Ghost Rider: Esprit de vengeance

First of all I have to say that I wasn't particularly much of a fan of the first "Ghost Rider" movie, and much less fan of Nicolas Cage. But still, I decided to sit down and watch "Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance" of out sheer boredom.

Let it be said that "Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance" is actually much better than the first movie. There is a much darker touch and feel to part 2. The movie is more brutal and visual, and you get to see a more violent side to the rider.

Storywise, well then I think the movie was halting, because it was a sort of a weird hybrid mix of "Ghost Rider" and "Rosemary's Baby". It wasn't bad, don't get me wrong, however, it was just something of a cliché. Nothing surprisingly new or inventive here.

The effects and CGI though, were top notch. I liked what I saw and I was thoroughly entertained. I especially like the pyrotechnics and the smoke effects.

"Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance" had a good enough group of actors together. However, in my opinion, the movie was carried by Idris Elba (playing Moreau) and Johnny Whitworth (playing Ray Carrigan). What happened to the Ray character was really awesome. I am not familiar with the "Ghost Rider" comic books, so I have no idea whether or not that character is from the pages, but he was still cool and had really interesting powers.

For a Marvel movie, then "Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance" was actually a surprise for me. Especially because I am not too keen on men in spandex tights running around with super powers. "Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance" was darker, grittier and for a more mature audience.

One thing that I just had to shake my head in disbelief at was the in-you-face-lame raised finger morals with the "an illegal download" and the "crime doesn't pay" comments in the movie. Wow, could it get any more of a cliché? The "illegal download" comment was funny though, but it was not really at place in the intro.

Wow, this movie was pretty bad. I have to say, as a general Marvel fanboy I usually find some way to enjoy even the worst of their offerings. However, there are so few redeeming qualities about "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" it becomes hard to watch. Most of the time the movie actually feels like a fan film. The tone is uneven, the camera work is strange, and most of the movie fails to mesh together. It's a shame because the first movie is decent.

Well, the previews certainly looked great. But the actually movie, well, wasn't very interesting, just a bunch of noise and flames and explosions. I guess if you don't like the story you just cannot like ANY movie really. I thought Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance would be enjoyable because I enjoyed Transformers in 3D also, with all of its special effects, but I appreciated more about the cartoon transformers. Plus OK it was a better movie. Anyway,about 45 minutes into this I was getting really bored and actually thought we had entered the three hour mark!!. I then thought to myself "is this ever going to end?" Basically, at that point it got boring. So get popcorn after about an hour. Nick Cage acted pretty well in it, though, but the other actors weren't much to watch, except for the black guy who appears in the first scene (dont know his name). In the end, no amount of great acting could have saved this crap. Again I wish I could get that 2 hours back from my life. I should have gone to see George Lucas' Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace. At least I knew what I would have gotten to see a good story in that one. Also $14.50 for this 3D movie was way way way too much. I wont even see it at the $2 movie. Heck, I wont even rent it on video for $1.29 when it comes out on blue ray. I'm going to burn my memory of last night.

Don't see.

The biggest problem of the first Ghost Rider movie is it doesn't have enough riding, no action, and it focuses more to the romance between Johnny Blaze and Roxanne. Which isn't really the main appeal. In this film, it gets focused to the plot. Unfortunately, the story is weak and the script has its awkwardness scattered. Thankfully, there's Nicolas Cage who's spicing things up with his crazy insane performance. This is probably one of his craziest performance since Bad Lieutenant. Also, there's the Crank directors, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, using their shaky camera and directing style. It fits to the film. Some people may be disappointed but if you're in for some crazy Nicolas Cage and some crazy action then you're going to enjoy this.

It doesn't look like a sequel though. The flashback of Johnny Blaze's deal is different from the first movie. The only thing that stays here is Nicolas Cage. Everything else is new. Well, the story is pretty weak. The plot is little. The whole film is just chasing and protecting a boy. But chasing is what's best in a Ghost Rider film. More riding and less brooding. Though, there are some brooding but mostly is riding. But stories are still important in films and that is the main flaw of this. The script is awkward. With awkward dialogue and awkward moments.

The best parts goes to Nicolas Cage. This may not be the same performance from the first film but this new Blaze is more entertaining and ridiculously hilarious. With more ridiculous is the directing. Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor uses a lot of their trademarks and gives plenty of insanity in some scenes. There's a perfect chemistry between their directing and Nicolas Cage's rage. Feels like it's one of the trippiest films I have ever seen. The action is quite ridiculous. With its well shot shaky camera and its non-stop booming. These things feels right for this film. Yes, flaming awesome and disintegrating bad guys. Do the most ridiculous things with the power.

Aside from Cage, Idris Elba and John Whitworth are both fun and awesome. Ciarán Hinds is like Danny Houston. Even in the single glance, you know he could be a dangerous bad guy. And here, he is a threatening one. The CGI is obvious. The new skull design of Ghost Rider looks more awesome than the first one. The camera is shaky but it's well shot and made the action more exciting even in 2D.

Some people might get disappointed if they expect something bigger. But the action is bigger but the plot is just little. The people who likes Nicolas Cage and Neveldine/Taylor will enjoy this a lot. Or someone who wants to see something ridiculously insane. It's hard to take this film so seriously. It's just hilarious and fun. Let me say that it's a crazy version of last year's Priest but with better action scenes and there's a nut main hero than a bland one. It's short, it's dumb, but has its enjoyment. There's an easy advice to watch this film: Watch it for Nicolas Cage.

Even though this film was intentionally suppose to be mindlessly entertaining, it is misguided in its attempt. There is some good action and some over-the-top Nicolas Cage but there is piss poor character development, storytelling and handling of villain(s). You don't have to dumb down a film completely for it to be entertaining and you piss off comic book fans as a result because of this film existing. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance might entertain you if you're high or drunk but if you want good entertainment go watch The Avengers instead.