Ghost Rider is a perfect example of a mainstream studio making a comic book superhero to appeal to every demographic possible. It's a curious blend of dumb, fun comedy and action (as exemplified by Sam Raimi's Spider-Man template) and a dark, brooding supernatural vengeance story. On top of that mixture you've got a bonkers concept; a stunt biker who moonlights as the devil's bounty hunter, appearing as a flaming skulled hell's angel when possessed by demonic forces. All of this is put in the blender along with a commercial song soundtrack, some colourful photography and some cheap and cheerful visual effects. Although this is Columbia Pictures, Ghost Rider has all the Hallmarks of a Fox movie...not the terrible variety, but the average type like Fantastic Four, Night At The Museum and Knight & Day.
It's casting is what sets it apart from the crowd. On the plus side is the jaw droppingly sexy Eva Mendes and, as the title hero, Nicholas Cage plays Johnny Blaze to the hilt. This is exactly what Cage gets payed for; unusual quirky roles that involve him to make his eyes pop out of his head in a controlled form of acting brain seizure....and he's on top form here. Sadly, for every positive there's an equal and opposite bad side that's represented by villain Wes Bentley. Wooden and petulant, Bentley fails to convince as a character, let alone be anywhere menacing enough to be the big bad of the movie. Once again, Bentley sucks.
If your expectations aren't too high, there's guilty pleasures to be had with Ghost Rider. But if you're not prone to embracing big budget trash with a daft script, senseless action and an unashamed commercialism...don't go anywhere near this. Click on the below image to enlarge the Nicholas Cage Matrix charting the performances of this one of a kind actor.
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