Ghost Rider
by: Average Joe 1 year, 9 months, 1 week, 3 days, 4 hours, 8 minutes ago
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Columbia Pictures
In 2003 Director Mark Steven Johnson tried his hand at bringing a Marvel character to the big screen with Daredevil to less than stellar reviews from fans and critics. Now, four years later he returns to bring yet another Marvel character to life in Ghost Rider, but how does he fare this time around?
Personally I’ve never been a huge fan of the character Ghost Rider. I mean, I know the basics and enough to get me by incase a random conversation about the Spirit of Vengeance breaks out at a party (hey, it’s been known to happen), but otherwise my knowledge has it’s limits. Naturally when I heard a movie based on the popular Marvel character was in the works I thought it could be a interesting idea, I mean at the least it would be cool to see a flaming skull on the big screen for 90min right? Then I learned that Mark Steven Johnson had been hired to write and direct the film and I immediately thought "oh no." This is the same guy that thought it would be a good idea to cast Ben Affleck and Colin Farrel as Daredevil and Bullseye....needless to say my faith in him was less than present.
I got the chance to catch a late night showing of Ghost Rider, and when asked afterwards “what did you think” my honest reaction was "I don’t really know." Usually with films like this about characters that aren’t as big as the likes of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, etc I tend to walk out with a feeling of uncertainty about the film. The remedy for such feelings? Why, going and seeing the movie for a second time of course.
In the Columbia Pictures film World famous motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze makes a deal with the devil Mephistopheles in order to keep his father from dying of cancer. Blaze later learns that he has been tricked by Mephistopheles, and is forced to leave his childhood sweetheart Roxanne in order to protect her. Some years later Blackheart, the son of Mephistopheles enlists the help of three fallen angles called “The Hidden” to help him take over the World. Mephistopheles once again comes to Blaze and tells him it’s time for him to collect on their deal thus turning Blaze into his personal bounty hunter known as the Ghost Rider.
The beginning of the film seems a bit forced in my opinion, but that could be due to the fact that there’s a lot of backstory for Johnson to cover (check out wikipedia’s info on the character). The film tries to establish that Blaze is really looking for his father’s approval, and only wants what’s best for him which is why he enters into a deal with the devil. What gets me is that Blaze signs the deal out of an overwhelming love for his father, however we really don’t get to see that too much during the film...it’s more implied than anything.
It doesn’t take too long before we’re introduced to Blackheart and “The Hidden” and the film starts to pick up. There’s a bit more set up for Blaze before he becomes the Ghost Rider, but honestly it doesn’t seem excessive at all, actually I enjoyed getting to know the character before he transforms. Once Blaze is called upon by Mephistopheles we’re in for a treat in the form of the initial transformation which looks extremely painful, but also enjoyable in a wierd way...it really is an impressive scene.
Once Ghost Rider shows up and meets up with Blackheart & Co. it’s pretty much a no holds barred slugfest from start to finish. Each of “The Hidden” possess an elemental power which proves to be a bit tricky for Ghost Rider at first. The first meeting features some pretty cool action that, if you’re anything like me, will leave you with a smile plastered across your face and saying “wow” more than once.
The film’s strongest point comes in the form of it’s visual FX. For those of you that think you’ve seen it all based on the TV spots let me be the first to tell you that you haven’t seen anything yet. From the first full transformation, to the battle with the demons, to the scene with Ghost Rider riding up the side of the building the film is at very least a visual pleaser. Another thing I’d like to point out is the amount of attention that went into handling the Ghost Rider’s powers. For those of you wondering, YES the Penance Stare is in the film, and it’s done quite nicely. I was also a big fan of how his hellcycle’s flaming wheels affected the surface he was riding on. It’s the amount of attention like that, that really goes to show you that the people involved with this film have respect for the character.
Nicolas Cage delivers a solid performance in the film. I know he’s a HUGE fan of comics (he got his last name from the character Luke Cage afterall), and he’s been wanting to star in a comic based film for some time. I remember reading where he was signed to play Superman in Tim Burton’s failed “Superman Lives” project and thinking "oh God, please no," then I remember reading where he was considered for the role of Green Goblin in the first Spider-Man film. Honestly, if there were any comic based character for Cage to bring to life I’m glad it was Ghost Rider. The character of Johnny Blaze has these very strange mannerisms, and personality traits that Cage himself seems to posess in real life. I did notice a similar southern accent to the one he used in Con-Air, but it doesn’t seem out of place at all (the film does take place in Texas afterall). I can’t say enough about Cage in this role, as he perfectly creates a tragic, and fun character on-screen.
