John Carpenter’s Ghosts Of Mars (2001) provided Jason Statham with his first big action role. Statham made his movie debut with Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and they soon reunited with 2000’s Snatch, but while he impressed in both of those efforts with his comic chops, the roles in these British crime movies did not offer much of a hint at the action hero Statham would become in later roles. The first sign of that came with the actor teaming up with Carpenter, the legendary filmmaker behind The Thing and Escape from New York.
Ghosts Of Mars is something of a cinematic mixtape from director John Carpenter, with the film playing like a sci-fi remake of Assault On Precinct 13, with shades of The Thing and The Fog thrown in. The movie is set in the year 2176 and follows a police force on the colonized Mars sent to retrieve a dangerous criminal from a mining colony only to discover a huge deadlier threat lurking on the planet. The team must then partner with the criminal in order to survive. Despite the movie being a financial and critical disappointment, it was a big step in Statham’s career.
Jason Statham Initially Had The Lead Role In Ghosts Of Mars
There Was Not Enough Confidence In Statham As A Lead Actor
When he initially got involved with the project, Jason Statham was reportedly up for the main role of convict Desolation Williams in Ghosts Of Mars. While Statham’s collaborations with Guy Ritchie gave him some big roles, a starring role in a Hollywood production would have been a big boost to Statham’s career at the time. However, the studio didn’t think he had the star power to sell the movie. Ice Cube took on that part, while Statham was instead cast as Officer Jericho.
Though a supporting role, Statham helps to make Jericho a stand-out character in the ensemble with Statham’s action movie presence sometimes being distracting given that he is meant to be a secondary player in the movie. Jericho even becomes the love interest of the main female character, Lieutenant Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge).
Ghosts of Mars was initially rumored to be a Snake Plissken movie.
Ghosts Of Mars Introduces Statham As An Action Star
The Flawed Movie Still Gave Statham An Important Platform
Though a supporting role, Statham helps to make Jericho a stand-out character in the ensemble with Statham’s action movie presence sometimes being distracting given that he is meant to be a secondary player in the movie. Jericho even becomes the love interest of the main female character, Lieutenant Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge).
Ghosts of Mars was initially rumored to be a Snake Plissken movie.
Ghosts Of Mars Introduces Statham As An Action Star
The Flawed Movie Still Gave Statham An Important Platform
Statham’s first year trying to break into the action genre might not have gone as smoothly as the actor likely hoped. Ghosts of Mars’ failure was joined by the sci-fi action movie The One also released in 2001. The movie was another critical failure and only a modest box office hit. However, Statham didn’t get much of an opportunity to show off his action chops as he was playing a supporting role to genre master Jet Li. However, Statham would enter the spotlight shortly after with his starring role in 2002’s The Transporter.
The movie stars Statham as Frank Martin, a professional and disciplined driver for criminals who breaks his own rules by opening one of the packages he is transporting, thus making himself a target. It is a relatively small-scale action movie but it is elevated by the fact that Statham does most of his own stunts in the movie, from the energetic fight scenes to the car chases. The small movie became a surprise hit and spawned Statham’s first action franchise.
This was the breakout role the actor needed and he quickly became one of the most sought-after action stars in Hollywood. From wild R-rated movies like Crank to large ensembles like The Expendables movies to his gritty thrillers like The Mechanic, Statham carved out a niche for himself in the genre. Impressively, it is a persona that has not faltered with audiences as his latest movie The Beekeeper was another big hit for the actor.