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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