Rounding out the rest of the cast we’ve got veterans such as Peter Fonda and Sam Elliot who both deliver solid performances in their respective roles, as well as Wes Bentley who did a surprisingly good job as the demon Blackheart. Donal Logue was great for comic relief to the film, and Eva Mendes did a decent job in her role as Blaze’s childhood sweetheart Roxanne Simpson.
Overall Ghost Rider is a fun way to spend 2hrs of your time, and proves that director Mark Steven Johnson just needed the right character to work with in order to deliver a solid film. It blends the comic genre films with an old school western which makes for a really fun ride, especially when you can hear the western themed music in the background as the Ghost Rider blazes a trail in pursuit of evil.
The film is rated PG-13 for horror and violence. While I wouldn’t suggest taking young (by young I mean around 5-6 years old) children to see this film, I would honestly say that anyone over the age of 8 will enjoy it.
And now, with his take on the Spirit of Vengeance’s big screen debut is our very own “bamf"
It took in 44 million dollars in ticket sales by the end of the first weekend. When last Monday hit the take was over 118 million worldwide. Ghost Rider is a watershed moment in the translation of comics to film. For this, we are screwed.
Bamf here rematerializing from the void...
I have tried many different takes on my views of the dispensable Ghost Rider. I was astounded by the films opening weekend box office take; I just could not believe that many people actually were interested in seeing this “B” character at best, stricken in digi-celluloid. But a few paragraphs in it read more like a report in the Wall Street Journal, and I mentioned Titanic far to many times. Then I tried to find another angle on it. A positive one that would be so absurd the reader would just have to know I was not serious. One paragraph into that I had a raging migraine from trying to come up with delicious adjectives that expelled flowing love. It should have been easy, or so I thought. Think of how I really feel, and then write the opposite. That attempt had me crippled and beaten. So with two reviews half written for a film that deserves none of the kilobytes of space the text occupies on my hard drive right next to the midget porn and Glen Campbell discography I finally came to a decision. Something I have been writing in my head for some time, and it’s a topic that my friends will roll their eyes and sigh if someone who doesn’t know me mentions it in my presence. You know the feeling, “Oh no, here he goes again..”
Simply, I despise Nicolas Cage. And this will be the vehicle to expunge that view as Cage finally gave me everything I needed to lambaste his “acting”, if so it can be called.
But before I go into this diatribe of hate I have to say this. I think if Cage and I met we would become good friends. We hold many similar interests, comics, film, uhhhh, and comics. And for all I know he may be a swell guy.
But how many crap films can one ass-bag make before someone has the courage to stand up in front of him and say,
“Dude, your acting F ing sucks.”
Aside from Firebirds, the man brings nothing to the table but a receding hairline and gaping jaw. Honeymoon in Vegas, Trapped in Paradise, Con mother F ing Air, grrrr, my pulse is rising. You want to see the worst rendition of an Italian accent? Just try and sit through 10 minutes of Captain Mandolinis Mandolin, oh god, I can hear my heart beat in my ears! After viewing a Cage film I am forced to race to the bathroom and take a rape shower to cleanse me of his stink. The Rock is just about the only thing I can stand him in, but that’s because Sean Connery could carry a sponge with silly eyes glued on the front, and said sponge wouldn’t even need to be new. Basically when it comes down to his performances over the years its just him changing the inflection of his voice while he stares into the distance looking for another chance to slowly…….pace……his words……so………he…….can sound like……..Kirk.
Aww crap my nose is bleeding.
But what does this have to do with Ghost Rider? Ill get to that. For now we all know how much that movie sucked. Though I don’t feel it’s really the writer/directors fault, it sucked because Ghost Rider is a character that never should have been given its own feature film. J. Blaze is a cameo character at best, working some fiery demonery, brimstone and the like, then exiting off panel. If this had been a experiment in technical techniques filled with just 20 minutes of different bike montages then it would have been cool. When you try to inject a story in a cinematic way for someone so uninteresting, played by a man who is so direly drab, what you get is I in the audience laughing at inappropriate moments. I point to the young Blaze scene that shows him carving his loves name into a tree, forever it says. Then he turns to the breasts of the film and she says her daddy wont let her stay and she has to leave. Cue my maniacal laughter. Muhahahahahahahha!
