while usually made for a small budget, were still full of imagination. The 90's however hasn't been so good with most of the efforts of the genre proving to be disappointing and forgettably average. Sadly this decade has kicked off with a film that looks the same - "Ghosts of Mars" is a leaner, meaner and more western film in style than you'd expect from the sci-fi setting. Nevertheless its sadly derivative, unsuspensful and frankly uninteresting despite a great setting and a few nice quirks. A reprehensible effort from Ice Cube is off-set by Henstridge who gets to stretch her talent a bit in this and show off in a strong feminine role. Jason Statham stands out as one of the other guards, you could blink and miss the very underused Clea DuVall, the normally great Joanna Cassidy is rather 'ehhh' in a bad role, whilst Pam Grier makes the most of what little time she has as the butch lesbian team leader. The use of the Martian setting feels like a very enclosed set despite some colourful rocks, whilst the baddies are disappointing 'pierced' humans with not much to them. The script is very ordinary and predictable, the suspense isn't much, and yet Carpenter gives it a little something (which I can't define) which makes it slightly more watchable than you'd might think. Video effort at best. - Garth Franklin
"Ghosts of Mars: Special Edition"
DVD Details In Brief (Region 1)
Rating: R
Runtime: 98mins
Versions: 16:9 Enhanced Widescreen, 4:3 Letterboxed
Aspect Ratio: 2.40: 1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Language & Sub-Titles: English, French
Commentary: John Carpenter & Natasha Henstridge
Documentaries: "Scoring Ghosts of Mars" Featurette, Visual Effects Deconstructions, Video Diary
Other: Filmographies
Region 1 vs. Region 4: No Region 4 Available. |
 |
DVD Review: Despite being labelled as a 'Special Edition', there isn't much special about this - its more of a standard release than anything else. The transfer is quite spectacular, the film makes a lot of use of blacks and varying degrees of red in its landscapes and all have been transferred splendidly with rich colors and smooth edges though some grain is present at times. The Dolby Digital 5.1 makes great use of surround sound with a strong score, clear dialogue and good balance of sound effects. The film comes with a Pan & Scan version available too for those who just have to see that version. Of course commentary tracks with Carpenter can be reasons alone to buy a DVD release and while I wouldn't say that with this one, Carpenter and Henstridge talking on this nevertheless prove an enjoyable time - both are very comfortable with each other and have fun, revealing some stuff I'm surprised the lawyers allowed them to get away with. Also on the disc are standard biographies and three rather so-so featurettes clocking in at about 10-minutes each. 'Scoring' is a music video basically using footage from the scoring sessions set to music, the video diary is some on-set behind the scenes video, and 'SFX Deconstructions' is looks at various FX shots at different stages. Overall, much like the movie itself, a disappointing release for a Carpenter effort. - Garth Franklin
 .
|
|
|
|
|
|
