An action film for teens.

Rating: 5/10 (17 February 2007)

I saw ghost rider opening day, actually the first showing in my area, and I have to say I really could have waited. I have read a few comics, but not nearly enough to say I have a firm understanding on the big picture of ghost rider, however I can say this movie isn't it.
The movie starts OK, and spends enough time establishing Johnny Blaze's character (even with some rather large changes in the back story), and actually achieves a relatively charming feel. Its when the movie tries to be serious that it falls apart.
The rest of the movie is an anti-climatic spiral of events, that seem all too familiar, and focus completely on special effects. The opponents Ghost Rider must deal with are a joke, offering completely unsatisfying battles. Even the "climatic" ending leaves you feeling as if there MUST be more. Unfortunately this seems to be a common theme in action films these days.
On top of that, this movie fails pretty much where other Marvel films, with dark comic origins, fail. Spider-Man, X-men and Fantastic Four are great because they can be translated easily into a movie for many audiences. However films like The Punisher, and now Ghost Rider suffer because they fail to accept their darker origins, and compromise the story with dumbed-down action, lightened stories and unnecessary love interests.
My advice to you, is if you're going to see a mediocre pop-corn movie, and don't particularly care about a good story, then you'll enjoy this. However if you enjoy depth to your films, and like them to be faithful to their origins, save the 10 bucks and wait for a rental.