Ghost Rider

I remember watching this film the first time and thinking it was just a lot of special effects without a lot of plot. Then I watched it a second time, and started to realize you have to really pay attention to the details to get the story. While not the best adaptation of a comic book (graphic novel if you prefer) to the screen, the special effects are awesome and the photography is Oscar worthy. Cage is Cage, that stoic actor who seems somehow devoid of emotion in most of his films. Mendez is hot, goes without saying, and equals Cage's level of emotion. Sam Elliot and Peter Fonda are the saving graces of the film, both adding a dimension of emotion lacking in the main characters. The prelude scenes of young Johnny and Roxanne are somewhat necessary, but could have been trimmed down to include more footage of the Ghost Rider and his missions. I haven't seen the newest film, just released at this writing, but hopefully the characters have been "fleshed out" and the plot concentrates more on the present than the past. With Cage being the only holdover for the new movie, perhaps the new directors can up the game a bit. The original film is rated PG-13 for violence and language, but nothing the teens haven't seen in their video games. Collectible? If you are a Marvel fan like I am, probably. As as classic film? No way. But entertaining.

This demonic Marvel adaptation is visually groundbreaking, no doubt, but is not an easy ride. Ghost Rider's exaggerated tone and dialogue and hell-driven sequences provides many speed bumps on this less-than-anticipated ride.

Ghost Rider was always a cool comic book character. So why not make it into a movie? Although this movie had a great financial success, its screenplay is actually quite sloppy. I'm surprised it did so well. I liked Ghost Rider. I liked the visuals, the action, and the villains (a little). But I felt things could have been polished. Mark Steven Johnson who directed and wrote the story for this movie could have done better.

To start off, Nicolas Cage plays as the anti-hero Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider. I really like the way they made Ghost Rider look in this film. Just like a bat out of hell, his skull is cloaked in flames, his jacket has spikes on it, he has a flame chain, and his bike has a mind of its own! Much of it is fun to watch. Just seeing Ghost Rider for the first time on screen was pretty awesome to see. The action was good too. Any of the sarcastic comments Ghost Rider makes in this film is funny to hear. I even thought the actors who played the villains were good. What destroyed all these good moments, was how the character's dialogs were brought out.

Most of the dialog in this movie is weird, if not awkward. Mostly due to Cage's character, Johnny Blaze. I guess Mark Steven Johnson figured because Blaze lost his soul to the devil, he might as well lose his personality too. If that's the case, it was not a smart choice. It almost seems like Cage AND ONLY Cage is uncomfortable with his character. I know he's a fan of Ghost Rider but it seems like the script was written out of wack for him. There are parts where it seems like Cage is lost in himself and doesn't know what to say next. I don't quite understand that. One other thing I didn't comprehend was that there was way too much "pointing while zooming up on the face" business. Was the director trying to make a trademark for himself in this film? Not only is it redundant, it can be very obnoxious.

The other element that does not work here are the villains. I liked the bad guys in this movie. They looked frightening to me when I first saw them. But then I noticed a trend as Ghost Rider had finished one off at a time. None of the bad guys really did anything. Blackheart, the son of the devil, has henchmen who have powers like the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender, except they don't involve all the martial arts moves. Before Ghost Rider is about to finish one of Blackheart's henchman, we don't even see him use any of his powers. Well that was kind of anti-climactic. Even Blackheart himself barely uses his "almighty" powers against Ghost Rider. It's really disappointing to watch.

Besides these parts of the film, I enjoyed Christopher Young's soundtrack. It has a lot of guitar in it and creates a punk tone to the action. Sam Elliot appears in this movie as a minor character, he's always fun to listen too but even he can't make up for the bad screenplay. It's unfortunate because I really like Ghost Rider as a character and was expecting something a little more darker for a dark character.

Ghost Rider will please fans to a point, with its good action and awesome special effects. But nothing can help the film recover from its lazy screenplay, awkward dialog and dull villains.

Ghostrider is a brilliantly designed character . The chain ,the bike , the flaming skull for a head -he's just plain cool. In fact hes TOO cool - it seems that in any comic , cartoon or game hes involved with, he always comes out as the most interesting thing.

It works the same way with the movie: seeing ghost rider in action provides almost all of the films entertainment value. Watching him ride down buildings , fight villains and flip the bird to the police is a cool sight to behold. When hes not on screen though ,things aren't that interesting. Nicholas cage is funny and quirky as johnny blaze and eva mendes is impossibly sexy (as per usual)but for the most part its all very cheesy and feels rushed and episodic.Also, the villains are frustratingly lame , including black heart who's severely downgraded from his comic book incarnation.

When sitting through ghostrider , your best bet is to wait for the flaming skullhead to show up- watching him do his thing is tons of fun. Sadly the same cant be said about the rest of the movie.While its not bad it doesn't quite do ghostrider justice . Why ? Because hes TOO cool..........

There won't be any Academy Awards for "Ghost Rider," and deservedly so. Great cinema it ain't. It is fun stuff, though, and very much in the spirit of the Marvel comic book of the same name. Nicolas Cage works well in the role; his dead-pan humor is well suited to the role of motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze, and the scene in which he attempts to explain himself to his long-lost girlfriend is classic stuff, full of awkward pauses and an eyebrow put to good use.

Granted, things get a little melodramatic from time to time, but that's as it should be. This is, after all, a movie based on a comic book hero, and what superhero worth his heat-vision doesn't indulge in a dose of the melodramatic every so often? It comes with the territory. Still, there's a sense of humor at work here, something that didn't play out well in the "X-Men" franchise and led to that abysmal third installation. There are a good number of laughs in "Ghost Rider." This isn't a movie that takes itself too seriously, which is a nice benefit considering how heavy the subject matter could become. It's rough around the edges, no doubt, and isn't quite up to the same level as the Spiderman movies to date.

I saw an early (11:45 AM) show and the theater was still nearly full. The audience laughed at points that were intended as humorous and even jumped at a couple of scenes. All in all, everyone looked like they were having a good time, from the six year olds with their parents to the older folks like me who were fans of this comic as kids. If you're looking for something fun, "Ghost Rider" isn't a bad bet at all.