I have not seen enough of John Carpenter's films to properly evaluate his body of work, but based upon what I know, I will not hesitate to say that this is probably the worst he's put out so far. If this keeps up, he'll be just another tired hack. And don't try to say it wasn't his fault or anything, because he shares screenplay credit. <br /><br />I freely admit I feel a touch of anger when reflecting upon "Ghosts of Mars." After all, I love science fiction, and decided that it was worth a rental after Roger Ebert, as well as JoBlo's Movie Emporium, reviewed it favorably. I hoped to get at least a mildly entertaining movie, but it failed to live up to even this modest expectation. To be frank, it's a real bore that kept me looking at my watch. To me, the only highlight was the decent B-movie cast. They try very hard with what they have to work with, but to little avail. Pam Grier is always worth watching, but her character gets killed off too soon. Perhaps she realized what a stinker she was in and abandoned ship.<br /><br />The storytelling is routine, and the direction is clumsy at times. It saddens me to see John Carpenter, creator of "Halloween," make something so shallow, generic, and forgettable. I really don't think he set out to make a bad movie. On the contrary, I got the sense that he sincerely attempted to make an entertaining action flick. Alas, he fails. There is one good thing that can come out of a viewing: generally speaking, Carpenter is only as good as his material.<br /><br />*1/2 (out of ****)<br /><br />Released by Screen Gems<br /><br />