Leave your inner movie critic, and your brain, at the door

Rating: 6/10 (21 February 2007)

"Ghost Rider" was a fun entertaining film in all the wrong reasons. If a filmmaker like Bryan Singer, Christopher Nolan or Sam Raimi made this film, it would have been more serious and a better quality film. Keep this in mind that this reviewer had not read the comic but is familiar with the character. The comic book could have been as campy as the movie. Nonetheless, this film is amusing in a cheesy 80's action film type way.
In order to save his dying father, young stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze sells his soul to Mephistopheles and sadly parts from the pure-hearted Roxanne Simpson, the love of his life. Years later, Johnny's path crosses again with Roxanne, now a reporter, and with Mephistopheles, who offers to release Johnny's soul if Johnny becomes the fabled, fiery Ghost Rider, a supernatural agent of vengeance and justice. Mephistopheles charges Johnny with defeating the despicable Blackheart, Mephistopheles's nemesis and son, who plans to displace his father and create a new hell even more terrible than the old one.
Is this a great film? No, but most Arnold Schwarzenegger action films are not quality film-making either. Luckily, you forgive because that is not what you watch a Governator movie for anyway. This was exactly what "Ghost Rider" felt like, an 80's action film. There were many cheesy one-liners. Some lame puns were also thrown in there as well. The best parts of the film were the visuals. Ghost Rider was one of the coolest looking comic book characters around, and was someone you could not help but root for. Occasionally it is neat to watch a movie that does not take itself seriously and "Ghost Rider" was that film.
The acting was fifty-fifty, but it is acceptable because it is not the focal point of the movie. Nicolas Cage was wonderful as the main character, Johnny Blaze. Thank God, he did not play Superman because Ghost Rider is more his thing. The highlight was Sam Eliot, who turns everything into gold simply because of his insanely deep voice, as the caretaker. Peter Fonda was convincing as the devil, Mephistopheles. Donald Logue was also very humorous as Johnny's best friend, Mack.
Unfortunately, there were some poor performances too. Eva Mendez was one of them as Roxanne. Her romance with Johnny was not believable at all. Eva Mendez's character was essentially reduced to her cleavage that was shown in every scene she is in. Another disappointment was Wes Bentley as Blackheart. Wes had only one facial expression, just like Eva Mendez, the whole time, and it was somewhat annoying. Nonetheless, with the way modern technology is, Blackheart still looked like a good villain.
In conclusion, you could do a heck of a lot worse then seeing "Ghost Rider." The only real bad thing about this movie is that it was the opposite of what you would have expected from a "Ghost Rider" movie. "Ghost Rider" is not trying to win any academy awards; it is just one to sit back and relax with a bowl of popcorn. Do yourself a favor; leave your brain at the door. In addition, leave your inner movie critic at the door as well. You are not going to need either of them. "Ghost Rider" is a recommended viewing!