I'd sell my soul for a better script.

Rating: 6/10 (16 February 2007)

"During the day, at a matinée, people may leave feeling somewhat satisfied. But at night, in the presence of this script, people may demand their money back." I was fortunate. I saw the matinée. Unfortunately, I had to pay for the Director's hall at Showcase (for those of you who don't have a Showcase, or they do not offer the Director's Hall, just imagine paying 2 dollars more for Slightly more comfortable leather chairs.) I should have immediately known that this was a bad idea when I saw Norbit playing in the Director's hall next to Ghost Rider.
I stuck with it, and managed to sit through the nearly 2 hours of film, and I have to say, I have seen worse movies. I must also say, that I saw much better movies.
One of the big problems (besides the script, and the lack of vocal range on Mr. Cage) is trying to cram too many villains into an origin story. Origin stories, by necessity need to start slow. To jump into the action right away would destroy the tone a good origin sets. This movie sets up a Great origin story. And did fairly well, until Mr. Cage rolled into the scene. From there, it becomes a garbled mess, as not one, not two, not even three, but 5 villains are put into the mix. Entirely too many villains to be introduced, established, and then dispatched, especially considering a good portion of the first half of the movie is Origin material. The result, is more akin to a severe beating, then to an exhilarating ride.
It was a joy to see the flaming skull on the big screen, and I hope, that if a sequel does get made, that they learn from their mistakes. Tighten up the script, and fix the pacing issues. Oh yeah, and teach Mr. Cage to add some new Vocal inflections, make him seem a little less robotic.