 |
| Directed By: |
| Mark Steven Johnson |
| Starring: |
| Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendez, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott |
Constantine (2005) meets Fantastic Four (2005)
Like any other comic book adaptation, Ghost Rider is light on meaningful storyline and heavy on the campy, over-exaggerated action. There are a few good moments here and there, but let's be honest, this is no Spawn (1997). Writer/director Mark Steven Johnson really knows how to make a cool idea goofy. Ghost Rider isn't the quintessential comic book movie it could have been, but rather, the comic book movie that's better than Catwoman (2004) but not as good as Spiderman (2002). Bad direction, childish dialog, awful special effects, I think it's time to put these shake-n-bake comic book hero movies to bed, because I'm starting to understand why people burned comics in the 40s.
New and old Ghost Rider ride side-by-side across the desert. One's on a horse, the other's on a motorcycle. Both are on fire. That's hot.
The introduction of Blackheart (Wes Bentley) as the unscary son of Mephistopheles. The scene plays out like a bad Terminator 2 (1991) reenactment. Except, instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger, we get the creepy voyeur kid from American Beauty (1999). Had he a video camera and a plastic bag...maybe.
Actor Nicolas Cage, desperate to get his hands into any comic book enterprise that will have him, finally hit paydirt with Marvel's Ghost Rider. He plays Johnny Blaze, a neurotic motorcycle daredevil and socialite who’s sold his soul to the demon Mephistopheles to save his ailing father from Cancer back when he was a snot-nosed teenager. Obsessed with death and jellybeans, Blaze cheats the Reaper again and again to prove to himself that he's in control of his own destiny; waiting for that fateful day when the Devil comes to collect. The character falls somewhere between Elvis and Evel Knievel, with a touch of John Constantine.
As if a character based on every biker stereotype possible isn't enough to cause an intelligent person to avoid this movie, take into consideration the awful special effects, inane pulp dialog, and suspense quotient of an episode of G.I. Joe. Ignore the fact that Cage plays the same one-tone Elvis impersonator he always plays-I guess it worked for National Treasure (2004). Any commentary questioning Eva Mendez's (Roxanne) acting ability is redundant seeing as her part merely requires the ability to pine adolescently on an unreasonable level while dressed in uncomfortably tight clothes.
Mephistopheles, played by Peter Fonda, sets the story in motion by calling on Johnny to be his "rider" sent to retrieve a nasty scroll of something no one remembers before his son, Blackheart (Wes Bentley), can get it. Blackheart saunters around with a trio of useless elemental hoodlums I'll call Frankenberry, Boo Berry, and Count Chocula; Laughably searching for this elusive scroll in redneck bars and train yards. I mean he's a powerful demon, one would think he'd have better resources.
Anyway, after a night of hell blazing and a pointless scuffle, Johnny ends up on the doorstep of a guy called the Caretaker (Sam Elliott), who conveniently knows all about Johnny's deal and his task. Throw in a couple of cartoon detectives who have nothing to do with the story, an overbearing and unlikely romantic side plot, and two pounds of kid friendly wisecracks, you can guess the rest.
Ghost Rider walks a thin line between campy and ridiculous. What it lacks in genuine drama it makes up for with shoddy effects involving lots of things being set on fire. Whether or not one followed the comic book is inconsequential as this film is pure kiddy-fluff that should have been rated PG and animated right onto a direct-to-DVD shelf.
A bunch of people get the life force sucked out of them. Shown are: a biker, a barmaid, a night watchman, and a road manager. Ghost Rider uses something called the Penance star, as well as a flaming chain, to eliminate bad guys. Nothing I'd call particularly violent.
Eve Mendez sports the incredibly shrinking top as her cleavage line plummets throughout the film. Cage bares a serious eight pack in a shirtles scene for the ladies.
Coming soon