Ghost Rider
(2007)
6 years ago via Rotten Tomatoes
[img]http://www.popmatters.com/images/film_art/g/ghost-rider-3.jpg[/img]
[size=3][color=red]Ghost Rider, to put in the most shortest sense, is the most destructible, ridiculous, horrible, monsterous, repulsive, and shameful piece of crap I have seen in a long time. Its worser than Cabin Fever, more annoying than Garfield, and as thrilling as a House of the Dead sequel. There is no reason or logic in seeing this movie, even if your into the whole gothic genre. I like the style of gothic movies, such as Silent Hill, but this film is like a never - ending, painful excursion into utter despair. The director, Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil) should be shot or slaped upside the head for destroying something that could have been great. Maybe, just maybe, if they hired someone like Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth), its possible that the film's ideas could be coherent with its style.[/color][/size]
[size=3][color=#ff0000]The plot, like we care, stars off with an Evel Knievel, daredevil (ha - ha) stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), who sells his undesirable soul, when he's just a kid, to the devil in exchange to save his dying father. Well, obviously, you should not make deals with the devil, when his father dies in the next couple of scenes while performing a death - defying stunt. As an adult, Johnny encounters his childhood love Roxanne and Mephistopheles, or the devil for short. Little does Johnny know that he is summoned under the devil's control and he becomes the ghost rider when day turns into night. The ghost rider's role is to serve the boss of Hell by capturing demons that have escaped from the pitches of fire and are creating havoc on Earth. Big deal![/color][/size]
[size=3][color=#ff0000]Cage tries desperately to portray a Texan stuntman, while the CGI tries to perform the ghost rider. I have nothing against Cage, especially when he's been in some decent films, such as Leaving Las Vegas or National Treasure (which happens to be a guilty pleasure of mine). But, all of the acting is one - dimensional, no real enthusiasm into their characters. The devil is just an old fart with a Van Helsing, Dracula face, Johnny's love Roxanne is your typical damsel in distress, and the demons are like small - time punks from a 70's sitcom. Nothing good can also be said of the film's dialogue, which hurt my ears everytime a character was trying to be dramatic, especially during the romantic sequences. As for the action sequences, they look fun and cool in the previews, but their actually just a terrific bore. Plus, the horror had me laughing forever. Ghost Rider miraculously turns from a cheesy, comic book breakdown to a hillarious, unbelievably bad film.[/color][/size]
[size=3][color=#ff0000]The only real pleasure I got was from the Ghost Rider himself. With a black jacket with spikes on them, a flaming skull, and a fire breathing chain as a weapon, this character has some style. I also liked the scenes where he's riding vertically up a building and how every car explodes as he rides down the city streets. This is a film with real potential, yet the director, unfortunately, takes it, and with a hellish hammer pounds it into a piece of garbage. Ghost Rider is without a doubt one of the worst, or the worst, films I have ever seen this year and all time. It is also a major disappointment from a director with colorful energy, but with a major lack of brain cells. After seeing this film, I felt my head was on fire too. Yeah, from getting aggravated on the fact I spent eight bucks on a piece of shit.[/color][/size]