Great fun with no expectations

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2018)

If only Columbia Pictures and it's associated studios could have waited and made this film after Deadpool (2016) and Logan (2017). This movie should of been rated "R", with all the blood, gore, violence, sex and filled with every curse word under the sun and blessed with a solid storyline and exceptional director. Nevertheless, whilst it is cheesy, with poor dialogue, a God awful script and the plot is pretty basic, it is actually an enjoyable film.
The Good:
(1) The Special Effects for the Ghost Rider. Whenever he is on screen, blazing on his motor cycle with his flaming skull, the film picks 10 fold. The part where he jumps of the skyscraper or when Cage morphs to the ghost rider is fantastic. But those parts are far and few between in the film.
(2) The A-grade actors in a (essentially) B-grade film. What this means is, there are a number of surprisingly good actors ( Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze and Eva Mendes as Roxanne, Sam Elliot as the Caretaker) which bring their all to a poor script. Yes the dialogue is laughable when it is delivered, but that is what makes it so enjoyable. Raquel Alessi could easily have been a Eva Mendes younger twin sister.
(3) The Western tones interwoven in the film is great.
The Bad:
(1) The villains are so weak. Peter Fonda as the Devil gets a pass. Only because it's really good to see him on screen. BUT Wes Bentley, as main nemesis Blackhearts should of walked when he read the script. He has some of the movies worst dialogue. Sadly, unlike Cage and Mendes, he simply does not have the "knack" for delivery and his lines are dreadfully executed.
(2) People who put a lot of themselves in film usually indicate they love the source material, so it is very difficult to understand if Mark Steven Johnson was either a writer/director with no balls to stand up to the studios or it was simply a job to him, (3) The plot is a no brainer. Boy loves girl. Boy mets Devil. Boy makes a deal with the Devil. Boy loses Girl. Boy becomes a flaming skull. Boy meets girl again. Thankfully the Ghost Rider, is a marginally better written script, then most Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars:The Clone Wars.
The Ugly:
(1) The biggest problem is Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze. In a nutshell....he was cast wrong. Look a the actor Matt Long who played an 18 year old Johnny Blaze to then 42 year old Johnny Blaze played by Nicholas Cage. The film really is asking a lot for the audience to believe they are the same person.
Don't over analyse the film too much, because it create lofty expectations. Films like the Ghost Rider is a guilty pleasure, with great action, a uncomplicated plot and exceptional special effects. Hopefully this franchise gets a robot in the future and upgraded to "R" rating.
PS: was going to grade the film at 7 BUT that awesome soundtrack song at the end credits by Spiderbait reworking the song "Ghost Riders in the Sky" pushed it to 8