More like heck-fire
I watched Ghost Rider last night, courtesy of Netflix. My primary motivation was because it's a Marvel movie. Although I'm fond of most of the Marvel characters, the more "extreme" ones like Ghost Rider and Punisher put me off, which is why I didn't see this in theaters. My overall impression is that it was remarkably tame for a Ghost Rider movie.
I didn't realize the movie was PG-13 at first; I naturally assumed any Ghost Rider movie would have to be rated R. I started to suspect that something might be amiss when Johnny Blaze, professional motorcycle stuntman who lives on the edge, refuses a beer, preferring to eat jelly beans instead. In fact, Nicholas Cage seems to be playing most of the story for laughs, which isn't exactly the approach I'd expected for the character.
One of the problems I've always had with the Ghost Rider is that he doesn't mesh too well with Marvel's science-based heroes (although he's not the only one -- Doctor Strange, Thor, and Hercules all have the same problem). In a movie, without the shared Marvel universe, that should be easy enough to avoid. But the movie takes a very scientific approach to demonic powers...the heat from his bike melts the street, making him easy to track. The police go all CSI over demonic killings...it's all very odd. And somehow, although Johnny's bike is completely transformed into a demonic Hell-cycle, it still has the same license plate, which can somehow fall off for the cops to find. And the "rules lawyering" in the climax, which somehow equates the Ghost Rider with a crew member aboard the Black Pearl, was entirely too nit-picky for me.
In short, nice special effects, I suppose, but that's about it. I don't think I've seen another Marvel movie that so completely missed the idea of the comics it was based on.
I didn't realize the movie was PG-13 at first; I naturally assumed any Ghost Rider movie would have to be rated R. I started to suspect that something might be amiss when Johnny Blaze, professional motorcycle stuntman who lives on the edge, refuses a beer, preferring to eat jelly beans instead. In fact, Nicholas Cage seems to be playing most of the story for laughs, which isn't exactly the approach I'd expected for the character.
One of the problems I've always had with the Ghost Rider is that he doesn't mesh too well with Marvel's science-based heroes (although he's not the only one -- Doctor Strange, Thor, and Hercules all have the same problem). In a movie, without the shared Marvel universe, that should be easy enough to avoid. But the movie takes a very scientific approach to demonic powers...the heat from his bike melts the street, making him easy to track. The police go all CSI over demonic killings...it's all very odd. And somehow, although Johnny's bike is completely transformed into a demonic Hell-cycle, it still has the same license plate, which can somehow fall off for the cops to find. And the "rules lawyering" in the climax, which somehow equates the Ghost Rider with a crew member aboard the Black Pearl, was entirely too nit-picky for me.
In short, nice special effects, I suppose, but that's about it. I don't think I've seen another Marvel movie that so completely missed the idea of the comics it was based on.