Ghost Rider

Rating: 2/5
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Eva Mendes, Peter Fonda
Now playing: Galleria 6

One has to suspend one’s…well, one’s everything, when walking into “Ghost Rider.” It is, after all, a movie centered around an inflammable skeleton and his motorcycle. Only when all disbelief is fully suspended, like a motorcycle hovering above 300 feet of parked helicopters, can the true beauty of this film shine forth. Unfortunately, the only thing shining here seems to be Eva Mendes’ oddly glossy bosom.

Writer and director Mark Johnson, of similar spectacles “Elektra” and “Daredevil,” has an eye for making flaming skeletons look cool (but, really, who doesn’t?) and none at all for any other type of filmmaking.

Something must be said for the effects and stunts – they were daredevilishly, albeit vapidly, entertaining. Otherwise, the film boasts mostly clunky dialogue and lackluster performances. Nicholas Cage, smeared with eyeliner and shrink-wrapped in black leather, makes some interesting, though ultimately unsatisfying, choices as the eponymous hero. Mendes is twitchy and seems uncomfortable in her shiny, shiny skin. Wes Bentley is adequate but unexciting as the devil’s disobedient son, and Sam Elliot as “the caretaker” is fine, looking weather-worn and at ease playing the part he always plays.

After selling his soul to the devil at the infamous crossroads, Johnny Blaze (Cage) is double crossed (by the devil, who’d have guessed?) and sets off to be the most daredevil-y daredevil he can possibly be. Literally. He leaps the length of a football field on his motorcycle just to see if he can actually damn the devil, and die. But the devil has other plans for Mr. Blaze.

The return of his teenage sweetheart Roxanne (Mendes) coincides nicely with the reemergence of the McGuffin and Blaze’s formal conscription to the devil’s service. He becomes the Ghost Rider, scorcher of damned souls and personal assassin for the devil, complete with flaming skeleton skull in place of a face. He loses his head – at least, those non-essential fleshy parts of it – and goes on a fiery city-wide rampage of evil battling.

“Ghost Rider” might have had a semblance of possibility – the element of choice presents itself as a potential theme – but it is inevitably wasted in favor of more and ever mounting motorcycle/horse-on-fire spectacles. (Though, admittedly, some of said spectacles were cool – there’s a flaming horse keeping up with a flaming motorcycle as they thunder across a flaming tundra – it’s completely devoid of any sense within the plot, but… things were on fire!) It wasn’t as if the film disposed of its theme willingly. As the wise father of an on-fire skeleton once said: “Sometimes you ain’t makin’ the choice; the choice is makin’ you.” For Johnson, the minute he picked the “Ghost Rider” comic book for his subject matter, the choice had been made. Too bad the script wasn’t as fiery (or as on fire) as its subject material.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Cadenza. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.