Monday, June 18, 2012

GHOST RIDER-SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE: DISAPPOINTING SEQUEL


I was a fan of the first GHOST RIDER film that starred Nicholas Cage as the motorcycle rider who sold his soul based on the Marvel comic character. Not many were fans of the film and were disappointed in the direction the film chose to follow. But then fans of an original piece of fiction seeing it come to life on the big screen rarely find it satisfying. Never having been a major fan of the comic, I found the movie well made and entertaining. I can't say the same for GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE.

Johnny Blaze (Cage) is still possessed as the devil's spirit of vengeance, a wraith like character that searches the globe to collect the souls owed to the demon. Looking for a way to void the contract he signed when he was young, a contract that tricked him as the devil is wont to do, Blaze is told of an opportunity to break free. 

Approached by a monk named Moreau (Idris Elba), he's told there is a young boy who needs his help. For his protection Moreau agrees to assist Blaze find release from his contract and the chance to be completely human once more. Of course he takes the offer.

The story follows the two trying to protect the boy along with his mother. Along the way we get bits and pieces of just who the boy is and why he needs protecting. Comic fans will know right away that this character is important to the Ghost Rider mythology. The boy's name is Danny Ketch and in the comics he too became the Ghost Rider. But none of that comes up in this film, just that he is the offspring of someone completely evil who has come to collect before his next birthday.

So what's good about this movie? Some of the special effects are good while others are lackluster. The story seems weak. The worst of it all is twofold. First there is Cage's acting. I like Cage. I've enjoyed many of the movies that critics have hated. But here he overacts to such an extreme that it's noticeable. It's as if he showed up and staggered through the role just to get a paycheck. Watching this made me realize just how bad he could have been had they chosen him to play Superman like they considered some years ago.

The second worst thing is the direction. A director should be able to coax a decent performance from each and every actor in a film. Here the acting is negligible. But worse than that are the attempts to show action that don't work in the least. I'm not a fan of the whole hand held camera that gets tossed around technique. It's used to extremes here. A word to all directors and cinematographers: if you just make a camera jump around and look sloppy it doesn't make a scene look like its action packed. It just makes it look like you can't hold a camera steady. Stop doing it. We paid money to watch a movie and would enjoy being able to tell what we are looking at rather than some stupid attempt to look artsy.

There is no way I can recommend this movie, even for Cage or Marvel Comic fans. The best moment in the movie revolves around a rather tasteless joke that is still funny. When asked what happens when he pees while being the Ghost Rider we get a glimpse from behind of him shooting out flames. If that's the best thing to be found here, you can imagine just how bad the film is.

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