So much potential...

Rating: Null/10 (18 February 2007)

The main problem is that it had so much potential. It had enough potential to be one of the better comic adaptations - Right up there with X2 and Spider Man, but there were things that pulled it down, I'm sad to say, to a level of mediocrity.
Let's start with the potential. Nic Cage as Blaze wasn't bad in my opinion - just a bit uninspired. If they wanted a huge name, there were about a hundred other fish in the sea. Something tells me John Travolta would've been a good choice. As you see, with a pretty nondescript hero role, many actors could've pulled it off. Now, the biggest waste of potential was Blackheart and the Nephilims. Blackheart sure was beautiful, and you could tell he was an interesting character, and Bentley did his best with the tacky lines, but the director turned him into Damian Thorn all grown up instead of more true to his character, a ruthless demon with blood lust. Blackheart is not just a creepy kid trying to emulate Daddy. They missed that mark completely. The Nephilims, well, they were cool, but were not used as much as they could've been to benefit the story.
The bad? All the scenes with bonding between Blaze and Roxanne are laughable. I'm sorry to say the two have no chemistry. The back story of the dying father and abandoned girlfriend are mighty depressing, but the way it is presented, the main punch of Blaze's life being a literal hell on Earth is just not felt as strongly. I understand we cannot spend that much time in the exposition, but we can at least be given more time to feel sorry for our young, hopeless hero.
The good? The action is good, keeps you interested, and the special effects are decent too. The transformation from man to Ghost Rider was done very well, and I applaud them on that. The one character that was got almost completely right was Mephistopheles. (I would rate Fonda up there with Pacino and Stromare as far as my favorite portrayals of Satan). But that is a smaller part. Not too hard to screw up. I do look forward to seeing more of that character should there be a Ghost Rider 2 (which I do not doubt there will be).
As a movie, it is a good popcorn flick. I would say see it once, give it a chance. I liked it, despite it's flaws and apparent lack of ambition. While not the most amazing comic adaptation, it is not the worst either, and I give it a solid score of 6.