AN AWESOME COMIC-BOOK FANTASY, AN UNDERRATED GEM

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2020)

I admit that when i first saw Ghost Rider on t.v i didn't really like it, i thought it was too cheesy but i recently gave it another try because i love most of the Marvel studios films.
Yes i was a fan of the early 2000's Marvel films, well before the Connected Universe stuff, I'm a big fan of the Excellent 2003 The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane, it's an underrated CLASSIC in my opinion!!! Also the fantastic Ang Lee directed Superhero Drama "Hulk" from 2003, starring Eric Bana & then there's the extremely underrated "Daredevil" from 2003, starring Ben Affleck, also the Excellent Sam Raimi directed Spiderman Trilogy, Marvel was already making excellent but very underrated movies way back then.
Now, Ghost Rider fits into the very underrated Marvel movies. I recently brought it on dvd & watched it & was totally surprised by how much i enjoyed it, a fantasy western Horror Thriller.
I've always liked Nicolas Cage & here he's perfectly cast as the cocky & crazy bad-ass motorcycle stuntman JOHNNY BLAZE!!! IT'S such a fun character for Cage to sink his teeth into & create an Awesome leather-jacket wearing demon Anti-hero, it's like it was made for Nicolas Cage.
Here a Young Johnny Blaze sells his soul to the Devil, played by Hollywood legend Peter Fonda R.I.P, in order to save his dying dad but in doing that he has become a Warrior from hell that has to carry out kills for the Devil himself.
Johnny Blaze goes against the Devil & becomes a type of Anti-hero but he has the fight against some other powerful demons that want to destroy the world, it's full on Comic-book fantasy stuff.
The cast is rounded out with the always Awesome & rugged, Sam Elliott as a mysterious Caretaker that knows alot about the forces of darkness, also Eva Mendes stars as Roxanne, the love of Johnny Blaze's life. The cast are all great in their roles.
A big great part of this movie is the incredible special effects, especially when Johnny Blaze transforms into the Ghost Rider, with flames pouring out of his face revealing a skull & it's done fantasticly!!! The glowing fire against the dark, gritty & grimy streets is a mesmerising visual treat, the cinematography really is fantastic.
Yes the look of the movie is stunning & the music is Cool & the action is fast & furious!!!
Seeing Ghost Rider riding his moterbike with flames pouring out is just such cool scenes & creates such great imagery.
There's some great bits in here like the police chasing Ghost Rider & he rides up a building, it's so cool & when Ghost Rider gets a mugger & literally scares him to death & lots more great fantasy moments & some Great fight scenes with Ghost Rider using his big flaming chain as a weapon. There's at times a dark atmosphere but it's all in a blockbuster fun kind of way, i see this as an Awesome summer blockbuster movie that was just very misunderstood & underrated in my opinion, put it this way i would rather watch "Ghost Rider" than an "Iron-Man" movie or a "Captain America" movie, nothing against those flicks as i love most of the "MCU" but "Ghost Rider" is just simply a more entertaining & enjoyable movie, in my opinion.
"GHOST RIDER" is a pure fun, Action-packed Fantasy Thriller with Horror & western elements mixed into a big budget Summer Popcorn movie that's big on fun & full of Cool moments.
Nicolas Cage is literally on Fire here in his role!!!