Ghosts of Marsis still the closest Jason Statham has come to fronting a Western - which is something he needs to fix.Ghosts of Marswas Statham’s first action role, with the sci-fi chiller casting him as a Martian cop in the year 2176.Statham was actually in line forGhosts of Marslead role, but since he only had a handful of credits, Sony cast Ice Cubeas they wanted a bigger name. Sadly, thisJohn Carpenter moviequickly bombed on release in 2001, doing little for Statham’s career and sending its director into semi-retirement.
Jason Statham action movieshave become such a staple in the last 20 years that it’s hard to recollect a time hewasn’tkicking bums on the big screen.Ghosts of Marswas an important step in Statham’s career trajectory and one of only a handful of horror-adjacent movies he’s appeared in.The movie is another instance of Carpenter sneaking a Western into a sci-fi/horror premise, just as he did withEscape from New York,They LiveandVampires.
Ghosts Of Mars Is The Closest Jason Statham Has Come To A Western
An alternate title could be “Rio Bravo on Mars”
Carpenter frames the settling of Mars by mankind as analogous to the American frontier. It’s a harsh desert landscape that is inherently unfriendly to settlers, who have to travel from outpost to outpost via train. DespiteGhosts of Marsbeing set in the future, the tech is surprisingly lo-fi. There are no spaceships or laser guns, with Statham’s crew being armed with modern-day shotguns and assault rifles.Ghosts of Marsmight be missing horses and stetsons, but it’s a Western in just about every other way.
Just likeAssault on Precinct 13, the movie is a riff on Howard Hawks' classicRio Bravo, where a misfit crew has to defend a police station from attack. Carpenter trades out the attacking Native American tribes of old-timey Westerns with hordes of possessed miners, who eschew guns in favor of swords, axes and - most creatively - saw blades. EvenGhosts of Marsheroes speak in a highly stylized, Howard Hawksian manner. Carpenter could take the same basic setup and move it from Mars to the Old West without much effort.
… despite playing a key role, Jason Statham isn’tGhosts of Mars’leading man.
From its themes to its setting,Ghosts of Marsis the nearest both Carpenter and Statham have come to a traditional Western. Hell, it even ends with an old-school train attack sequemce. Of course, the sci-fi trappings and chintzy look of the film distract from its Western feel. There’s also the fact that, despite playing a key role, Statham isn’tGhosts Mars’leading man. He’s the right-hand man to Natasha Henstridge’s Ballard, and in keeping with his pre-stardom status, Statham’s character meets a grim end long before the credits roll.
Jason Statham Would Be A Natural Fit For A Proper Western Movie
Jason Stetson, anyone?
There are Statham movies likeHomefrontorWild Cardthat have some Western-style themes, but he has yet to appear in an “Oater"of his own. In a 2011Timeinterview, Statham confirmed he’s a fan of the genre"I love westerns. It’s guys being guys,” and namedButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kidas one of his favorite movies toRotten Tomatoes.Ghosts of Marsis cheesy fun and Statham is a natural scene stealer, but the movie was made before he came into his own as a star. His screen persona just hadn’t been refined yet.
Despite rumors to the contrary,Ghosts of Marswasneverdesigned to be a third Snake Plissken movie, nor was it ever calledEscape from Mars.
If he had another go atGhosts of Mars, not only would Statham definitely play the lead, but he’d give a much more confident performance. On the same token, it really shouldn’t be his sole foray into Western terrority. It would be great to see Statham lead a new take onThe Magnificent Seven, or bring his own style to an action Western likeThe Outlaw Josey Wales.
Sure, he’d have to drop the martial arts and soften the British accent, but it would be worth the price of a ticket to see him riding a horse and firing revolvers at the same time.Ghosts of Mars, for all its Western leanings, doesn’t scratch that itch in the same way, which is why he needs to saddle up and give the genre a proper try.
Ghosts of Mars
Cast
Ghosts of Mars is a science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter. Set in 2176 on a colonized Mars, the story follows police officers led by Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) who are tasked with transporting a dangerous prisoner, Desolation Williams (Ice Cube). They soon discover that the mining operations have unearthed an ancient Martian civilization, leading to a deadly confrontation with spirit-possessed colonists.
