Review of Ghost Rider (2007) by King S — 01 Mar 2015

One of Marvel's second tier propeties, Ghost Rider was released to decent success, despite all the negative reviews. So, where do my opinion fit in this equation? Well, somewhat in the middle.

In a great prologue, we are told of the Ghost Riders, bounty hunters for the Devil. In the old west, one of them is sent to retrieve a contract for the devil, possesing the souls of thousands of corrupt people of the town of San Venganza. The Ghost Rider gets the contract, and then does something no other Ghost Rider has done before - he disobeys a direct order from the Devil and refuses to give the contract to him, before going into hidding. Flashforward to the near present day, and a stunt driver by the name of Johnny Blaze is contacted by the Devil. His father, also a stunt driver by the name of Barton Blaze is dying from cancer, so the Devil offers him a deal - he'll cure his father of his cancer in exchange for Johnny's soul. Johnny agrees, thinking it's a prank, only to discover the next day that his father is completely healthy. However, dealing with the Devil can be tricky, and Barton dies in a freak accident. The Devil appears afterwards telling Johnny that he'll come for him when he needs him, and then dissapears. Feeling confused, Johnny runs away, leaving his girlfriend, Roxanne Simpson, behind. Flashforward a few years later, and Johnny is still a stunt driver preforming dangerous stunts - so dangerous that his friends wonder how he's still alive. Meanwhile, Johnny hasn't really recovered by the events of his father's death, and isn't even sure why he does these stunts. Soon, however, the son of the Devil, Blackheart, arrives, and with his henchmen plans on find the contract that he will use against his father. Aware of this, the devil finally contacts Johnny, and transforms him into the Ghost Rider.

My expectations were pretty low when I first saw this film, given all the hate it recieved. However, I enjoyed it more than I expected. It certainly didn't bore the hell out of me like say Fantastic Four. Having the Devil show up early on in the film give a sense of dread afterwards, as you waited for him to show up again, while afterwards the film managed to balance the action and the drama well enough, even if neither aspect was anything to write home about.

On the other hand, the best word I can use to describe this film would be forgettable, which is something one shouldn't say to a film that has a skeleton with a flaming skull. It hasn't really been that long since I last saw it, certainly not as long as it has been since I've seen Batman Begins, and yet when writing the plot, I hit a number of spots where I had to check the plot snyposis on wikipedia because I couldn't remember what happened at that point. The reason for that is simple - this is your typical run on the mil superhero movie, with far too many elements having been used many times before, in much better movies.

Another problem with the film is the tone. When you think of a movie staring Nick Cage as a guy with a cheesy CGI flaming skull who punishes people by looking having them look into his eyes and see all the terrible things they've done, you'd think this would be the sort of over the top action film that Blade was, and yet while at times it is, for a lot of the time the mood is dead serious. It just feels like the filmakers weren't sure which tone to pick, and trying to use both of them, which sadly doesn't work.

They must have told Nic Cage that they were going for a serious no-nonsense tone, because he's pretty self contained in this film. There's not much to say about Eva Mendes, given how forgettable her character, Roxanne, is (Guess what's her profession? A reporter! Never would have of expected that in a superhero movie!) However, I did like some of the supporting players, particularly Peter Fonda as the Devil, Mephisto, and Sam Elliot who plays the mentor part well as Carter Slade, not to mention also offers a great narration to the film.

On a side note, it's a sign of just how mixed my reception to the film was, given how my favourite scene in the entire film is (minor spoilers) when Johhny Blaze and Carter Slade, both in Ghost Rider form, ride off to face Blackheart. It's a cool scene, and yet when they reach the location, Carter Slade simply rides away, leaving Johnny on his own. Why did he even come with Johnny then, if he wasn't going to help?

Ghost Rider is currently set for a reboot next year. Hopefully, the Crank directors can offer a wilder and more exciting film than this one, which is a somwhat entertaining, yet in the end far too forgettable and uneven entry in the superhero genre.