Puts comic-book moves back decades!

Rating: 2/10 (22 March 2007)

Ghost Rider has never really been a big title for Marvel comics. Originating in the 70s, the first incarnation was a bit of a mess really, with cheesy stories, and dialogue akin to a medieval monk's writings (all "Thy powers art foulest!" and the like). Over the past couple of decades attempts were made to make the comic more serious, to quite a good degree  but the popularity of the character didn't really increase. There were hopes that this film would be akin to Blade, being a more mature comic book vigilante tale.
Unfortunately it is even more of a mess than the original comics were! The film tells the tale of Johnny Blaze (Nic Cage), a stunt rider who makes a deal with the devil (well, with Mephistopholes anyway) and finds himself transformed into Ghost Rider. His task is to reap all the evil souls and send them back to hell, and in particular he must get the soul of Blackheart, a rogue agent of Hell. Along the way he gets advice from a mysterious (in a 'oh complete lack of surprise when his past is revealed' kind of way) grave-keeper (Sam Elliot). Can he complete his task and save his own soul at the same time? So, where does it all go wrong? Well, for a start the delayed release date "to touch up the effects" didn't do much, and we have yet another badly CGI filled film. Ghost Rider's skull is impressive on its own, but sits (wobbly) on top of a very stiff body which makes him look like he has arthritis! Then there is Cage's complete excitement at finally playing a comic book role, which meant he forgot how to act! Throw in some of the most humdrum action scenes  only a skilled director can make a chase scene which involves cop cars, a flaming bike, and a helicopter really boring  and some totally pointless scenes ("I still have one ride left in me!" for one....what was the point?) and the result is a film that puts comic-book movies back decades! As for the 'penance stare'  it makes the victim see a swirly mess of images that reminded me of watching Mummy Returns and Van Helsing...so I guess that explains why it kills your mind! This is a huge, kiddified disappointment of a film, and it is no wonder that Stan Lee doesn't cameo in it (he always pops up in the first film in a Marvel franchise). He must have seen some rough cuts and refused to put his name to it.