Needs a Flaming Facelift

Rating: 6/10 (13 June 2011)

Let's face it, Ghost Rider was never a popular character. He was always rather obscure and known mostly known only to comic book geeks. And whatever popularity he had was mostly due to the awesome visual of a flaming skull on a motorcycle. He had two cameos on animated series in the 90s and an appearance in Marvel Ultimate Alliance. So adapting this obscure character could have either been awesome like Blade or completely forgettable like Man-Thing. The end result is disappointing and forgettable but does look cool.
The movie, like far too many others, is an origin story. Like every other origin story, it follows the exact same formula. That's the same problem Fantastic Four had, and these producers didn't learn. I don't know why more first movies don't follow the Tim Burton's Batman and Blade format of showing a hero already with his powers and explaining the origin later on. At this point even the most basic of movie audiences can predict the story beats.
Unfortunately it takes on a campy tone. Cheesy dialogue is said with the utmost sincerity. Silly scenes are played seriously. Many of the actors chew through the scenery. I understand that there's a certain silly factor to comic book superheroes, but this movie embraces that idea far too much. This is supposed to be a movie about demons, sins, Hell, and the fate of the world. Yet I can't help but laugh at moments that were never meant to be funny. Then moments that are supposed to be funny just come off as awkward.
I will say this, the opening act is quite good. The scenes of Johnny with his father, selling his soul, and the father's accident are pretty dramatic. It's the point where Nic Cage shows up that I started losing interest. These scenes have enough darkness to convey the proper tone but enough lightheartedness to keep them interesting. If the rest of the movie had only followed suit this would have been quite good.
The cast is hit or miss. Nic just doesn't have it in him to convey being a serious superhero. He's trying too hard to be his usual goofy self that he is in all his other movies. (Brief aside, I'm absolutely glad he never got to play Superman as was once planned.) Peter Fonda is the bright spot in this movie. He's dark and manipulative with just enough creepy playfulness, perfect for someone supposed to be the devil. Eva Mendes looks pretty, but doesn't do much else. Wes Bentley is tolerable as the villain but never memorable. Donal Logue does a good job, if only he had something to do. Sam Elliott is great, but again he needed something to do other than simply offer exposition. Honestly, Matt Long and Raquel Alessi have the best scenes and do some of the best work. Those two should have been the stars of the movie.
If there are two things consistently good. One is the CGI. The bike, the demon spirits, and especially Ghost Rider look great. The visuals are what people remember about the comics and the movie nails it. I wouldn't expect anything less in this day and age. The other is Christopher Young's score. It's effective and has some memorable themes throughout the movie. I also love the version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" by Spiderbait in the movie. There's also an instrumental version in the film that works quite well.
Overall the film is disappointing. It isn't quite awful but it's certainly not good. There are little moments here in there to keep you interested through the otherwise lousy movie. As I write this, they're making a reboot/sequel. I certainly like the idea, but I wish they had gone with someone else for the role besides Nic Cage again. I believe that each and every movie has the potential to be good. But somewhere along the way, someone forgot that the most important thing is having a good story.