Enjoyable, yet another missed opportunity

Rating: 6/10 (19 February 2007)

I anticipated seeing "Ghost Rider" probably more than even "Spider-Man". This so-called "second-tier" super hero is one of my all-time favorites. Hero from hell, flaming skull, leather and motorcycle, mean and merciless . . . he's a unique character among super heroes, and his time for the Hollywood treatment is long overdue.
And yet . . .
Like "Daredevil" before it, this film was entrusted to journeyman director / writer Mark Steven Johnson. While Johnson has added some nice concepts and modified elements of the character to make it more palatable for a movie audience, he simply is not up to the task. Inconsistencies are everywhere, information gets added in almost as an afterthought, and one gets the impression that the "rules" about Ghost Rider and hell and demons are being made up as the story goes along. And, as with "Daredevil", the villain of the story is not as present as he should be, thus eliminating a lot of the dramatic tension.
Also, as a director, Johnson clearly could not control his lead actor, Nicolas Cage. Instead of a stoic, haunted man trapped by his circumstances, Cage elects to make Johnny Blaze into a quirky, zen-like, off-the-beaten-path dude with a jones for jellybeans, the Carpenters, and Elvis (Cage is famously obsessed with The King). The character may be more interesting this way, but he's just not acting the way you might think a guy would who got conned by the Devil and learns he's now the living Spirit of Vengeance.
Of course, the film works best when the Rider is on the hunt, busting skulls and taking names. Like an id from hell, the Ghost Rider operates in a full-on rage, relishing his power and taking macabre joy in dispensing justice upon the guilty and wicked, making him a hoot to watch. Honorable mention should also go to Sam Elliott for lending some old-west gravitas to the proceedings, as well as Eva Mendes, who has a knack for bringing a very familiar, very realistic vibe to whatever film she's in.
Originally, this movie was to be filmed by Steve Norrington and David Goyer, the director and writer who surprised everyone with the first "Blade" (Goyer also wrote "Batman Begins"). I can only imagine what kind of a great, moody western-horror adventure that would have been. Instead, we're left with jellybeans, Elvis, and a rickety, rambling plot. Not a terrible movie, but man, it could have been so, so much better!