It is very vague and lacking in specificity, but exposing the core and retracting the control rods would only produce a meltdown, which is not the same thing as a nuclear explosion. Nuclear bombs and nuclear power plants work very differently, needless to say.

Putting the nuclear power plant into meltdown would irradiate the area. Given the size of the settlement, the statement that the "explosion" would cover "a mile or two" might be accurate. The radiation would give the Human hosts a serious case of radiation poisoning, and almost certainly kill them.

Whether this would kill the alien "ghosts" is unknown.

Needless to say, the CGI shot of the explosion as visible from space is highly off-scale.

The dialogue from the scientist muddies these waters, but the POV shots suggest spirits or ghosts. However, parasitic organisms that take control of a host's brain could also have a point of view and think to itself in terms that resemble language.

This is one for the individual viewer to decide.

As the film is owned by a large corporation and is mostly rotting away in their vaults, it is highly unlikely the soundtrack album is ever going to be released again.

This is in no way advocating for piracy.

Anthrax, Buckethead, E. Bucket Baker, and of course, John Carpenter.

Buckethead also has some amazing albums such as Crime Slunk Scene that persons who enjoy the music of Ghosts Of Mars might enjoy.

Generally, the credits for screenplays are in the level of importance each writer has.

To clarify, Larry Sulkis and John Carpenter's names are separated by an ampersand (&) in the credits. This means they worked as a team, per WGA rules. Names are usually credited in order of who did the most work, and Larry Sulkis' name is first in the list.

Carpenter's power in Hollywood had thoroughly waned by 2000, which means his ability to demand a new script would be small. The general rule of thumb is that the director is the captain of the ship and must take the blame for the ultimate results. So, clearly, Carpenter was trying to salvage the most fun out of a very suboptimal script.

Cockney.

Note that when Duane Davis mockingly imitates the Cockney accent, he does a much better job than when Dick Van Dyke tried to perform a real Cockney accent in Mary Poppins.

That said, Duane's imitation only bears a passing resemblance to Statham's voice.