The story is full of one cliché beat to the next, because it has to, there is no emotional integrity that can be found. My favorite working actor Donal Logue looked like he couldn’t even stomach this dialogue he was givin. Wes Bentley, Blackheart, makes me want to weep considering he took this job. When you see him (Bentley) do astounding work in American Beauty and The Good Girl I have to ask; what were you thinking man? And when you are going to ride the bomb down, do it with style, does anyone else feel like Blackheart should have had a mullet? Can you stomach Peter Fonda flirting dangerously with a Gay hookers take on Mephistopheles? If you like strange grunts and sequenced leather then this is your movie.
Lets wrap this up before the pain behind my eyes knocks me un-conscious. Like I said, I think Cage and I could be friends. When I attended Marvel then and now (read about that here) at UCLA a few months ago they ran a montage of the confused one, Stan Lee as he traversed the sweat filled Comic-con floor. He meets Cage and you just can tell Blaze to be absolutely loves the fact that he is getting to meet this great icon that spawned a genre. He said to Stan, “You’re…….the reason…………im playing……….ghost………………….rider.”
Stan held no reply save a blank stare and if there were a thought balloon present I’m certain it would read,
“Are you my publicist, and wait, didn’t I fire your ass?”
Cage is a devoted comic fan, people he named his kid Kal-El. You might know he was up for playing Supes many years ago, and there is it a great story I highly recommend reading regarding the whole Superman Lives/5/Black suit Burton era as to what went on during those years of development hell. Read that here. Cage as a fan has for years been trying to get a comic movie of his own and who could blame him? I would do the same. But as a fan he should damn well know that Ghost Rider is the worst thing that could happen to the comic book industry, if only because the high numbers give the impression that what they accomplished in producing was actually good. You see if tripe like this continues to be produced then the audiences, not just the fan boys, but the general movie seekers who just want to be entertained are going to reject the genre and 100, 200, 250 million dollars will not be earmarked for anymore comic book films. The ticket payers wont be duped again. And now it seems a story like The Watchmen is just the satirical look on the genre that we need. Shame on you Mark Steven Johnson. Shame on you Nic Cage. And shame, shame, shame on you Brett (the Phoenix is a brooding sidekick) Ratner. But that’s a whole other rant. I say again, if mediocre characters like Ghost Rider continue to be pushed to the screen then we the fans will find an industry crippled and destitute by their poor decisions. Not every character can be Spiderman (and that franchise isn’t even aging well is it?).
I’d also like to mention that during the end credits there is a version of the classic song “Ghost Riders in the sky” by the band Spiderbait. It’s actually pretty cool.
AWESOME review Joe. Good to have you around again.
I second D.M. about you contributing again. These kind of reviews always give me an idea of whether my initial decision to see a movie is a good one.
Your comment about setting up the story for a while makes a good point. I am sure there are a lot of folks like me who don’t know all the ins and outs of the Ghost Rider but who like the character and want to know some of the back story without having to know every detail of his history.
Nice job!
By the way, I liked Daredevil.
The effects were spectacular! The only problem I had was with Johny Blaze being arrested, turning into GR being hunted by the police. Then at the end it was as if everything was okay. Wouldn’t the police still be after him? What does he do now? Everyone knows the famous Johny Blaze so it will be pretty hard to hide. What about when he got stabbed by they mugger and Sam Elliot had to stitch him up when we was in human form. But when he was shot all to hell he didn’t have any wounds when he transformed back. Maybe I missed something that you guys can help me out with.
I thought the same things as you did, and the best explanations I can come up with are that they left a big hole in the story in terms of the cops chasing him, and once he learned to control the fire demon he was able to utilize all of the Rider’s hell powers including being invulnerable....then again it could be another story hole.
CRAP!!!!
I hate to do this but I must. It would seem again that I would have to be the guy to debunk a film. I have no apologizes for this one. I highly recommend for everyone one to wait for this movie to come out on video if you have not seen it yet.
I have spent the last week forming my thoughts over the internet but intentionally stayed away from Komikazee’s boards just to see what others would have to say. In the end I am shocked and surprised that ANY comic book fan would actually find this movie worth a damn.
Don’t’ worry I can back up my opinion...remember that is what I am laying out so stay back you haters! The big issue I had with the movie was there was not conflict. None...not a drop can be found. Johnny as a child really doesn’t show us a thing when it comes to caring for his father; in fact they have a fight right before he finds his father’s letter from the doctor. What does he do next? He goes and calmly works on his bike. There was no brooding or inner or outer turmoil yet the devil shows up anyway. Then bang dad dies from...what? He obviously clears the jump and he was not covered with 3rd degree burns on his body so I guess he just died from embarrassment.
