Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) is holed up in Eastern Europe. Danny (possibly Ketch?), a kid (played by Fergus Riordan) in whom a group of monks have great interest is being guarded in a high tech monastery. The fortress is compromised by a small army but Danny’s mother (Violante Placido) manages to save her son and escape. Moreau (Idris Elba), a wine-drinking and gun-loving priest tracks down Blaze to request his help in saving Danny. The payoff is that Moreau knows of an ancient ritual which will lift Johnny’s curse. They strike a deal and the movie is under way.
It’s really that simple. There’s a bit of a twist at the end, a satisfying one at that, but essentially that’s the basic premise. It’s this simplicity of plot that allows directors Mark Neveldine and Bryan Taylor (Crank), to focus on their strengths. They bring their unmistakable sense of action, rhythm and style to this flick and make it work well. The cameras are always zooming or out and panning in jerky movements. The editing is similar in philosophy. Rarely keeping a shot intact for long. They’ve also added illustrative elements to the mix. Utilizing this technique to turn potentially boring exposition into pieces of design art. Finally, the dilapidated art design of the sets, props and costumes punctuate the visuals with grit and texture. This frenetic approach is a great fit for Nic Cage’s cosmically entertaining performance. The directors intelligently film him close up as much as possible showcasing his manic facial expressions and head movements. Cage’s exploratory acting style is particularly memorable during an interrogation scene. His character is fighting back the instinct to transform into the demon which possesses him. This also serves as an unpredictable threat during the questioning. Cage spastically jerks his head around, inches from the opposing actor in the scene and does not deliver his lines so much as he physically forces them out of his skull. The result is simultaneously frightening and hilarious! Cage not only squeezes every single drop of acting juice out of the role of Johnny Blaze, his surprisingly physical performance as Ghost Rider is mesmerizing.
Mark Steven Johnson’s 2007 Ghost Rider pulled off the amazing feat of making a flaming skull boring by assuming he was just another character and filming him thus. However Cage takes the name of “The Rider” literally and gives himself away to the demon within the character he is playing. This infuses the Ghost Rider CGI with recklessness and a supernatural kind of strut. The way Ghost Rider is shot, lit and edited plays an important role in this as well. Portraying him as not so much a character but often a primal, bizzare and ghostly presence. This is a Ghost Rider who has been at the gig for a while. Nic’s age shows and it props up the themes of a man tired of fighting his curse. The rest of the cast is solid but not spectacular with the exception of the monks which were forgettable characters.
On the side of the villains we have Satan’s human avatar, played straight down the middle by Ciarán Hinds. Though he comes across disappointingly distant, his role is not entirely unsatisfying. The script also produces a mostly convincing physical threat, a character I had never known before who has the ability to accelerate decay through touch. But again the directors don’t let this visual opportunity pass. While being attacked by this villain, the characters are sort of transported to some kind of “darkened dimension”. Where an average director would simply shoot it straight, Neveldine and Taylor find a way to inject something visually jarring into the scenes. They use the same method in a scene where Johnny undergoes a ritual to purge his curse, and during the final fight scene. The directors are also inclined to condensed story-telling, cramming more story in 95 minutes than many franchises fit in two movies. It’s like watching circus performers juggle flaming implements of destruction. There is talent involved but you’re not impressed by that, you’re just mesmerized by the spectacle.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance had some flaws but I had so much damn fun watching the movie that I can’t really bring myself to care about those imperfections. If the way movies look is important to you and love to be hyper-stimulated on several levels, this is the flick for you.
8/10 – a visually innovative action flick with a show stealing performance from Cage.
Rated PG-13
This excites me, thanks for the stellar review Jason!
Awesome review Jason! I’ve read so many negative reviews about this movie, but I am definitely glad to see that you liked it! I’ve gotta see it now!
I was ashamed of myself that I convinced other people to pay money to watch this with me.
Two reasons why I personally expected more from this film:
1. Recent Marvel movie releases – I have been able to thoroughly enjoy every movie about Marvel characters these past few years. The ones produced by Marvel studios have had a level of greatness that couldn’t help but rub off for my expectations of this movie. Even First Class (produced by Fox I believe) kept up to this high bar.
2. The first Ghost Rider movie – I figured with one Ghost Rider movie released so long ago they could have objectively reviewed it and made sure to release something better for a second movie.
A very simple (which is fine) but boring plot. “Son of the Devil”? What an original idea! And honestly the generic plot would not have bothered me if somebody would have thrown the actors a bone. With their 100% grade A cheese scripts they had to work with, there was really no chance in hell they could have performed with any dignity, try as Nick Cage might.
If you have to see this movie in theatres, make sure to catch a matinee, you do not want to pay full price for this. Hold off till it is available for rent if you can. And keep in mind its a comedy, because its pretty much just a bad joke.
All that being said, I’m going to have to rewatch it again at some point with renewed expectations. There were a few interesting parts I may be able to salvage and appreciate, but for now I just feel violated.
They could have made this movie work if they:
1. Removed all cheesy lines
2. Take Jerry Springer out of it and tried to take the directing more seriously
3. More Ghost Rider fighting effects (it seemed like they tried to do the penance stare a few times but didn’t make it interesting visually.
4. Made Ghost Rider’s movements less like the little girl on the Ring horror movie and more like a badass motorcycle dude with a flaming skull. Ghost Rider doesn’t creep up on bad guys, he walks right up to them and reverently impairs their soul!
Thanks for adding your input Ian.
