Movie Review: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider

Last week, I wasn't very kind to a science fiction movie because it was just too unbelievable. Numerous critics have said some similar things about Ghost Rider. But you know what? Ghost Rider isn't science fiction. It's an adaptation of a comic book. You know, one of those books where radioactive spider bites can give you the power to swing from tall buildings, and cosmic rays can make you all stretchy? The criteria is, as far as I'm concerned, completely different. And okay, Ghost Rider isn't all that believable. But do you know what it is? Fun!

Young Johnny Blaze (Matt Long) is living a pretty good life. He and his father, Barton (Brett Cullen) are stunt motorcycle riders in a carnival. He's madly in love with the pretty Roxanne (Raquel Alessi) who is madly in love with him. But then a pair of tragedies changes everything. Roxanne's father is sending her away to live with her mother in large part to get her away from Johnny; and Barton is suffering from terminal lung cancer.

Johnny is working on his bike late at night as he ponders running away with Roxanne when he receives a visit stranger (Peter Fonda). The stranger offers Johnny a job which he promptly turns down. But when the stranger says he can cure his father's lung cancer in exchange for his soul, Johnny actually thinks about it for a minute. While he's thinking, Mephistopheles pushes a contract into his hands and, before he knows it, Johnny agrees to the deal. The problem, of course, is that Mephistopheles can't exactly be trusted.

Many years later, Johnny (Nicolas Cage) is still scarred by loss and fear. His determination to prove he's not afraid has led him to do stunts too dangerous for anybody else even to contemplate. His manager Mack (Donal Logue) isn't happy that Johnny takes such great risks, but Johnny is sanguine about it all. But in one more burst of change, his life takes another turn when Roxanne (Eva Mendes) shows up at the site of his next big jump. She's a television reporter now, and determined to interview Johnny. He, meanwhile, just wants to take her out to dinner.

Things between the two are, of course, complicated. But the situation becomes even more so when Mephistopheles suddenly returns on the scene. He tells Johnny it's time to make good on his contract. He wants Johnny to go after some escapees from hell, including the nefarious Blackheart (Wes Bentley). Johnny refuses, of course, but Mephistopheles only laughs and tells him he's got no choice. The next thing poor Johnny knows, both he and his motorcycle are on fire.

Since he does, indeed, have no choice, Johnny rides off in search of Blackheart. What he doesn't know is that Blackheart is on a search of his own. If he can find an old contract with the devil that by itself binds 1,000 souls, he should become powerful enough that he can single-handedly bring about the end of days. With that kind of power at stake, he's not about to let a pesky Ghost Rider stop him from doing what needs to be done!

I don't always like Nicolas Cage, but this is the kind of role I really enjoy him in. He's able to deliver even the cheesiest lines (and there are some here) with an entirely serious look on his face, and yet he's tough enough that you can believe it when he wraps a flaming chain around a bad guy and reels him in. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Eva Mendes is a pretty girl, but I've never considered her a great actress and she certainly lives down to that here (it's also a real pet peeve of mine when actors play TV reporters but they do a terrible job of acting much less sounding anything like a real TV reporter).

Peter Fonda is good, though I wish he were prettier (who among you recalls that Lucifer was among the most beautiful of the angels cast out of heaven?). Fortunately, Wes Bentley makes up for that as a very handsome demon with an extremely ugly attitude. His demon "posse" —— made up of actors Lawrence Breuls, Daniel Frederiksen, and Matthew Wilkinson —— is also nicely cast. The award for casting in this movie, though, goes to the role of the Caretaker. Sam Elliott couldn't be more perfect for the part.

Director and Writer Mark Steven Johnson did a good job with Ghost Rider. Given some of his past credits (the abysmal Daredevil and the at least as bad Elektra among them), I think I had every right to be a little concerned. But he got a handle on Ghost Rider and managed it quite deftly. There are cheesy lines; there are trite moments. But all are right off the comic book pages, and I felt they added just the right flavor to the film. The special effects were, as you might expect, beautifully done. There's a scene where the Ghost Rider travels west that's superlative and the musical accompaniment sublime; another several scenes of the flaming bike screaming down city streets and literally up the side of a tall building are breathtaking.

Yes, there are people that aren't going to like this movie because it's not believable, or because it's not dramatic enough or philosophical enough for them. But Ghost Rider is supposed to be entertainment, for heaven's sake, nothing more or less! Nobody is going to win an Oscar™™ here (unless it's the special effects studio) nor are they likely to change any lives, but I had a really good time. I don't know about you, but that's pretty much all I ask from a movie, and Ghost Rider frankly delivered.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Ghost Rider is rated PG-13 for "horror violence and disturbing images." I think that about says it all, though any kid who's well into video games isn't going to see anything here that will shock or scare him. You're going to have to use your own judgment here where your own kids are concerned, but in general terms, I'd say it's okay for those age 10 or so and up. As far as adults go, well, if you liked most previous comic book-based films, you'll probably like this one, too. Just don't expect it to be what it isn't if you really want to enjoy what it is!