Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
Reviews:625
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When he finds out that his father has terminal cancer, Johnny Blaze makes a pact with the Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) to give him his soul if he saves his father. Once he has his soul the devil saves Blaze's father temporally as per the agreement but double crosses him and kills Barton Blaze in a motorcycle accident. Many years later Johnny (Nicholas Cage) is risking his life in madder stunts every week until one week the Mephistopheles calls in his debt. If Johnny accepts the offer the devil will release him from his curse, but only if he becomes the Ghost Rider and stops his evil son Blackheart from destroying the world.
The transformation of Ghost Rider to the big screen is the latest in a long list of Marvel comics to be made into a Hollywood blockbuster. Just like the majority of those films it also finds itself added to the list of rather poor comic book to movie conversions. While
that is not totally fair it is quite true. The film itself had a bit of potential and could have been a really good film, however with an overly excessive runtime and far too much time spent focussing on unrelated matters it feels more like the set up for a TV show than a feature length movie.
This is the second time Mark Steven Johnson has taken on the mantle of transforming a comic into a feature film. Of course had I known he was also the brains, in the loosest sense of the word, bedhind Daredevil I would have given this a miss straightaway. Of course from a special effects point of view this is actually quite a well crafted film. The explosions look good and the graphics for Ghost Rider really work quite well. In fact from a directorial point of view this is a much better film than Daredevil could ever have hoped to have been.
Like his previous film the main problem with Ghost Rider is the script. While it is important to build up a bit of characterisation and let you know a bit about the characters I felt that Johnson went too far with some characters and seemingly ignored others. The end result sees a film that could have been so much better but due to a poor script and plot it comes across as just another excuse to use Riders In The Sky as the Theme music to the film. It seems a real disappointment that a film that could have spawned a series like the Blade films will no doubt disappear back into the vaults in Hollywood, of course if Johnson is to be involved in any follow-up as a writer that might not be a bad thing.
By casting Nicholas Cage in the lead role it was almost a certainty that I'd end up watching this film regardless of the director and his previous movies. Like the rest of the film there is potential there for Cage to make the role of Johnny Blaze his own but his performance just seems to be lacking something. He appears to be on auto pilot and for that reason his character isn't as convincing as it could have been and likewise it lets down the potential of this being more than just a one off movie.
The rest of the cast are pretty ordinary. The addition of Eva Mendes as the love interest for Cage could have worked well but like the rest of the movie it seems a little forced and the chemistry between her and Cage really doesn't work. The only actor to really come out of this with any credit is Wes Bentley, who plays the Devil's evil son Blackheart. He seems to really encapsulate the essence of an evil character and the dual between him and Cage works quite well and would have been much better had it not been for the fact Cage just didn't seem interested.
Overall this had the potential to be a really good film but despite some really good special effects the script and plot really let it down quite badly. The acting is quite poor, which is really disappointing as with Cage in the lead role I at least had high hopes for that. This is the latest failure in the Comic book to movie conversions and hopefully this will be the only one in the Ghost Rider series. If you think this might be for you then I suggest only renting it, don't whatever you do, buy it.
Amazon: £13.48 Amazon Marketplace: £8
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i was going to get this but im glad i didn't now thanks for the info. great review. lou xx
Timbo3107 18.09.2007 14:03
I did enjoy this film, although I thought it was rather plain, I though that the extras were rather poor as well, Ghost Rider has a lot of history for a cominc character and that was lost in the overall packgae, unfortunately the film was rather plain for me. Bare in mind if you can find a copy of the 1990 film Captain America or the Pilot episode of Dr Strange TV series from the 1970's then they would make this film look like a masterpiece.
paule23 18.09.2007 10:35
Thanks for the info Andy, I was intrigued by this movie after seeing a trailer but think I'll save my dosh now!
Paul
![Ghost Rider [Extended]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/103238141.jpg "Ghost Rider [Extended]")
Sep 13th, 2007
very helpful by (100%):
