Should You Rent-A-Ghost (Rider)? (Ghost Rider - Extended Cut (DVD))

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	Ghost Rider - Extended Cut (DVD)
Date:	30/03/07 (222 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Mindless fun, good special effects

Disadvantages: Overly eccentric, poor bad guys

*film only*

The superhero film bandwagon has been trundling along for quite sometime now with little or no sign of it stopping. With films like ‘X Men 3’ making more money than ever and a summer that promises the third ‘Spiderman’ film, fans are in for a treat. Even the most hardened comic book hater could not begrudge the success of these colourful films as they bring well known and fantastic characters to life. However, with success comes copying and the barrel is looking mighty empty to studio execs who have not yet managed to buy the rights to a hero, so those films that are waiting to be made are likely to have less known protagonists. This has led to the prolonged release of ‘Ghostrider’ based on one of the more obscure Marvel characters. What next a film based on the crime fighting duo that I have invented, Spam Man and The Lettuce Boy?

‘Ghostrider’ opens with the typical origins story as to how our hero Johnny Blaze became the rider for Mephistopheles (Satan). As a young man working with his father, as a motorbike stunt driver, Blaze is offered the chance to save his father from cancer if he signs a contract with the devil for his soul (can anyone here say Faust?). Anyhow, Blaze lives his life with the knowledge of the strange man that visited him, always wondering if one day the devil will ask for a favour in return. This day does come years later after Blaze has become a world famous daredevil and somehow metamorphosised into an old man with a wig (Nicholas Cage). It seems that a demon has escaped from hell and is looking for a contract hidden somewhere on Earth that will give him the power of a 1000 souls. The Devil turns Blaze into the Ghostrider, a bounty hunter whose job it is to send demons back to hell.

I think that this film will become a very acquired taste as there are several elements that people will either love or loath. Firstly the very fact that it is a pretty obscure Marvel character will likely turn a lot of people off. I think that the general cinema going public is becoming slightly bored of these adaptations. However, there are enough teenage boys and comic fanboys like myself around to still turn a handsome profit.

The next area of conflict is the storyline. It seems to follow every cliché in the book, and not just the comic book. The typical origins story, the revenge, the love interest. There is nothing here that you could not have watched from the 70s onwards. To really impress people in comic book adaptations today you have to think about doing things a little differently. I found that the story was perfectly serviceable, but not particularly exciting. The certificate makes this a 12A, but I would say that the film is definitely on the top end of this and would not be suitable for smaller children as the effects are very good at being scary.

Now the most controversial aspect of the film is Cage himself. In my opinion Cage is an overly eccentric, aging actor who, I am guessing, has worn a toupee for a while. He has stalked filmmakers for the past ten years in the vein hope of getting a starring role in one of their films, ‘Can I be Superman?’, he asks. ‘No, you are far too old’. Cage has finally managed to become one of his childhood heroes (he even has an old Ghostrider tattoo); however, in my opinion he is still too old for the role. Someone younger would have fitted better with the action take of the film. Add to this his eccentric take on the character; he listens to the Carpenters and ‘drinks’ jellybeans and you are in for an odd experience. I actually found him ok in the film, but for people who do not like Cage, they will hate this film.

The co-stars are also a mixed bag. I thought that Eva Mendes as the love interest, Roxanne, actually came out of the film well, even though she did not have much to do. The fact that she is an absolutely gorgeous woman was enough for me, and she actually looked a real size! I also thought that Peter Fonda as Satan was not too bad and just played to the correct level of camp. The cast takes a turn for the worse when it comes to the other bad guys. Wes Bentley as Blackheart is very poor. He comes across more as a teenage Goth than a demon. His henchmen, played by a bunch of no-ones, are also very cliché and not particularly good. It is a shame that a main element of the film is hampered by poor acting.

As you have read I am quite critical of this film so why have I given it three stars? There are some very good elements to it. The film was originally meant to come out late last year but it was held back to improve the special effects. I am glad they did this as they are great. It is some of the best use of CGI in a fantasy movie that I have seen. The direction by Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil and Electra) is also fun with lots of mood lighting and fast editing. He has taken Cage’s performance and moulded a film around it that is meant to be just dumb fun.

Finally, I think that the action sequences that do not contain Bentley and his cronies are very good. There is one scene were the police are chasing Ghostrider through the city – it is excellent. In term of camp entertainment and plain fun, this film succeeds. If you watch this film expecting anything more you will be very upset. However, as a popcorn action film that fills 2 hours it never gets boring and it makes you smile. For me that makes up for its flaws and puts it in the average category.


Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Year: 2007
Cert: 12A
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Peter Fonda and Eva Mendes

Summary: An ok film, but really only for comic adaptation fans