Dir.
Mark Steven Johnson, 2007, US, 114 mins
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mender, Peter Fonda,
Donal Logue, Brett Cullen
Review by Matthew Rodgers
Director Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil)
has been stuck in post-production hell for just over a year
with his take on the little known Marvel comic superhero
Ghost Rider, which would usually suggest that we have a movie
that is more Batman and Robin than Batman Begins, and after
nearly two hours of below par quips and logic-defying plot
twists that are only made bearable by Nic Cage's edgy over-the-top
performance, you are going to wish that it had been confined
to that fiery existence for eternity.
In the comic book universe the character of Ghost Rider
is renowned more for the stunning visual creations of artist
Mike Ploog than for any plots embedded in a cultural mythos
regularly explored in the likes of Spider-Man or Superman.
Unfortunately that shows in the films, albeit a necessity
in the first film telling the origin of the story which ends
up only fleshing out the films skeletal narrative frame.
Johnny Blaze (Cage) is a young stunt
rider who makes a naïve
pact with the devil (Fonda) to save the life of his cancer-ridden
father, breaking the heart of his childhood sweetheart and
forbidden love during proceedings. Years later Mephistopheles
(that's what old Beelzebub is calling himself now for reasons
that are never made clear, incidentally this is a common
occurrence throughout the film) returns to call in his debt.
This involves Blaze transforming into a bike-riding, leather-clad
vigilante with a flaming skull who tries to defeat bad guy
Blackheart – we know is evil because he wears too much
eye shadow.
Ghost Rider is a crushing disappointment from start to protracted
finish, because what could have been an enjoyable throwaway
piece of popcorn entertainment to rank alongside the X-Men
and aforementioned webslinger movies feels like two hours
of immature filmmaking from a director who utilises a sizeable
budget and fantastic cast to such an effect that it plays
like you are watching a child with his action dolls which
mutter incoherent dialogue amidst ludicrously realised set-pieces
and an awful metal infused soundtrack.
What makes it feel like your own skull is on fire is that
you can tell there was a real passion for the project from
Cage. His performance is infectiously enjoyable, and this
is no surprise from a man who has a Ghost Rider tattoo on
his arm and has named his very own child Kal-El after the
great son of Krypton. As the film goes on, the early enthusiasm
emitted from his portrayal of Blaze vanishes to be replaced
by a CGI skull that offers base level one liners to the array
of bad guys, all of whom are offed in the most ridiculously
nonsensical ways.
It may sound churlish to criticise a film about a guy with
a flaming head for its lack of realism, but the most successful
adaptations find a way to ground their superheroes. Not once
during the film's running time does Blaze appear to struggle
with his transformation, he accepts what is happening to
him like it's an everyday occurrence and even with a straight
face tells love interest Roxanne, a wasted Eva Mendes, that
he works for the devil.
Of the supporting cast nobody rises from the ashes to add
credibility to the mayhem. Fonda makes a ludicrously unthreatening
bad guy, and gives up far too easily in the film's terribly
anti-climactic finale, but by comparison he makes Wes Bentley's
acting look like that of Brando in On the Waterfront.
Ghost Rider will appeal to comic book aficionados only (although
its Stateside opening of $50m suggests otherwise), and the
only good that will come from it is that the filmmakers might
correct their mistakes for the inevitable sequel and allow
Cage to make the film he, and we, thought he was going to
star in. |
