Ghost Rider (Marvel Comics Movie Review)

Plot
In this hell-on-wheels thriller, Johnny Blaze, a badass stunt cyclist, makes a Faustian bargain with the sinister Mephisto to save a loved one. Years later, he offers Johnny the chance to reclaim his soul by vanquishing Blackheart -- Mephisto's archenemy and son, who's scheming to depose his pop.

Jason's Thoughts
Crystal and I watched Ghost Rider about three months after we joined Netflix and shortly after the movie was released on DVD. I remember being surprised that she wanted to watch it and how average the movie seemed after it was over.

Movies like the X-Men series set the bar high for comic book movies and Ghost Rider didn't seem to quite live up to those expectations. I originally gave Ghost Rider a three star rating when I watched it back in 2007. After watching it again nearly six years later, I had to bump it down to a two star rating as it felt I was forcing myself to suffer through it all over again.

There are a few good parts to Ghost Rider - the special effects being one of them. A movie that features the Ghost Rider character is hard to pull off considering the appearance of the hero. The special effects of the flaming skull and motorcycle weren't top notch, but they were above average. Also, Sam Elliot was great in his role as the caretaker and outshined the rest of the cast in his limited role.

Outside of those two aspects, Ghost Rider has very little going for it. Even though he is a huge fan of the source material, Nicholas Cage was not good in his role as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider. It seemed like he turned in his average Cage performance with his signature Cage mannerisms and delivery, which isn't all that great. In fact, Cage hasn't performed a good role since playing H.I. McDunnough in Raising Arizona.

The supporting cast isn't much better with a majority of the villains, with the exception of Peter Fonda as Mephisto, turning in one dimensional performances. I will give them the benefit of the doubt, however, as they had little time to add depth to their characters as most of the scenes they were in were short. I didn't time it, but there was one "action" scene, and I use that term loosely, where Ghost Rider dispatched a villain in just a few seconds - a trend of what happened in nearly all action scenes.

The overall plot seemed to be lacking as well. I guess Blackheart, the more evil son of Mephisto, was after some sort of contract that would make him powerful. It never really was said why this contract would do this, which added to my overall displeasure of Ghost Rider. Other aspects such as how Johnny Blaze would have to be stitched up after being stabbed - even though he is a skeleton as Ghost Rider - but he can just walk away from being crushed by a semi truck without a scratch, also added to said displeasure.

To sum it up, Ghost Rider is a letdown in terms of the source material. They could have done so much more had they worked with a better script and better actors. I have sat through this movie twice and I don't foresee myself watching it again any time soon.

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