Johnny Blaze (Matt Long/Nicholas Cage) has never had it easy. His mother having died early in his life, he was raised by his father, a motorcycle stuntman performing in a traveling circus. And Johnny’s future looks to be about the same, as he follows in his father’s footsteps.

But Johnny has a chance at a better life, a better life in the form of Roxanne Simpson (Raquel Alessi/Eva Mendes). When the young lovers’ plans are about to be foiled by Roxanne’s parents, they decide to run away together and start life on their own. But obstacles have a way of presenting themselves to Johnny, and just before he’s about to leave, Johnny finds his dad has terminal cancer.

Enter the malevolent Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda). He makes Johnny a deal: he’ll cure his father’s cancer, in exchange for the young rider’s soul. Incredulous, Blaze signs the contract, more to be rid of the strange old man than anything else. Yet, to his astonishment, the next morning his father returns from the doctor completely cured. But as Johnny soon discovers, when you make a deal with the devil, you’re going to get burned.

Fast forward some ten to fifteen years. Johnny Blaze seems to have it all: fame, fortune, and a seemingly charmed existence as he consistently bests his own world records for long distance jumping. But he’s not happy, seemingly bent on self-destruction, and looking for a sign that he can have a second chance in life.

When Roxanne re-enters his life, Johnny sees the long awaited sign. But as per usual, another roadblock appears on the highway that is Johnny Blaze’s life. The evil demon Blackheart (Wes Bentley) is bent on setting into motion the End of Days so that he might inherit the Earth. But Mephistopheles is bent on stopping the usurper, and towards that end the devil claims his due-he transforms Johnny Blaze into the unholy Ghost Rider, an avenging spirit bent on returning evil spirits to hell.

And thus the battle begins, as the Ghost Rider, with the help of the mysterious Caretaker (Sam Elliott), battles to save the world from Blackheart and, at the same time, his soul from Mephistopheles.

I had my doubts going into Ghost Rider. Simply the fact that the film had a February release date did not bode well, since most of the blockbuster comic book epics are generally reserved for the summer months.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the big-screen adaptation of one of Marvel’s darker characters. This is not always an easy thing to do, since the plot can sometimes be slowed down by the task of explaining the characters origin and his or her coming to terms with new developments.

To an extent, that happens here, and Ghost Rider does drag at times as the events in Johnny Blaze’s life are exhibited. But all in all, the film is true to the character’s story, and includes enough action and plot twists and turns to make for an overall enjoyable experience.

Nicolas Cage seems an excellent choice as Johnny Blaze. He manages to bring the character to life at first as a brooding introvert, then an exuberant teenager reborn when Roxanne reappears, and finally a defiant hero against the forces of evil. Sam Elliott is a natural as the caretaker as well, perfectly suited for the at first hidden duality of his role.

Eva Mendes is adequate as Roxanne Simpson, though director Mark Steven Johnson seems more intent on showing off her cleavage than her acting ability. Wes Bentley as Blackheart fails to deliver the true evil nature of the character. Sure, his actions are dark deeds indeed, but a good dose of schadenfreude might have made us hate him more. Finally, Easy Rider's Peter Fonda seems tired as the devil, and again fails to deliver a true sense of evil.

Fortunately, the special effects manage to more than make up for the uneven acting. The Ghost Rider is truly impressive with his deep, resounding (and a t times hard to understand) bass voice, his imposing costume, and his flaming skull. And when he’s racing around on his unholy bike, well, it’s just pure magic. Then too, the battle scenes between the Ghost Rider and the villains are sure to satisfy both comics fans and action movie lovers alike.

All in all, I enjoyed Ghost Rider. Admittedly, the intensity of the film was likely held back in order to maintain a PG-13 rating so as not to exclude younger audiences. After all, Marvel hopes they’ll see the film and buy its comic books.

But the film manages to entertain if at times unevenly, and is sure to please comic book movie fans, horror aficionados, and action fans alike.

Three and a half stars, but for Epinions I’ll round up to four.

More Comic Book Movies:

Superman Returns
Superman the Movie
X-Men
X-Men 2
X-Men III: The Last Stand
Fantastic Four
Batman and Robin
Batman Begins
The Return of Swamp Thing
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Hulk
Daredevil
Hellboy
Darkman
Man Thing
The Flash: The Complete Series
V for Vendetta
The Punisher (1989)
The Punisher (2004)








Recommended: Yes