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Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is one of the better, lesser known comic book superheroes, and, in my mind ranks right up there with Spawn and The Punisher. None of these superheroes protect the innocent, instead, they punish the guilty, a far more satisfying pursuit. The guilty in this case being four Demons, and a number of scumbag criminals.
Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider’s alter ego, is portrayed perfectly by the angst filled whining of EMO poster boy Nicholas Cage. Fortunately, Ghost Rider, is played by a flaming skull with very little dialogue, and was done pretty much perfectly. The other notable performance in Ghost Rider was , played by Carter Slade. Without him, they would have had to resort to an intelligent way of moving the plot forward as opposed to just having the mentor explain what had happened to the apprentice.
The plot is fairly standard for any Superhero origin film. The hero must come to terms with his power before evil wins, and saves himself, the world and the love of his life all in a convenient 2 hour time frame. But, if we wanted involved plots, we’d be watching Oscar Winners. Instead, we’re trying to disengage the higher brain functions and Ghost Rider is the perfect mechanism for doing that.
Dodginess
Expecting a movie in which the hero is a flaming skeletal biker not to have dodgy moments is like expecting Nicholas Cage to be decisive and charismatic. This one doesn’t go above and beyond what is expected of a superhero movie as far as dodginess goes, even with the source material being what it is. Ghost Rider scores 4 on the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man scale. Any of the fight scenes between Ghost Rider and the elemental Demons (well Fallen Angels, but who can tell the difference) could take the dodgiest moment award, and I would have given it to the final battle if not for the fact that the many souls in one indestructible body had been done before in Blade. Fortunately, there’s an escape sequence in which Ghost Rider rides up a building, then down a building, and on a river, all while leaving a flaming trail behind the back wheel of the bike, which has to win, after all, the film is called Ghost Rider, not Indestructible soul devouring demon.
Rewatchability Rating
I love this movie, and yet can’t give it more than a 4 on the rewatchability rating. I find that when I rewatch Ghost Rider, I’m only really interested in 1 scene. The ride to San Venganza featuring Johnny Blaze and Carter Slade both as Ghost Riders, with the intro to “Ghost Riders in the Sky” as the theme tune. And while I won’t get tired of this, I do acknowledge that many dodgy movie watchers may need something a little more substantial to sink their teeth into for a rewatch, especially if it means dealing with Nicholas Cage’s EMO tendencies.
Most Memorable Quote
There weren’t a whole lot of memorable lines as the bulk of the dialogue is typical comic book cheese, however there were some that stood out. No discussion of the most memorable quotes in Ghost Rider would be complete without the Rider’s signature line, “Your soul is stained by the blood of the innocent. Feel their pain!” But the best line is said by the Caretaker when Johnny Blaze returns. “Congratulations, your chances just went from none to slim.”
Final Thoughts
If you’re in the habit of enjoying comic book adaptations you’ll definitely enjoy this one. If you prefer your dodgy movies to be more of the generic real life action films, you may be tempted to give Ghost Rider a miss. Don’t, just watch it with an open mind, you may be pleasantly surprised.