Later, we meet Johnny in the future or Nick Cage with a bad dye job and old man ears. You can look as young as you want but the ears will give you away. Where was I...oh yeah BAD ACTING ensues, I will come back to Johnny’s “crew” in a moment. We see the sky turn black and rain fire and then come Black Heart who in a cut shot screams toward the screen but for what purpose. He kills people in a very vague way, and then we see the “elements.”
Ok in August I saw the 30min clip at Wizard World Con in Dallas, and MSJ said the “Ghost Rider will have to figure out ways to defeat the elements.” Well I guess old G.R.’s thought process is quicker than mine since once again NO CONFLICT, NO Fight’s, and NO OBSTACLES, nothing occurred. Earth Element hits G.R. with a truck...ok...EARTH element is driving a truck...I guess that is all an EARTH ELEMENT can do. Then instead of a kick ass fight we see G.R. loop the guy and that was it. This happened with all of the bad guys. Twirls around the air guy and heats up the water for the water guy....ooohhh clever. I want to see G.R. having to fight his way out of a mess when he figures out how to defeat these demons. If someone had just said,” I ran into these guys in the past. I know how to handle them.” or something along those lines then yes I would have to believe that G.R. is really that smart to handle the only visible obstacles in the movie.
Hell Black Heart doesn’t really give him all that much of a fight. I did not for once feel as if G.R. was in any real trouble the entire time of the film. The only real neat and interesting shot was when the original G.R. transforms with his horse. I was like OK it will take 2 to take down the son of the devil. But NOOOOO! He leads G.R. to the town (guess no one as Google maps) and then fads away. So here it is...WHAT WAS THE POINT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!??
This entire movie was based on screen shots. MSJ found “really neat ideas” and put them on screen and filled in the rest of the movie to get to his “neat ideas” The movie read like the cinema shots in a video game when you make it to certain levels. We were just missing the rest of the game. For example, “his crew,” where were they? We see them for a moment in the opening and never see them again for the rest of the film. So much for a world class daredevil and his crew. His best friend only shows up toward the end to die. No advancing the story, nor do we see Johnny broken up by it. His love interest is not really a love interest. Oh I haven’t seen you in like 20 years!! But let’s make babies none the less. I really wished she had died. That would even give the movie a purpose to make a sequel. The transformation sequence at first was interesting, but what the hell after the first one I can just change with the blink of an eye with no pain at all. It always hurts to transform, hell pick up any original Ghost Rider comics and find one where Johnny is never in pain changing to and from G.R. THAT’S THE POINT! I mean the movie made it seem like it was not a curse at all.
This entire movie felt made on the fly and did not really encompass 1/10 of what Ghost Rider really is. The movie is full of plot holes and inconsistencies. A lot of fans seem to agree with the lack of care and understanding the film maker should have had with this character. I heard someone say on the way out of the film, “Well it sucked, but at least they made a Ghost Rider film.” I have to say I disagree. This goes along with the Daredevil film, if you can’t make the film half way interesting and accurate then please don’t do it all. The G.R. from my comics and childhood would eat the heart of the G.R. in the film today. There is a rich history with these characters that a ton of people have worked on and by creating a film that falls short of their potential is shitting on the vast majority of people who have poured their life’s into the creation and continuation of these characters as well as their fan base.
I personally give this movie 1 star, and I am being generous on that one. The movie fell short in a ton of ways but manily in capturing the character and making a complete movie.
P.S. I really wish the internet, television, and newspapers would stop reporting how much G.R. took in and making it a big deal since in truth WHAT WAS IT UP AGAINST!!! The movie sucked, yes it got my money since I hoped against all odds that is would not suck. I was fooled and am very happy that MSJ Sony rep never called me back for an interview since I am pretty sure I would have to say, “Please stop doing superhero movies. Go back to plucky old men comedies, and leave the superhero genera to someone that gives a damn about the character and not the glamour or glory or doing a superhero flick.”
I’m curious to know what you thought of MSJ’s previous film “Daredevil.” That will settle all questions I have on your credibility (ha!)
Gee, sidekick, you would rather have NO comic movie than a bad one, in your opinion. What about the rest of us that don’t have your insight with an encyclopedia knowledge of comics and their histories?
You know, I don’t eat marshmallows for breakfast, lunch or dinner but I like them from time to time.
I don’t doubt you may be correct in your criticisms because you are very knowledgeable but some of us may like these so please don’t make Hollywood stop making comic movies.
It may be that I am like the poster on the wall of Moulders office on the X-files, “I Want to Believe”.
