After a less than promising first movie, Ghost Rider rides once again in a new movie co-written by one of Batman’s saviors, David S Goyer and directed by Neveldine/Taylor, the two hipsters who made the Crank films such bloody, good fun. Alas, this Ghost Rider is an incoherent, cheap-looking dud. Laughably acted, poorly written, even the lighting is terrible. This ugly looking dud can’t even come up with decent action scenes. The special effects are OK at best and certain scenes go on far too long, which is hard to believe, considering the fact that the film has a runtime of little more than 90 minutes. It feels like it goes on forever.
Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze (played by a campy, awful, miscast Nic Cage) is hiding out in Eastern Europe when he finds out from a drunk monk (the excellent Idris Elba from BBC’s killer series Luther) that he must stop The Devil from trying to take human form using a child to complete this ritual. Christopher Lambert pops up for a few minutes but its too short to make the kind of impact I was hoping for. The movie tries to spring to life a few times, only to stall out once again. The screenplay is hideously bad considering it was co-written by the self-proclaimed dc comics genius David S Goyer, the direction is putrid, and Cage gives another bizarre, hambone performance that only one of his tax advisors would love. Ghost Rider is baby vomit, and easily one of the worst films of 2012 so far.
Grade: D+
Loading ...
Magnus782
Mar 4, 2012 -
Awesome review! Someone needs to do the ”penance stare” on David S. Goyer… : )
Ccfmds
Mar 4, 2012 -
Cage made a deal with the devil to pay off the IRS I think. 🙁
John Kaufman
Mar 4, 2012 -
One of the most interesting developments in recent film, in my opinion, is the DE-evolution if Nicholas Cage. Once actor of promise whose skills were on display in movies like Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Moonstruck, Leaving Los Vegas and Matchstick Men, Cage has become a self indulgent cartoon. Consider the following; 2006- Wicker Man 2007- Ghost Rider 2009- G Force (voice), Astro-Boy 2010- The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Season of the Witch 2011- Drive Angry, Ghost Rider; Spirit of Vengeance. Role choice is as important to an actor as playing the parts themselves. Here is a career in deliberate, self-created free fall.
Kuno
Mar 6, 2012 -
I only ever liked Cage in Adaptation.