Ghost Rider (2007)
The Cast
Nicolas Cage ... Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider
Eva Mendes ... Roxanne Simpson
Donal Logue ... Mack
Wes Bentley ... Blackheart
Peter Fonda ... Mephistopheles
Sam Elliott ... Caretaker
Matt Long ... Young Johnny Blaze
Raquel Alessi ... Young Roxanne Simpson
Brett Cullen ... Barton Blaze
Even though I'm generally recognised as a DC Comics mark, I still have enough of the comic book fanboy mentality in me that I tend to get a bit excited over many of the recent film adaptations. Granted, some of them just do absolutely nothing for me or for making me want to see them. I still haven't seen Superman Returns and I don't really care if I see the new Fantastic Four movie. I just don't really have any interest in either the characters or the storyline for the most part. At some point last year I saw a truly kickass trailer for Ghost Rider and became really interested in seeing it when it came out. Months passed and eventually they started showing commercials on the TV that bore little resemblance to the badassery that was evident in the previously mentioned trailer. At that point, I decided I could wait for awhile until I watched it since it didn't really look like something that I'd feel good about paying money for.
Mark Steven Johnson wrote the screenplay and directed the film, having last done the same for the better-than-it-should've-been Daredevil. Ghost Rider wasn't really one of my favourite comic book characters, but I always dug the look of the character as well as the motivations that led the character to fight evil. C'mon now, a flaming skull with fire for tires on his motorbike, can you get any more badass than that? The premise of the character and movie is fairly simple, but there is a great potential for character depth and development in the execution. Or I should say was great potential.
The young Johnny Blaze (Long) strikes up a Faustian deal with the devil (Fonda) to save his father, Barton Blaze (Cullen), from the cancer that is slowly ravaging his body. This plot device is driven home with sledgehammer-like subtley through Barton Blaze's constant coughing fits and frequent smoking. With Johnny's soul as the price, the devil makes good on his part of the deal and promises that one day he would call forth Johnny to be his Ghost Rider. Also, Barton Blaze dies in an unrelated stunt accident. *cough* Flash forward to the present day, and the adult Johnny Blaze (Cage) is a world-famous daredevil that apparently nearly dies during every stunt. After one of the devil's unholy offspring, Blackheart (Bentley), makes a play for ultimate power, the devil calls forth Blaze as the Ghost Rider, standing up Blaze's old flame Roxanne (Mendes) at dinner and setting in motion the rest of the movie. I really dislike writing some plot breakdowns.
Cage plays Blaze more like a philosopher with a death wish than a cowboy with honour, generally making you wish the flaming skull would rear its ugly head as fast as possible. That's pretty much the case with much of the "acting" of the cast, but really it's not that kind of movie. All of it is just really pretty set dressing delaying the inevitable kickass first appearance of Ghost Rider. A better filmmaker than Johnson would inject some actual emotional turbulence into the orgin story, but they can't all be Batman Begins I guess. Many of the action sequences are simply amazing and gorgeous, but there's not much substance there. In fact, the movie is far too bright and colourful for such a darkly-themed character as Ghost Rider.
Much of the movie is just useless dead weight, from the goth chick getting interviewed to the completely unnecessary flashbacks to the massive destruction that accompanies Ghost Rider everywhere he rides. The acting is sub-par, but it's not like they've been given much to work with anyways. For some weird reason though, I didn't hate the movie. Maybe it's just the whole Spirit of Vengeance flaming skull thing making up for the rest of lacklustre movie, I'm not sure. It's not great or even good, but it's not horrid and that's saying something.
2 / 5