"Ghost Rider"  Blazes, But Not Nearly As Expected

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2007)

"Ghost Rider" was never my favorite comic book series as a kid but I did enjoy it a lot and overall it was probably one of the better ones. However while the movie adaptation was decent it wasn't nearly as good. The biggest difference I noticed is they took a lot of the darker edge away from the story, which seemed to now cater to a much younger audience in obvious anticipation of boosting ticket sales. This'll undoubtedly work monetary wise but as far as quality is concerned it definitely took a hard blow.
The film itself is entertaining enough and is kind of cool considering how it blends a mix of genres such as fantasy and western. The acting was okay but some people were completely miscast and not just by how they appeared in the comics but also how they behaved. A grand lesson the filmmakers hopefully learned afterward is that dialog which works in print does not necessarily translate well to the big screen. Some of the one-liners were absolutely heinous and literally made me cringe each time I heard an utterance of either, "youinnocent," or, "youguilty." Some raw nacho cheese quotes to say the least. The special effects are great, however somewhat overdone. It seems CGI was thrown into just about anything the editors could get their eager hands on and this added to the corny factor as well.
Nevertheless I still think Johnny Blaze is a neat character and contains a very alluring back-story. Not to sound trite myself but I really like how the allegory is based on solid morals and life lessons. The main plot is what sets this apart from a run-of-the-mill movie for me. That being how long should an individual have to pay for a stupid mistake? Surely it's not fair to have to suffer for the whole duration of one's life and that's what Mr. Blaze here discovers, that he can't be scared anymore and he must move onto learn from the past and fight the good fight.
I also can't help but complain about the soundtrack, as that was procured for the teenyboppers too. The one huge exception was when "Crazy Train" was blasting during a well-suited stunt that synchronized perfectly. That whole warm up and death defying leap will forever be ingrained in my unforgettable moments of cinema. On the other hand ghost rider's nemeses were wholly unimpressive. The biggest of all disappointments had to be the final fight since it led the viewer to believe there'd be this giant showdown between two titanswell let me just say this idea fizzled fast into one immense letdown instead.
The irony is that although this film is flawed beyond belief, it's enjoyable and worth watching as questionable as that sounds. My best prediction is that this'll be one of those installments where there'll be a much better sequel as the first in the series usually serves as the establishing point and has to contain the more obligatory conception sequences. True fans of the comic might be a little disappointed but it's by no means a complete catastrophe and any teenager will love it. It appears that "Ghost Rider" will be setting down the path of justice after all with this debut, but it might not be the right one just yet.