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I'll be honest. I had never even heard of the character "Ghost Rider" until I read about the film being made. I will be unable to tell you how closely this film follows the story of this character, as set forth by Marvel Comics. I can tell you whether the film works or not. It does and it doesn't. There are a number of interesting ideas and themes in "Ghost Rider", but there are an equal number of things that don't work. Ultimately, it is a wash. Young Johnny Blaze learns his father, a stunt motorcyclist who is teaching him the tricks of the trade, has cancer and a strange man (Peter Fonda) appears offering to save the young man's dad. All Mephistopheles wants in return is Blaze's soul. Blaze doesn't quite believe the man, but signs anyway. Dad does get better, but events happen and Blaze rides off into the sunset, leaving his girlfriend, Roxanne behind. Years later, the adult Johnny Blaze (Nicholas Cage) travels around the country completing one stunt more elaborate than the next, becoming famous in the process. Eventually, Mephistopheles comes to collect on the contract. If Blaze can banish Blackheart (Wes Bentley, "American Beauty") to hell, the devil will tear up the contract and Johnny can have his soul back. Roxanne (Eva Mendes) returns to town, a television reporter working her way through the ranks. Unwilling to help the devil, Johnny finds he transforms, at night and in the presence of evil, into Ghost Rider, a motorcycle riding skeleton engulfed in flame who rides a motorcycle covered in fire. Eventually, Blackheart realizes he has a formidable foe in Ghost Rider and decides to use Roxanne as bait. The film begins with a voice over by Sam Elliot, recounting an old legend about a small village in Mexico the devil wanted to claim. He sent his bounty hunter, the Ghost Rider, a cowboy on a horse, to claim the contract for their souls, but the Ghost Rider realized how powerful this document was and never turned it over. Sam Elliot's gravely voice does two things immediately; it telegraphs that this film will be more of a fable, maybe even a tall tale (remember his voice over during the Coen Brothers' "Big Lebowski"?) and it also points to a definite Western influence to the story. When the story moves to present day, much of it takes place in Dallas and many small influences of Texas and Southwest design pop up here and there. In this way, they are making Johnny Blaze and Ghost Rider a sort of modern day cowboy. These elements add a lot of interest to the story, taking it beyond a normal comic book superhero. There is a lot of humor throughout the story and much of this is presented in a tongue and cheek manner. This doesn't exactly work, because it makes Cage seem even more jokey and unbelievable than he already is. These films are much better when they take the characters and their action seriously. Yes, I realize we are talking about a man who becomes a motorcycle riding skeleton who battles the devil's son. But if the characters aren't taking the story seriously, how is the viewer supposed to do this? If the characters take the action seriously, the viewer will believe the story, no matter how outlandish. The "Spider Man" films are a prime example of this. At one point, both Nicholas Cage and Eva Mendes say a little quip and then stare at the camera, punctuating the joke, much like a drummer backing up a stand-up comedian. In most superhero films, these quips are played serious and elicit more laughter because of this, because they are unexpected. Nicholas Cage has never been the most subtle actor. Given the opportunity, he frequently veers into overacting, chewing the scenery and mugging furiously for the camera. When he makes a quip, or steals a glance at the camera doing a virtual wink wink, the character becomes jokey. At one point, Cage stares at the heavens and starts screaming, as he transforms into Ghost Rider, grimacing, mugging furiously for the camera, reminding us that we are watching a comic book character. In many ways, this film reminded me of the old "Doc Savage" film starring Ron Ely and the more I think about, the more the two films resemble each other. While "Ghost Rider" is nowhere near as bad as "Doc Savage", the two films are played for laughs, with the lead actors doing some serious scenery chewing. Both films have a pervasive wink wink nudge nudge feel about them. But Cage is a better actor and helps the character retain any seriousness, any gravitas he may have. It isn't much, but it helps make this film a little better. It won't fit. Please read the full review at thornhillatthemovies.com email this review to a friend
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