Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

I’ll cut right to the chase: this movie is exceptionally bad. Now I wasn’t expecting greatness from this motion picture, and I actually thought that the first movie was okay. Not great, but okay. And I can appreciate the ridiculousness that Nick Cage can bring to a story. His Oscar-winning, old lady punching, bee terror-induced brand of acting provides constant entertainment and is responsible for several awesome pages on Funny or Die. So I was hoping for some Nick Cage insanity and he does deliver, but in a creepy, I am trying to be insane on purpose way.

In fact, he acts his way through the movie in such a way that one could accuse him of trying to create internet memes. To wit, Johnny Blaze’s monologue on Ghost Rider trying to get out. The amazing part of the acting is that it is all bad. Idris Elba, Ciaran Hinds, and Nicholas Cage are all good actors who seem like they are chewing the scenery in a grade 10 drama class. This is terribly bizarre because we already know that they are great actors, so it makes us think that they are over-acting on purpose. Directed that way? Interpreting funny book characters in kitschy way? We may never know.

Now the acting isn’t the only questionable choice in the movie: the plot is also pretty dismal. I have seen back-up features in 1990s annuals that had a better plot. Something about the son of the devil or something. And Ghost Rider actually being an angel. Or something. Mostly the plot is an excuse for Ghost Rider to kill people while thrash metal is playing in the background.

The movie succeeds visually and makes some very entertaining choices to represent Blackout and Ghost Rider’s respective powers. The best scene in the movie is when Ghost Rider takes over a bulldozer (causing the treads to be set on fire) and then uses said Helldozer (yeah, I said it) to obliterate a team of mercenaries.

I also must admit that I have quite a bit of rage at being forced to pay an extra $4 for 3D. And the worst, tacked-on 3D that I have ever seen in a movie. It adds nothing to the film and takes away what little the movie has by making the visuals darker. Clash of the Titans looks like Avatar compared to this movie. Just awful.

So the end verdict is let this one pass. Even if you are a die-hard Ghost Rider fan you should just wait until this appears on Netflix. Everyone involved (except for the DP or the SFX guys) should hang their heads in shame.