The Rider Has Yet To Shine

Rating: 4/10 (3 March 2007)

The Ghost Rider is a super hero who never quite hit the big time. He has a great premise though. Motorcycle stunt man Johnny Blaze runs afoul of the Devil and is cursed to become the Rider, a demon who lusts only for vengeance. Clad in black leather, his head a blazing scull, sitting astride an infernal Harley, the Rider is truly an evocative image. He had his own comic, was canceled, resurrected, failed again and generally puttered in and around comic book limbo for years. Nevertheless he garnered a coterie of fans, one of whom was actor Nicholas Cage and so the Rider has been given a shot at shining on film as he never had in comics. Unfortunately he suffers the same fate in the theater as he did in print. Great concept. Great look. Mediocre follow through.
Like most comic book movies Ghost Rider is part origin story. We see Blaze make his pact and his first forays as the Rider. We learn the Devil creates him because he needs a hit man. There is more than one fallen angel out there and they are all gunning to take down the big man. In stark contrast to the supernatural power plays we also experience the touring stunt show milieu of Johnny Blaze, with his poker playing blue collar buddies, hick fans and motorcycle minutia. All this is great cinematic stuff yet Ghost Rider can't make it click.
The problems start with the acting. Ghost Rider may be Cage's baby but he is too old for the part. Fifteen years ago, perhaps, but now he's just too mature and weathered to believably play a guy named Johnny. Hampering matters further is Cage's habit of striking hokey Elvis poses, rendering Blaze ridiculous just at those moments we should care about him. Gorgeous Eva Mendes plays Blaze's girl. Though winning in Hitch, here Mendes exhibits little spark. She makes absolutely no connection with Cage romantic or otherwise. The Devil is blandly underplayed by Peter Fonda but his infernal rival's fair worse. When the lost angels fell to earth they passed through a trailer park and took the shape of the rednecks that dwelt there. In other words, the Princes of Hell are an unimpressive lot and the Rider earns little respect for his victories over them.
A movie like Ghost Rider can survive casting snafus but what it can't survive is the dimensioned of its premise. While the Rider is truly a wonder of CGI and everything his beleaguered fans could hope for, the movie takes this impressive creation and thrusts him into situations designed for humor rather than awe. As a consequence the Rider is never as terrifying as he should be. Finally, fatally, the poor Rider is not even the most impressive creature in his own movie! What could be more impressive than a flaming skeletal biker? How about a flaming skeletal cowboy riding a fiery horse? One played by Sam Elliott no less. This infernal cowboy is so striking and the casting so right that it further diminishes our interest in the nominal anti-hero.
In the end Ghost Rider is not a particularly bad film. It hangs together, has its fun moments and Mendes is very, very pretty. All of these are important considerations in a popcorn movie. Still if you are a fan of the Rider, or just have an affection for off-beat entertainment, you can't help but wonder if there weren't a better way to utilized such a cool concept.