Eh...I was sorta expecting more...

Rating: 7/10 (18 February 2007)

Now, I'm not going to go all out because I've never actually read the comic. But a movie's a movie, so here I go. I wasn't all that impressed. Frankly, I found the character of Ghost Rider incredibly fascinating for a comic, but it simply couldn't work as well as a movie.
Not to say that the movie was terrible. I rather enjoyed it. I can't say I wasted money or time. I just expected more.
The plot line was very bland. I won't give it away but it was just bland and predictable.
The casting wasn't horrible, I guess. There's too many people besides Cage I could imagine playing this role, but he did alright. Eva Mendes as the girlfriend was pretty good, though nothing Oscar worthy. Donal Logue as Johnny Blaze's BFF was alright, I guess, for a minor character. He did seem to have more life that Cage at times. Peter Fonda played off the role of Mephisto way too..."typical-demonic-bad-guy-like" Imagine the dude who played Dracula in Van Helsing only older. I was really hoping for a freakin awesome Mephisto, since he's one of my all-time favorite Marvel villains. Blackheart was...eh. See, I never read about Blackheart, so I don't know if he's supposed to be a cocky diva (which he is in the movie). He's dark and awesome...but not often.
The best actor in this film was The Caretaker BY FAR!! Sam Elliott hit a homerun wih this smaller role, which he could've done with just his voice. Whenever he was in a scene, I got a little more excited for this film.
The worst part of the movie was Ghost Rider's skull. I'm sorry, but I was worried that this would happen: you can't make a flamming skull talk and have it look real OR cool. It was just...ugh. The rest of the special effects were top-notch and even really breathtaking at times.
The final fight wasn't as cool or epic as any Spider-Man or X-Men fight, but it fit and made sense with the rest of the plot. So...yeah.
All in all, this movie was good. I'm a die-hard Marvel fan (though I never read a GR comic in my life, thus I am ashamed) so this movie really worked for me. However, though I may buy it on DVD when it comes out for a few cool scenes and the blooper reel, many people may leave confused, disappointed, and maybe even a little ticked off.