Jason Statham’s first action movie was a stealth remake of the 1959 John Wayne classic

Jason Statham’s first action role was in Ghosts of MarsWhich was a stealth remake of a John Wayne Western. Released in 2001, Ghosts of Mars Marked the last film by John Carpenter for a decade, with the legendary filmmaker taking a long break after feeling burned out with the industry. The film itself is a fusion of sci-fi, action and horror, with a dash of western thrown into the pot. Ghosts of Mars was also one of a series of films set on Mars during this period, including Val Kilmer’s Red planet And Mission to Mars.

The movie feels like a mixtape of Carpenter’s previous work; Ghosts of Mars Gets the drop store setting from Assault on Precinct 13The paranoia of The thing With a main character who feels very much like Kurt Russell’s Snake Flissken. There was even a slip Ghosts of Mars was almost the third Escape from… movie. The film also marked the action debut of one Jason Statham, after his breakout with Guy Ritchie gangster movies like Snatch.

Jason Statham’s Ghosts Of Mars Secretly Remade John Wayne’s Rio Bravo

Carpenter got to make a western in outer space

Carpenter first fell in love with cinema thanks to watching sci-fi movies and westerns as a boy, and claims he got into the business to helm westerns. Unfortunately, when his career began in the 1970s, the genre was all but dead. While Carpenter never got to show a true Western, most of his work contains elements of this genre. Vampires is basically a Sam Peckinpah film with vampires, while Assault on Precinct 13 is very much a western siege movie.

John Carpenter’s favorite western is Rio BravoWhere John Wayne’s sheriff has to keep a dangerous prisoner in his jail while he is surrounded by killers who are looking to break the man out. Ghosts of Mars itself is a remake of Rio Bravo With supernatural elements thrown in, a team of police sent to escort a prisoner from a remote town find themselves besieged by miners possessed by the spirits of long-dead Martian warriors. The unit is led by Natasha Henstridge’s Ballard, who is forced to team up with Ice Cube’s criminal Williams to survive the night.

Ghosts of Mars Miss the friendly butterflies or occasional sing-songs of Howard Hawks’ Rio BravoBut there is a definite kinship between them. Hooks himself helped a lot Rio Bravo Trilogy, with El Dorado And Rio Lobo Remixing the same core themes and story beats. Statham himself plays Sergeant Jericho, Ballard’s second in command and someone who proves very useful in a fight.

Statham was supposed to play Ghosts of Mars main character

Ghosts of Mars made the wrong choice with its lead actor

Ice cube often has the name Ghosts of Mars Like the worst movie he’s ever appeared in (via Contact music), claiming that the production does not have the budget it needs to work; He also refused to promote it. Cub’s unhappiness with the project is also apparent in his detached and strangely unhappy performance. In hindsight, it feels obvious Ghosts of Mars Would have worked better with Statham than Williams, but it needs to be underlined that it was only the actor’s fourth film. While Carpenter wanted Statham to play Williams, the studio didn’t see it that way.

It was also Statham’s first action role, so the film’s financiers had no preconceived idea of ​​how he would function in a leading role. It is decided Ghosts of Mars needed some star power, so Statham was out while producers turned to Ice Cube, who was coming off the back of Heat as Three kings And Next Friday. The rapper himself was also a big fan of Carpenter’s work and took the film to work with the famous director.

Carpenter still wanted to work with the young Statham as well, so he beefed up the Jericho character, giving him more scenes and essentially making him the third lead. Ghosts of Mars Gives Statham plenty of action too, where his martial arts background makes him more natural than Henstridge or Cube in their fight scenes.

John Carpenter previously remade Rio Bravo as Assault on the 13th

Ghosts of Mars wasn’t Carpenter’s first time playing with Rio Bravo’s template

While Dark stars is Carpenter’s first directing credit, he continues Assault on Precinct 13 His first real movie. This low-budget thriller finds a cop and a criminal holding their own against an almost supernatural gang while trapped in a decommissioned prison. It’s a unique blend of action and horror, with many of Carpenter’s directing trademarks already evident, including his self-composed synth score. Since Carpenter could not find the financial support for a western, he made a present-day “other” with Assault on Precinct 13 Instead.

Carpenter plays worship to be sure Rio Bravo Scenes also, such as one character tossing a shotgun to another, who then instantly shoot down a group of attackers. in one sense, Ghosts of Mars Feels as close as Carpenter ever got to a true West. It has the vast open desert (albeit, a red desert), stylized Western-style dialogue, a remote city and even an attack on a moving train. A few horses and the heroes with six guns were missing.

Ghosts of Mars and The One almost killed Jason Statham’s action career before it began

Statham’s sci-fi action double bill got his Hollywood career off to a shaky start

Jason Statham has worked with Jet Li a total of five times, including the first three Expendables and 2007s War. Their first collaboration was The oneA sci-fi actioner where Lee’s character is stalked by a murderous doppelganger from a parallel universe. Statham is the interdimensional cop chasing the evil Lee down and the film is notable for the actor’s wobbly American accent and is one of the few movies with his original hairline. The film itself is a nostalgic but painfully 2000s era action flick, complete with the matrix –Inspired setpieces.

2001 was not a great year for Statham’s bid to move into action, with both The one And Ghosts of Mars Being critical and business underperformers. While the latter was an outright bomb and only grossed $14 million worldwide on a $28 million budget ( via Box Office Mojo), The one did modest business, but it didn’t signal that Statham was the next big action star. luckily, His successor The transporter Use all his talents and became a surprise hit that kicked off an action career that is healthier than ever Over 20 years.

Although it would never happen, it would be fascinating to see a Ghosts of Mars remake that put Statham in the lead role just to see how it would change the movie; A bigger budget and better special effects wouldn’t hurt either. Statham has largely steered clear of horror and sci-fi in the years since, too. That said, be Meg Duology ticks both genre boxes and feels better suited to his particular skill set.

Source: Contact music, Rotten tomatoes, Box Office Mojo