Ghosts of Mars
Screen Gems | Release Date: August 24, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
7
Negative:
15
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
It's cheap thrills all the way, served up with the kind of situational purity that only Carpenter seems to care for these days. It's that simple and that much fun. Read full review
80
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
Rife with silliness, such as the flashbacks within flashbacks of characters who were not with one another at the time, and occasional unintentional laughs -- but it's also a good, raucous kick in the behind, which is literally all it aspires to be Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A brawny space opera, transplanting the conventions of Western, cop and martial arts films to the Red Planet. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Carpenter writes his own scripts -- here with past collaborator Larry Sulkis -- and their "Ghosts" screenplay lacks the density, character and humor of a Hollywood genre classic. Read full review
60
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It might be nice if Ghosts of Mars had more to offer than snappy repartee and shameless gore, or if it could borrow a little narrative tension from its Alien Chain Saw forebears. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
For those so inclined, it's nice to see the girl and the gangsta -- not the gunslinger -- save the day. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
A redundancy, and a bore. The characters are harrowingly unsympathetic, the action sequences are by-the-numbers, and Carpenter's usual saving grace -- his sense of humor -- is nowhere in evidence. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyBruce Fretts
Borderline-incoherent. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Carpenter's heart doesn't seem to be in this lackluster space adventure set in 2176. What's more, his stars -- Natasha Henstridge and Ice Cube -- don't exactly energize the proceedings. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Written, directed, and edited with the offhand shoddiness of a day worker thinking about his evening beer. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Bad enough that the plot is shopworn, but the tough-gal talk is unintentionally hilarious, and the complicated narrative structure is annoying and pointless. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
While this cheesy, heavy-metal melange of horror, space hooey and cowboy shoot-'em-ups isn't exactly dull, it isn't anything to write home about either. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
It starts as enjoyable B-movie pulp, degenerates to camp, then turns into laughable lunacy. Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Like a zombie picture directed by one of the undead. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A turgid recycling of Mr. Carpenter's remake of "The Thing."
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Carpenter pulls out all the action-adventure stops, but he and coscripter Larry Sulkis forgot to write dialogue the audience could listen to without howling in disbelief. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
A horror/sci-fi/action mishmash that aims to be the kind of brainless timekiller once used to round out the bottom of a double bill at the drive-in. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
A tired and dispiriting affair that takes forever to get going. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
I have an idea for a Mars movie. When our first astronauts step onto the Red Planet, they discover that Martians not only exist but that they've hired Johnnie Cochran to represent them in a massive defamation suit against American filmmakers. Read full review
25
New York PostJonathan Foreman
A deep disappointment to fans of sci-fi and the once great John Carpenter. Read full review
25
Portland OregonianBarry Johnson
It's not confusing, it's just slow. Very slow. Glacial. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Slides instantly into the realm of the forgettable. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It keeps you off balance, all right, but not enough to obscure the sad fact that Ghosts of Mars is a muddled, derivative disaster straight on through. Read full review
20
VarietyRobert Koehler
This deliberately pre-'90s slice of rock 'n' roll-tinged sci-fi horror, decorated with anything but the latest in special effects, seems particularly grungy and marginal. Read full review
20
Washington PostRita Kempley
Schlocky, sluggish shoot-'em-up. Read full review
20
Mr. ShowbizCody Clark
So wretched that it practically defies description.
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