I agree with most of what you said SD, but I was still entertained. Even though I thought it had huge plot holes and not an ounce of tension, I still didn’t feel robbed.
Comments:
“I’m curious to know what you thought of MSJ’s previous film “Daredevil.” That will settle all questions I have on your credibility (ha!)”
I guess to “help with my credibility” I would have to say DD sucked. If you go to any con, comic book shop, or ask any pre-teen/teen and they too will tell you it sucked. The first 20min of the film was interesting enough, but the rest of the film had HUGE character, editing, acting, and overall cinematography problems that have pushed this film to the bottom of comic movie list. Go to your local comic book shop and ask the guy behind the counter what he/she thought about DD.
“I don’t doubt you may be correct in your criticisms because you are very knowledgeable but some of us may like these so please don’t make Hollywood stop making comic movies.”
Lufguy please doubt away. I have learned within this particular field, hobby, addiction, curse...whatever...that their really is no definitive expert. What got me, and still does, is my overall excitement when I hear a film that is comic book based is being made. I get all excited to see the film and then BAM!! It turns out it sucks. I love the HULK, love the character and think the film was O.K but in reality it too feels short of what could have been done with the character. So goes the list Punisher, Electra, Dare Devil, Hulk, X-Men 3(seriously fell short with the first two) etc. What I would rather see is for someone to stay away from a particular property instead of producing a crappy movie. Think of it this way, for every 5 comic book movies that are made; only 1 really has a shot of being good. I say this since I have seen all the comic book movies to date.
The problem arises that for those people out there that do not know the history or full spectrum of the character they go and watch the movie. In the movie, especially the bad ones, you the viewer are only getting a skewed view of what the character is REALLY about. For those of you in a comic shop asking about DD, also ask the vendor how comic book movies are helping their sales. You will find out that the movies that are coming out are NOT raising comic book sales at all. In fact, Barnes and Nobel and other huge book outlets are the only ones making a killing on graphic novels, but the monthly titles or back issues are still sitting around waiting for a good home.
So overall, the movies that are made poorly are presenting the characters in a False representation that apparently does not raise awareness of the fans of the movie to go out and read the comics in which they were born, raised, and cared for. I too want the movies to be made, but come on do it right! What hurt the Ghost Rider movie, in my opinion...sheesh, was not so much the lack of characterization, but the Filming. The filming killed the movie. His editing hurt the movie, his plot holes hurt the movie; his story concept that never flushed out hurt the movie, the dialogue and acting hurt the movie. Ghost Rider looked neat, but with all the things I felt damaged the movie and thus the character.
Sadly, I have no power over Hollywood so I am sure they will continue to crank out more and more comic book films. I just hope that they take time within their craft to do so when dealing with subject matter that is my hobby, addiction, and curse.
-sk-
Sidekick, I know you are right about most of the stuff you write. My thinking is there will be almost NO movie that will please MOST comic fans because there is no way to get the whole character in a 2 hour movie. There will only be flavors of a character in most movies because of time and budget limits. You may be overly generous with your 1 in 5 example but I get your point. Sadly we just can’t expect too much in our genre movies or we will very disappointed.
Lufguy,
You give me WWWAAAAYYY to much credit. I think I have to go back to one of The Professors earlier artilces where he states that the comic medium can only exsist within the confines of its presentation. Which means the comics are and will be different from the movies. Knowing the character is one thing, but making a poor movie is another. What usually failes within a superhero movie is not just the content but poor directing. I found more flaws within the making of the movie than I did with the character. The problem is that the character is wrapped up within the mistakes.
I am not a showbiz expert but right now, I am thinking the guys who made this movie for around 110 million are pretty happy with the 194 million it has made so far.
Lufguys original comment to when my review was first posted.
“I guess the good news for you is, you won’t have to concern yourself with being a friend of Nicolas Cage, if he reads this review.
Also, you join an elite group of critics who hated this movie and got their reviews treated like speed bumps as Ghost Rider rolled over them at the box office.
I am thinking this kind of comic movie is what a lot of movies fans want BECAUSE they aren’t comic fans and don’t understand all the ends and outs of the back story and they don’t hate Nic Cage.
Besides, I liked him in “City of Angels” (yes, i know) and “Leaving Las Vegas).”
Actually a lot of people complained because the movie mixed elements from both Johnny Blaze and Dan Ketch (another Ghost Rider)’s origins. Personally I thought the film did justice to a lesser known character like Ghost Rider.
Personally I think MSJ should work on a sequel, and if he must bring another comic character to the big screen let him play with another more obscure character...Deadpool, Moon Knight, you know someone like that.