Film Muser Rating : 0 / 5
Release Date : February 16, 2007
Running Time : 123 minutes
Watch Trailer

Ghost Rider is superhero movie based on the Marvel comic book starring Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who sells his soul to the devil. In an attempt to save his father from cancer, Blaze signs a contract with the devil essentially making him a bounty hunter who is to return the souls of those who have escaped from hell. The particular mission the Ghost Rider is given is to find a 100 year old contract that will allow the devil to consume the souls of a small town, while also removing the curse that has been placed upon him. In the meantime, the devil’s son Blackheart has come to Earth in search of the same contract in hopes of acquiring the souls for himself.

Ghost Rider

I wasn’t expecting much from this film, but I thought I would at least get some mindless entertainment. Well it turns out that it contained lots of mindlessness, but was missing all of the entertainment. The story is weak, and it took me a little while to even realize what the main plot was. The action is extremely disappointing as well. For the little amount of actual action sequences there are, they completely lack any excitement. Usually with a superhero movie the audience is guaranteed some decent action sequences and special effects. This had neither. The fight scenes the Ghost Rider engages in are extremely short, and aren’t really fight scenes. He just uses his chain whip to strangle a guy, or create some sort of fire whirlwind. Even the final battle between him and Blackheart is laughable.

Running at over two hours, the extended edition definitely dragged on. The actual Ghost Rider doesn’t even make an appearance for the first hour, and when he finally does show up you want him to go away. The dialog is brutal leaving the actors with nothing to really make work. I usually have a good time watching Nicolas Cage movies, but there was just no hope for him in this one. Eva Mendes plays Roxanne Simpson, Johnny Blaze’s love interest, but their relationship on screen has no chemistry, and the viewer doesn’t really care if they get together or not. There were a lot of attempts at adding humour to the film, but I honestly didn’t even crack a smile.

Everyone needs to stay clear of Ghost Rider. I can’t even recommend seeing it on DVD at home. The movie lacks any action scenes or impressive special effects that we usually can expect from a movie like this. I cannot think of any reason someone would like this movie, unless they were die-hard fans of the comic book it was based on. When Fantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surfer (review) looks like a masterpiece in comparison, you know that there is something wrong.

Memorable Scene
This scene isn’t memorable because I liked it, but because it was completely ridiculous. Roxanne Simpson is waiting for Johnny Blaze to meet her at a restaurant for a date, however he never shows because he is having his first experience as the Ghost Rider. The longer she sits at the table waiting, the more flustered she gets. At one point she reaches into her purse and pulls out one of those big novelty “8-Balls” for consultation, asking it if Johnny was going to show up.