Hunka' Burnin' Love

Rating: 5/10 (17 February 2007)

Greetings again from the darkness. Film versions of comic book characters are usually either very well done or not worth watching. This is the odd one that falls somewhere in between. Any adult or older teen will probably consider it a big waste of time. Some younger kids (11-14) will undoubtedly find a hand full of "cool" moments. Of course, overall it has very little entertainment value and is definitely not on the level of the Batman or Spider-Man series.
Nicolas Cage, whose hair manages to look worse than ever ... it is actually a relief when his skull bursts into flames, is downright awful as motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze who sells his soul to the devil. By looking at his career, Cage seems to want to be taken seriously as an actor while still playing like he is a kid. That attitude combined with a poor script and amateurish direction lead to mediocre messes like this. And enough with the Elvis obsession. Your impersonation stinks!
Supporting work is provided by the eternally untalented Eva Mendes, who was probably not the first choice, but the only actress who would take this dead-end role. Wes Bentley (from "American Beauty" fame) actually looks the part of the devil's son and Peter Fonda as the devil (nice to see him around motorcycles again) has little to do but tap his cane and let his eyes glow. Sam Elliott brings a touch of class to the story as the caretaker with a link to the "mystery".
The director of this garbled project is Mark Steven Johnson, who also has "Daredevil" to his credit. That should really tell you all you need to know about what to expect. This one scores as high as a 5 only because it will provide some enjoyment to a small age group of young boys who will think it cool when the head and bike are flaming. For even more torture, stay till the credits and listen to the worst ever version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" by Spiderbait. Definitely not Johnny Cash or Vaughn Monroe!